Greetings from the Project Representative

　　　　Thanks to everyone’s support we were selected for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) from this April (Basic Research (A) “Collaborative research with foreign researchers related to the form and reception of Chan/Zen thought in China and Japan”). With representative researcher IBUKI Atsushi (Toyo University) taking the lead, we were able to launch the International Zen Research Project inside the Toyo University Institute of Oriental Studies.
　　　　This project takes as its research object all of the various aspects related to Chan/Zen. We have established Meeting Division I, which geographically focusses mainly on research on China, and Meeting Division II, which focuses on Japan. We plan to hold each of the division’s meetings on alternate months. Thus, in principle from now on research meetings will be held once per month, and because all meetings are open to the public without need for registration we hope everyone interested in Chan/Zen studies, and those interested in the content of individual presentations, will feel free to come and join in.
　　　　Going forward under this project, we also plan to hold symposiums, to hold lecture meetings with researchers invited from around Japan and the world, and to publish an academic journal. All symposiums and lecture meetings will, of course, be open to the public, and we hope that the journal will receive a wide variety of submissions. We looking forward very much to your participation.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
April 2017 IBUKI Atsushi

Research Objective and Plan

: 　　　　The Chan/Zen school is an entirely new form of Buddhism that came about through a fusion of Indian Buddhist ideology and Chinese traditional thought, and as can be seen in the case of Steve Jobs, that thought still has a good deal of ideological and societal significance today. Under this research project, in the fields of Chan/Zen thought and the history of the Chan/Zen school, in addition to bringing together the Japanese researchers that have led the world thus far, our objective is to create an international research hub that acts as a space for interaction between researchers located throughout China, Korea, Europe, America and the rest of the world. Through exchange between domestic and international researchers at the forefront, we aim to clarify the following two items, which are issues of prime importance in Chan/Zen.

　　　　I. How did such unique thought as that of Chan come 　　　　　　　about in China?
　　　II. How was Chan/Zen received in Japan, how did it 　　　　　　　　　change, and how did it spread overseas?

　　　　Under the representative researcher, who brings together the overall content, “elucidation of the formation process of Chan in China” was established as the aim of Meeting Division I, and “elucidation of the process of the reception of Chan thought into Japan” was established as the aim of Meeting Division II. Project members are assigned as below, and in accordance with each research theme, conduct individual research, carry out individual and collaborative surveys domestically and internationally, and hold regular research meetings, lecture meetings, and international symposiums.; Meeting Division I 　; 1. Early Chan Literature Philological Research
　　IBUKI, Atsushi CHENG, Zheng
2. Explanation of Chan Thought History from Tang to Song
　　IBUKI, Atsushi SAITO, Tomohiro YANAGI, Mikiyasu
3. Chan Wenda and Gong’an Research
　　TSUCHIYA Taisuke; Meeting Division II; 1. Explanation of the Reception of Chan/Zen in the Nara 　　　　and Heian Periods
　　IBUKI, Atsushi
2. Explanation of the Reception of Chan/Zen in the 　　　　　　　　Kamakura Period
　　TACHI Ryūshi HE, Yansheng
3. Zen Culture Research
　　HARADA, Kaori MURAMATSU, Tetsufumi DAVIN, Didier
4. Explanation of Transmission and Development of 　　　　　　　Japanese Zen Overseas
　　IBUKI, Atsushi

　　　　The regular research meetings are held in principle once every two months for each meeting division. Further, when necessary we work to hold lecture meetings and international symposiums with well-known researchers from Japan and overseas as guests and promote information exchange. All of the research meetings, lectures, and symposiums are open to the public and we strive to give the research results back to society.
　　　　At the end of the year, we issue the project journal Kokusai Zen kenkyū (INTERNATIONAL ZEN STUDIES), which records the research results of the research representative, the project members, and research collaborators, as well as essays contributed by domestic and international researchers, summaries of lecture meetings, and presentations given at symposiums. In addition to distributing the journal to important research organs around the world, it is also uploaded as a PDF to the Institute of Oriental Studies, and through this we hope to share the research results with the world.