Center for Hiraizumi Studies

Director’s Preface

The Center for Hiraizumi Studies of Iwate University was established on 1st April 2012.
Its aim is to "comprehensively elucidate the significance of Hiraizumi culture, with a focus on the Hiraizumi garden culture, which is said to have been built as an ideal land of Buddhism (Pure Land)".

The basic plan for the establishment of the Center for Hiraizumi Studies began with the holding of the 'Hiraizumi Cultural Forum' jointly with the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education as part of the interdisciplinary research project 'Sea Area Exchange in East Asia and the Formation of Traditional Japanese Culture', which started in 2005.

This was followed by comparative research with the ancient Chinese garden under the theme of 'The Internationality and Regionality of Hiraizumi Culture'. The project will be expanded this year as part of the ‘Formation of a Center for Comprehensive Research on the World Heritage Site of Hiraizumi’.

Although there has been a great deal of research on Hiraizumi to date, the results of this research have not always been directly linked to international recognition of Hiraizumi.

Therefore, the all-Iwate University Center, which also includes science fields such as the faculties of agriculture and science and engineering, will be at the core of this project.
The aim is to research Hiraizumi culture from the interdisciplinary and international perspective, based on the results of previous research, and to clarify the international significance of Hiraizumi culture, with the aim of synthesizing it as 'Hiraizumi Studies'.

TAt the same time, it also aims to return the results of such research to broader society through the holding of research meetings and symposia, the publication of research bulletins, etc., and to contribute to the promotion of the region.