Invitation to Learn at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology
The Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology consists of seven Divisions. The Division of General Culture trains students to transcend geographical boundaries and develop a profound understanding of one specific discipline of the humanities. Contrastingly, the following four divisions enable students to go beyond the borders of academic disciplines while learning about specific geographical areas: the Division of Japanese Studies, the Division of European and American Studies, the Division of Asian Studies and the Division of Korean Studies. Finally, the Division of Socio-cultural Studies focuses on the study of social phenomena, and the Division of Cultural Resources Studies pursues the interdisciplinary study of human cultures. Many of our graduates are active at the forefront of research in the fields of humanities and sociology at home and abroad and are highly regarded internationally.
Traditionally, Japanese people have valued the following proverb from Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian: “Peaches and plums do not have to talk, yet the world beats a path to them.” This proverb roughly equates to the saying “If you build it, they will come,” and is broadly interpreted to mean that a person or location of virtue will naturally attract people even if they are not particularly advertised or talked about. Perhaps because many of our academic staff members are adherents to this proverb, the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, Japan’s oldest research institution in the field of humanities and social sciences, has not actively publicized itself.
Despite not speaking of our metaphorical “peaches and plums,” out of the approximately 750 graduate students currently enrolled in this Graduate School, about 150 are from overseas. Moreover, owing partly to a growing trend towards what is known as globalization, all of the Divisions of our Graduate School welcome international students more than ever. Observing its policy of valuing multilingualism in education and research, the Graduate School also focuses on Japanese language education in order to develop international students’ proficiency, enabling them to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and achieve outstanding research results.
Traditionally, Japanese people have valued the following proverb from Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian: “Peaches and plums do not have to talk, yet the world beats a path to them.” This proverb roughly equates to the saying “If you build it, they will come,” and is broadly interpreted to mean that a person or location of virtue will naturally attract people even if they are not particularly advertised or talked about. Perhaps because many of our academic staff members are adherents to this proverb, the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, Japan’s oldest research institution in the field of humanities and social sciences, has not actively publicized itself.
Despite not speaking of our metaphorical “peaches and plums,” out of the approximately 750 graduate students currently enrolled in this Graduate School, about 150 are from overseas. Moreover, owing partly to a growing trend towards what is known as globalization, all of the Divisions of our Graduate School welcome international students more than ever. Observing its policy of valuing multilingualism in education and research, the Graduate School also focuses on Japanese language education in order to develop international students’ proficiency, enabling them to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and achieve outstanding research results.
