Geography, Archaeology, and Cultural Heritage

Discipline

  • Geography
  • Archaeology
  • Cultural Heritage

The Geography, Archaeology, and Cultural Heritage Course involves the three specialized fields of geography, archaeology, and cultural heritage.

In the field of Geography, students can learn about human and physical geography.

Human geography focuses on economic, urban, and rural geography, as well as South Asian studies; in particular, we are becoming a national hub for South Asian studies.

Physical geography focuses on topography. We have a private laboratory with various analytical instruments, and we are known for our active fault research and research on landform evolution.

Moreover, students can learn about the important spatial analysis techniques of geographic information systems (GIS). Another advantage of this field is that students can become qualified as local surveyors and social workers.

Academic societies in the field of geography are extremely active, and we are heavily involved in various national academic societies, including the Japanese Society for Geographical Sciences; thus, students can gain exposure to national and international research during their time at the university.

In the field of Archaeology, students can research the production and distribution structure of stoneware from the Paleolithic and Jomon periods. Moreover, they can learn in detail about research on ancient iron culture from the Yayoi and Kofun periods, as well as others.

We conduct excavations in Stone Age cave ruins as part of our fieldwork training classes, and we conduct essential lectures, seminars, and practical training to foster future expert researchers and educators in Japanese archaeology.

We have produced more than 100 researchers currently employed at Japanese universities and in technical positions, as well as in research positions in cultural heritage administrations.

In the field of Cultural Heritage, we are leading cutting-edge research in the following areas:

the ancient architectural history (shrines/temples, castles, houses) of Japan, South Korea, and China; the ancient and medieval art history (paintings, sculptures, calligraphy) of Japan and, comparatively, the art history of Central and East-Central Asia; art-related optical image measurement methods; ancient to modern Japanese craft history (dyeing and weaving, lacquerware, ceramics, metalwork, weapons/armor); Japanese folklore (kagura, ritual tools, toys); ancient Indonesian religious art; and preservation, maintenance, and succession methods for tangible and intangible cultural heritage.


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