MIKAMI Yoshitaka

National Museum of Japanese History

Associate Professor

I major in the ancient history of Japan. Since some 15 years ago, I have been enjoying opportunities to conduct research on ancient wooden documents excavated in South Korea. I am now interested in and studying how the culture of Chinese characters has spread from China to the East Asian world, through reviews of existing written materials of Korea and those excavated in Japan such as wooden documents and epigraphs.

I am also interested in the diffusion of Buddhist culture to remote, outlying regions. Professor NISHIJIMA Sadao, a late scholar of Oriental history, once explained that the East Asian cultural sphere comprised the four elements of “Chinese characters,” “Chinese-translated Buddhism,” “Confucianism,” and “ritsuryo codes” (ancient legal codes). It is my task to evaluate their interactions by conducting research on specific written materials and Buddhist artifacts.