Abstract
The author is a pioneer in the study of shamanism. His interest dates from the presentation of his dissertationthesis : "The Religious Belief Proper to the Mongols-a Study of Shamanism" submitted to the Dept. of Oriental History at Tokyo University in 1917. His first research problem concerned the reason why the Mongols, who took up orthodox buddhism at their ascendancy, were converted into lamaism at the time of Khubilai Khan and also why they have remained so faithful to this cult. In the author's youth, however, academic circles did not regard shamanism as a legitimate and worthwhile topic for scientific investigation, and he encountered many obstacles. The donation of the Morrison Library in 1917 and the founding of the Toyo Bunko (Oriental Library) in 1924, as well as the development of field research by Japanese scholars on the peoples of the continent, changed the atmosphere. The study of shamanism has gradually become a favorite topic both in ethnological and historical studies.
