FY 2024 SHIBA Ryotaro Memorial Lecture Meeting held

On February 15, the Osaka University SHIBA Ryotaro Memorial Lecture Meeting was held at Minoh Campus. The Memorial Lecture Meeting is annually held in honor of Shiba Ryotaro, an author and graduate of the Osaka University of Foreign Studies (now the School of Foreign Studies, Osaka University) to retrace his achievements. This year's lecture was held under the theme of "Mind Shifts, History Passes."

This year, in addition to the main venue of the Large Lecture Hall on the first floor in Minoh Campus's Research and Education Hub, the Osaka University of Foreign Studies Memorial Hall was opened as a satellite venue. Approximately 280 participants attended the two venues in total.

The lecture meeting began with a reading of the passage “The Birth of Esoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Art” from SHIBA Ryotaro’s collection of essays entitled "The Universe in Dim Light” by facilitator OGAWA Mayu, followed by an introductory speech by the President, NISHIO Shojiro.

Then, the short video contest entitled “OU Students, Kaido wo Yuku [Traveling along the Ancient Thoroughfares]” was held. Following in SHIBA Ryotaro’s travelogue series “Kaido wo Yuku,” OU students presented their short films associated with actual, physically existing streets. At the following Q&A session, the students spoke about the influence that SHIBA Ryotaro had on them and their feelings about his works. Four students (NGUYEN PHUONG LY, HASHIMOTO Runa, TSOGT-ERDENE NOMIN-ERDENE, and NISHINO Kantaro) participated in the contest, and attendees at the venue voted to determine the top videos.

To begin the second half of the lecture meeting, author SAWADA Toko spoke on the topic of “Potential for Historical Novels.” Quoting examples from historical novels and historical epic series, she explained, in a humorous manner, that historical images emerging from historical novels can sometimes contradict facts accounted in historical materials. And that is the very reason she hopes for historical novels to serve as a bridge to historical studies rather than them just remaining mere reading materials. Her talk was intriguing for all of us there.

Next, a discussion took place between Ms. SAWADA Toko and Professor KADOWAKI Mutsumi of the Graduate School of Humanities. With Professor FURUYA Daisuke of the same school serving as facilitator, the respective approaches to “history” of scholars and writers were presented, helping us audience to understand the relationship between historical novels and historical studies!

After the discussion, voting results of the video contest were announced and prizes were awarded to the following two students by President NISHIO.

• Grand Prize: "The Path that Reflects on Me" Today"—HASHIMOTO Runa (4th year, School of Foreign Studies)
• Runner-up: "Town with" Arcades"—NISHINO Kantaro (1st year, School of Economics)

Lastly, OUCHI Hajime, chair of Osaka University School of Foreign Studies/Osaka University of Foreign Studies Alumni Association “Sakuyakai,” gave a closing remark.

A recording of this academic lecture meeting will be available to view on Osaka University’s official YouTube channel for a limited period of time. Those who wish to view this recording must apply via the link below to receive the appropriate URL (only those with this URL will be able to access this recording).

https://forms.office.com/r/CLDMvfGZxJ?origin=lprLink

You can also apply via the QR code below: