Transactions of the Japan Academy
Online ISSN : 2424-1903
Print ISSN : 0388-0036
ISSN-L : 0388-0036
Volume 58, Issue 3
Displaying 1-2 of 2 articles from this issue
  • Hiroshi TSUKISHIMA
    2004 Volume 58 Issue 3 Pages 151-170
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: June 22, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Studies on the“kunten”materials in Heian and Kamakura periods (9th to 14th centuries) since these 90 years have discovered the origin and the developement of“kana”letters and also the distinction between the language used by court ladies in the literature and that which used in the “kunten”materials. Recent studies have extended the field to the difference of the language in“kunten”materials among the sects of Buddhist and the Confucianist scholars.
    As most of the language in“kunten”materials is the result of the study of Buddhist scholars, we can approach the essential character of their language by clarifying the background of their study in everyday life.
    Some documents were written by priests Senkan (918A.D.-984A.D.) and Myoe (1173A.D.-1232A.D.) which referred to the daily timetables for the priests. Investigation of 646 data (extracted from 5974 materials) in the libraries of four old temples (Ishiyamadera Temple, Kozanji Temple, Shoren-in Temple and Toji Temple) resulted in the facts that the 83% of these materials were written or read in the scheduled time of study, but the 17% were at the other time, including 12% in the midnight (12.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M.), when the others were in sleep. Many scholars might have no sleep time owing to the religious duty in the daytime.
    They wrote the Buddhist books for the official ceremony or for their own religious activity, with wonderfully high speed. And they continued their study diligently even on the last day and on the first day of the year, when almost all the Japanese might break the work.
    The facts were found also that the boy of 11 years old learned the difficult Buddhist book, and the aged 86 years continued to write some books.
    We can generally say that the Buddhist scholars at that time studied very hard far beyond our imagination.
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  • 2004 Volume 58 Issue 3 Pages 171-179
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: June 22, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Nation State as the basic unit of the political life of mankind, is a fiction in its three aspects. First, it is a symbol formed in modern Western Europe. Second, an ideology: one nation, one language, and one state has had so strong an effect in Western Europe. Third, a fiction of equal sovereignty. And such an ideology proved realization in 1870-71 in the unifications of Italy and Germany. Extra Europe Japan achieved such an example in East Asia.
    In 1919 Versaille Peace Treaty realized this fiction in Europe by the principle of national self-determination. Russian Revolution also brought the independence of Finland and Baltic countries as well as Poland in Europe. The League of Nations emerged as the co-operative system of peace proposed by Wilson. But its caliber came to be limited by U. S. A. refusal of participation. After the dissolution of Turkish Empire Arab Area was still under the control of Britain and France until the independence of Egypt in 1922, and of Iraq as well as Saudi Arabia in 1932.
    After the Second World War came the global age of the nation state. The dissolution of colonial system proceeded until the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The United Nations started in 1945 as the new international system, and in 1960 adopted the resolution of colonies which led the globalization of nation state system. But it was accompanied by the nominalization of nation state itself. On the other hand Soviet Union under Stalin established her colonial empire over the countries under her occupation in the dogma of the limited Sovereignty. Against this threat Western Europe formed the North Atlantic System with U. S. A. The cold war between these two powers was symbolized by the wall of Berlin.
    In spite of the dissolution of colonial empire, Western Europe enjoyed economic prosperity, and there appeared some change of basic unit of political life: the unification and the differentiation in nation states. Unification proceeded from EC to EU. EURO as the common currency and EU Constitution came to be. Differentiation in France, Spain and Italy has been proceeded and in Britain also devolution has emerged.
    The collapse of Soviet system also emancipated nation states in Eastern Europe. And the independence of Israel, the conpensation of Christian World to the Jews by the depression of Palestine people produced tragedy in Arab World.
    Now we are witnessing the unlimited imigrants seeking chance and better life. In England the industry of many area cannot carry out without the labour power of such immigrants. And in Japan so many women come to marry the peasants of Tohoku area from China, Korea and Philippines. These cases may be rather shocking to the people of Tokyo area.
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