[Call for applications 2023] Summer School in Early Modern Japanese Palaeography at the University of Cambridge (deadline for applications 15 January 2023)

The Tenth anniversary of the Summer School in Early Modern Japanese Palaeography at the University of Cambridge will be held between:

Monday 31 July 2023 and Friday 11 August 2023
Deadline for the application form: 15 January 2023

Conceived as a contribution to the field of Japanese studies globally, the summer school trains the new generations in decoding, transcribing, and translating early modern manuscripts and woodblock-printed texts. With us you acquire and hone the complex set of skills required to work with early modern Japanese texts. Recognizing shapes is just a first step! Key in our pedagogical approach is to recognize that working on Edo-period texts and transcribing them is all about getting the meaning. Academic institutions, libraries and museums often require palaeographic knowledge at some level. Our summer school is designed to provide you with the skills necessary to tackle a wide range of early-modern primary sources in their original format by yourself and, therefore, to be competitive in these kind of job opportunities.

This year again we will continue our collaboration with the AI-powered transcription platform Minna de honkoku みんなで翻刻, developed by Prof Hashimoto Yuta (National Museum of History). We also have an exciting collaboration with rakugo master Tatekawa Shinoharu, with pieces of shinsaku and koten rakugo inspired by our readings and much more! Master Shinoharu will be here in person. We will also have a range of guest lectures including Prof Satō Katsura (Aoyama Gakuin) and Prof Satō Yukiko (The University of Tokyo).

Contents and teaching

The theme of this year is “Entertainers and Entertainments in Early Modern Japan.” We will be reading a wide range of materials that deal with a various forms of entertainments including humorous storytelling, theatrical sketches, jokes, riddles, graphic narratives, and much more! We will also read about entertainers, including Shika no Buzaemon, Tsuyu no Gorobee, Shikitei Sanba among others. The focus will be on vernacular Japanese (wabun) and we will also cover some sōrōbun.

All sessions run as interactive seminars. The bulk of the teaching will be done by Prof Laura Moretti There will also be “booster sessions” with teaching assistants. These will be particularly beneficial for beginners.

This year we will not be able to offer kanbun kundoku.

Please make sure to arrive on Sunday 30 July 2023. Classes start on Monday 31 July 2023, 9am BST and end on Friday 11 August 2023, 5pm BST.

Learning outcomes

With us:
– You familiarize yourself with a variety of calligraphic styles.
– You learn effective techniques to master hentaigana and kuzushiji.
– You learn how the act of decoding and transcribing is a matter of understanding the meaning of a text.
– You reflect on how to translate early modern texts.
– You familiarize yourself with a number of resources (digital and analogue) to read early modern texts.
– You create a network with likely-minded scholars from across the globe and make friends for life.

Over the years we have devised ways to successfully accommodate three levels in the classroom: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Those participants with no knowledge of kuzushiji and hentaigana will be required to complete some preparations before attending the summer school. Some materials can be already accessed HERE.

Who can apply and requirements

We welcome graduate students (both at the Master and at the PhD level), undergraduate students, faculty, librarians and museum curators who work on Edo-period materials. Those who have already taken part in the previous Summer Schools are encouraged to reapply if they wish to do so. The programme changes every year.

We require that you have:
1. Advanced knowledge of modern Japanese (both written and spoken).
2. Solid knowledge of classical Japanese (bungo).

Acceptance to the programme

We can only accept a maximum of 35 participants every year. If we receive applications beyond this number a selection will be made on the basis of the relevance of the Summer School to the applicant’s research and work. Notification about whether an applicant has been accepted or not will be sent at the end of February 2023.

Tuition fees

The tuition fee for the whole programme is £300. The tuition fee covers an average of 60 hours of tuition, guest lectures, preparatory materials and manuals, other extra-curricular activities, and coffee breaks.

We ask that a non-refundable deposit of £150 is paid by 1 March 2023.
The remaining £150 will need to be paid by the beginning of July 2023 and cannot be returned after that date.
All payments are done online via a secure system administered by the University of Cambridge.

*** The tuition fees for undergraduate students and master‘s students are reduced to £150 ****

The tuition fees for undergraduate students and master’s students will need to be paid in full by 1 May 2023 and cannot be returned after that date.

We may have some modest travel grants for a handful of participants but this can be confirmed only quite late in the spring.

More information about the programme, the accommodation and the application form on this link.