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Purpose and Goals

Kumamoto University is a regional university striving to be an international center of research. To this end, we are constantly striving to maintain close ties with both local and international communities, while also contributing as much as possible to the fields of education and research and to society as a whole.
To bring these initiatives to bear in advancing the fields of the humanities and social sciences, we want to take another step forward in implementing our particular focus of regional contribution to research and society. We seek to advance research of Eisei Bunko materials relating to the Kumamoto Domain, such as the Kumamoto University Entrusted Eisei Bunko Document Collection, which is at the highest level of an already highly exclusive set of documents from one of historical Japan's great Daimyo families.

This center hopes to utilize the achievements of its forebear, the Faculty of Letters Eisei Bunko Research Center (established April 2009), in research and contribution to society, and expand these achievements ever more broadly by reorganizing the center as a facility for joint research between university departments.

By establishing this center, we have set upon a multifaceted mission of creating an organization dedicated to the comprehensive research of Eisei Bunko documents etc. focusing mainly on the University's own collection, coordinating with cultural administration organizations to promote cultural appreciation in the region, and using these initiatives to train professional researchers who will contribute to research of the humanities and social studies as well as cultural appreciation.

Mission Outline

Research Activities

The research conducted at this center is divided into three fields (Research in Early Modern Period Clan Governance and History, Research in Mid-Period Law and History, and Restoration Period Social History), and the center engages in the following activities:

1. Publishing collected documents (Second Generation Medieval Hosokawa Clan Literature, etc.)
2. Organization of focal points in early modern social history using Eisei Bunko feudal histories and Matsui Clan documents
3. International inter-university research with China's Anhui University (a key area for state-led research in the humanities and social sciences), etc.
4. Advancement of the cataloging of Eisei Bunko materials and Matsui Clan literature

Educational Activities

1. Training professionals with specialized knowledge and practical skills in the field of historical document studies by having undergraduate and graduate students engage in the above-mentioned catalog creation and other projects.
2. Applying our research findings to enrich and update academic curricula such as the Higo Kumamoto University liberal arts education, etc.

Regional and Societal Contributions

1. Giving back to society by holding exhibitions and seminars regarding our research findings at the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, the Kumamoto Cultural and Historical Museum, the Yatsushiro Municipal Museum, the Higo no Satoyama Gallery, and other venues of public learning.
2. Aiding in the restoration of historical landmarks which were damaged by natural disaster through the provision of historical resources and information.
3. Giving back to society by exhibiting valuable materials with cooperation from the Kumamoto University Library and giving seminars regarding our research findings.
4. Giving back to society by hosting various lectures and symposia regarding the results of our research.
5. Spreading awareness of our research findings using mass media.