On August 29, 2018, Center for Japanese studies of FAH welcomed two guest lecturers from Japan. Professor Nobuyuki Sakamoto (Director of Takaoka Man’yō Historical Museum) and Professor Masamori Mouri (Emeritus Professor, Osaka City University) are renowned scholars in the researching field of Classical Japanese Literature. They lectured on “The charm of Man’yōshū” and “The God descending from the celestial world” respectively to nearly 70 students who are majoring in Japanese language.
Man’yōshū (Collection of Myriad Leaves, 785) is Japan’s oldest extant anthology of poetry. In his lecture on “The charm of Man’yōshū,” Professor Sakamoto introduced scholarship concerning this anthology, including its compiler, establishment, categories, and its connection with Classical Chinese Literature. From time to time, Professor Sakamoto introduced some video clips from TV programs produced for Japanese audiences, in which he himself participated as a supervisor, while explaining the contents of the ancient Japanese poems. The professional announcer’s recitation and the sceneries on the screen left a deep impression on the students who may have never experienced poetry written in ancient Japanese.
In the lecture on “The God descending from the celestial world,” Professor Mouri introduced how the god of the celestial world, Sun Goddess Amaterasu, connects to the emperors on earth, which appears in Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712) that is one of the oldest history books in Japan. The story depicts how the goddess sent her grandson, Niniki, to a place called Himuki (Facing the sun) on shore of Pacific Ocean. Then Niniki married a local female there and began to produce the royal lineage that have been surviving until present. Professor Mouri pointed out the source of the relevant content in the original text provided through handouts, and explained the complex text written in classical Japanese in a clear and interesting manner.
Students attended the guest lectures were from the second year and above. Many students read the handouts in advance and prepared questions in writing. Those questions were submitted to the two lecturers before the lectures began. The two professors were touched after reading the questions and did their best to respond during and after the lectures despite the limited time.
The guest lectures held by the Center for Japanese Studies contained both academic contents and a refreshing appreciation of classical literature. The good interaction between professors and students also contributed to the successful event.
Prof. Masamori Mouri
Prof. Nobuyuki Sakamoto
8月29日上午，人文學院的日本研究中心迎來了兩位客座講座的教授。坂本信幸教授（日本高崗市萬葉歷史館館長）和毛利正守教授（日本大阪市立大學名譽教授）是古典日本文學研究領域的著名學者，治學嚴謹，培養後進，還常通過電視節目和文化活動把所學回饋社會。在本次講座上，坂本教授和毛利教授分別為近70名日語專業的學生講授了題為“《萬葉集》的魅力”和“下凡的神仙”的講義。
《萬葉集》（785年）是日本現存的最古老的和歌集，坂本教授在“《萬葉集》的魅力”中介紹了有關這本和歌集的一些研究成果，其中包括它的編者、成書年代、分類、以及與中國古典文學的關聯。在鑒賞和歌的內容時，坂本教授在講義中穿插了自己參與製作的向日本觀眾介紹《萬葉集》的電視節目的片段，日本電視台專業播音員的朗誦和畫面中出現的和歌裡的景物給從來不曾接觸過古語和歌的澳大學生留下了深刻的印象。
“下凡的神仙”介紹的是日本最早的史書之一《古事記》（712年）中有關天皇皇統與傳說中創世神系之關聯的問題。毛利教授詳細地解說了這一過程，即日本的太陽神天照大御神派遣自己的孫子爾爾芸下凡，爾爾芸於是在一個面向太平洋并被認為是離日出之處最近的叫“日向”的地方與當地女子結婚，通過這樣的方式，繁衍出了皇統中的第一位天皇（神武天皇）。毛利教授以其深湛的治學素养，逐一指出相關內容在原文中的出處，深入淺出地把通篇以漢字書寫的漢和混淆文講解得條理清晰，生動有趣。
參加本次客座講座的日本研究中心的學生為2年級以上的學生，許多學生在聽課前預習了教授們準備的內容大綱并把自己的疑問事先交給了兩位客座教授。坂本教授和毛利教授對學生們的提問甚感欣慰，雖然解疑的時間非常有限，但兩位教授都盡可能在講課過程中和之後回答了學生們的一些提問。
本次日本研究中心舉辦的客座講座既有嚴謹的學術內容，又有令人耳目一新的古典文學鑒賞，師生主客互動良好，可以說是一次非常成功的活動。
