Toho 吐方（emetic remedy）is one of the three distinctive techniques in traditional Chinese/Japanese medicine. In the Edo era 江戸時代 in Japan, it is alleged that Okumura Ryochiku 奥村良筑（1689–1761）was the pioneer of this medical technique, and after him, his disciples Nagatomi Dokushoan 永富独嘯庵（1732–1766）, Ogino Daishu 荻野台州（1737–1806）, and Tanaka Hitsudai 田中必大（1725–1801）succeeded him both in practice and theoretical formulations. At the same time, Emi Sanpaku 恵美三白（1707–1781）implemented it in his own method. However, it was an extremely difficult technique for the followers to emulate. Therefore, we cannot find any further practitioners in his school. Then, Nakagami Kinkei 中神琴渓（1744–1833）integrating the attainments above, establishing this method as one of his repertoire of treatments. Though his achievement was also enormously challenging for his apprentices to follow, they efficaciously succeeded even in a part of it, as he taught them diligently. Kako Kakushu 加古角洲（1776–1832）was one who practiced it, and Kitamura Ryotaku 喜多村 良宅（18C-19C）was another who predominantly used it in the treatment of psychiatry. Finally, Watanabe Kunʼyo 渡邉君耀（19C）described those phases almost at the end of the Edo era in one short work. We should learn the philosophy but just clever techniques from them for our medicine today.

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This study explores the relationship between the historical images of the blue poppy in the West and the recent industrialization of Tibetan medicine by focusing on image production. The blue poppy（Meconopsis species）is an alpine plant that grows wild around the Himalayas. Although previous studies discuss the industrialization of Tibetan medicine through the mass production and distribution of medicines in a transnational context, discussions on Tibetan and Himalayan plants are limited to their use as raw materials for medicines. Further studies are required about the historical meanings and values of these plants and their relationships with Tibetan medicine. Referring to the perspective of Hans Beltingʼs “anthropology of images,” this study focuses on producing images that interact with media and the body. I argue that the blue poppy has become a symbolic plant of the “science of healing” in the Tibetan medical industry, which is intertwined with its Western images. First, I discuss how Western botanists, horticulturalists, and lay people have produced images of blue poppies through various media between the 19th and early 20th centuries. Thereafter, I analyze how Tibetan medicine practitioners encounter these images and produce new images of the blue poppy in the industrialization of Tibetan medicine

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This paper is intended to comprehend the recent fiscal behavior of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, focusing on its measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, which was first found in the country in March 2020. The fiscal discipline of the Republic has been regarded as prudent, and as shown in several statistics, it has a low level of public debt compared to its GDP. The Government responded quickly upon the outbreak of the pandemic to cope with the social and economic downturn, partly sacrificing its prudent fiscal discipline. This paper depicts and analyzes the facts and background of the situation, not just by referring to statistical development, but also by observing political considerations as well. Furthermore, this paper describes a recent government initiative of issuing sukuk （Islamic bonds）. In conclusion, the fiscal situation of the Republic is evaluated as stable, and forecasted to remain so unless several worse-than-expected scenarios happen.

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Laser scanning technology has been used to acquire point cloud data of real-world objects and has been utilized in various fields. In the field of cultural heritages, digital archiving is an activity in which cultural heritages are digitized, preserved, and utilized. Visualization of these data can help us to understand the complicated internal structure of such cultural heritages. Especially, transparent multi-view 3D visualization based on 3D point clouds is effective for understanding their complicated 3D structure. However, the position and depth information may become unclear when three-dimensional data are rendered transparently. We examined whether the proposed method of visualizing structures by edge highlighting information affects depth perception of transparent multi-view 3D objects. We also examined the effect of edge opacity on depth perception. We tested two types of figures: vertically and horizontally combined shapes and diagonally combined shapes, which were extracted from the point cloud data of cultural heritages. We conducted psychophysical experiments, and the results suggest that edge highlighting improves the accuracy of depth perception in the two data sets. Moreover, the effect of edge highlighting was more significant when in depth cues such as binocular disparity and motion parallax were available

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In the study of prewar Japanese political history, the issue of colonial rule has been taken up only as an “external issue,” so to speak. In recent years, excellent research results have been published from the field of colonial history studies, and there has indeed been progress in understanding Japanese political history from an empireorientated perspective. However, in order to truly cross-link the studies of colonial history and Japanese political history, it is essential to clarify how the expansion of imperialism in prewar Japan affected the political structure of Japan as a whole. The author believes that this is the key to building an understanding of “Imperial Japanese Political History,” and is diligently researching the Takumushō（Ministry of Colonial Affairs）, which was newly established in 1929 as the government agency with jurisdiction over colonial affairs. As a part of this analysis, this paper presents the validity of this perspective by analyzing how the Takumushōʼs movement affected the retreat of the “responsible cabinet system” in modern Japan, taking up the issue of the South Manchurian Railway Company（SMR）reorganization that became a problem between 1932 and 1934 as a case study.

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The Museum of Kwansei Gakuin University owns a collection of documents that were donated by the Osaka Ro-En（Labors Theatrical Association）. This collection contains approximately 300 documents that are different from the Osaka Ro-En documents prior to its dissolution in 2007. These historical documents pertain to the international fraction of the Japanese Communist Party（and affiliated groups）and centers on the early 1950ʼs division of the Japanese Communist Party. The collection contains a plethora of unique documents that are not held in other well-known collections on this subject, such as the collection held by the Hosei University Ohara Institute for Social Research or “The Postwar Japanese Communist Party Documents.” It is known that the international fraction led to a peace protection movement（Kurokawa, 2020）. However, there are few existing studies or historical accounts of the early 1950ʼs division based on primary sources. Therefore, the Japanese Communist documents in the Osaka Ro-En collection are considered a vital source of historically accurate information on the reality of the early 1950ʼs division and the peace protection movement from the perspective of the international fraction.

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This brief research discusses the progress and prospects of the authorʼs research on the history of medical thought in early modern Japan, primarily focusing on the Edo period. It specifically examines the concept of Retro Thoughts in early modern Japanese medicine and explores the authorʼs recent research interest in ginseng. This brief research is divided into three parts. The first part covers the authorʼs doctoral program research, which includes the Retro Thoughts concept in ancient Chinese medicine and the movement of doctors between Ming-Qing China and early modern Japan. The second part focuses on the authorʼs post-doctoral research, which explores the application of classical medical books like Shang Han Lun（Treatise on Typhoon Fever）during the plague epidemic in early modern Japan. The third part presents the authorʼs outlook on future research topics. While considering modern medicinal cuisine, we also want to focus on the cultural discourse of “the unity of medicine and food,” particularly the dissemination of medicinal plants such as ginseng and the import/export of medicinal herbs.

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This research report discusses the rise of the halal industry in correlation to the Islamic economy, its revival in recent years, and its international significance focusing on exploring the scope of Halal economic research in Japan. The term “halal” is a central concept in Islamic law, meaning “permissible,” “lawful,” and “good.” Since the Islamic revival in the mid-20th century, the Halal market, covering food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and tourism, has rapidly expanded. Now, itʼs the secondlargest sector in the Islamic world, trailing only Islamic finance. This growth is attributed to expanding international trade, rising global tourism, and Malaysiaʼs promotion of the halal industry. However, research focused on the rise of the Halal industry has not kept pace with that on the rise of Islamic finance. The gap this research is trying to fill focuses on a comprehensive understanding of the unique socioeconomic characteristics of the Islamic economy, giving special attention to the “Halal Economy” concept that Malaysia is launching in the 2020s. This concept aims to expand the scope of Halal to all economic activities, including digital activities, and to renew the theory of the Islamic economy.

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In 2022, the worldʼs population of refugees reached one hundred million. The outflow of refugees is not only a problem for the country of origin, but also for the international community, and it needs to be solved as soon as possible. For the host countries, accepting refugees may upset the ethnic and sectarian balance of their societies. In particular, the acceptance of Muslim immigrants and refugees has been linked to security issues. The Syrian refugee crisis of the 2010s has been called “the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century” and has had a major impact not only on the Middle East but also on European countries. The Syrian refugee population has grown to more than 6.8 million, and approximately half of the Syrian population have been forced to flee their homes. This study has focused on the process of rebuilding the livelihoods of Syrian refugees. In particular, it has shown that refugeesʼ cultural and religious belongingness contributes to the reconstruction of their livelihoods in their host countries. Their cultural and religious belonging may also serve as a resource to help them to become independent in the host society. It can be a strategy to support the rebuilding of their new lives and a cue for social inclusion.

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