In the Light of History : Essays in Honor of Yoshiteru Iwamoto, Eiichi Hizen, and Akira Nozaki

    The Japanese-Thai Seminar convened ten times over the period 1992 to 2014. This book is published to mark the closing of the Seminar and to honor the founding and major participants from the Japanese side, Professor Yoshiteru Iwamoto, Professor Eiichi Hizen, and Professor Akira Nozaki. In this preface I will first explain the Japanese-Thai Seminar, and then outline the structure and essence of this book.

    The Seminar arose out of a shared interest in the ways of life and beliefs of the common peaple and the past. Prefessor Nozaki was interested in the people of the Northeast of Thailand and the Buddhist economy of communities in the province of Surin. After a discussion with me in 1990, he invited me in 1991 to visit Tono, the land of the peasand culture of Japan. Professor Nozaki introduced me to Professor Iwamoto a specialist on the history of the peasantry of Japan and on the thought of Yanagita Kunio (1875-1962). At the core of Yanagita's thought was a search for the ancient beliefs and customs of the people which explained the distinct characteristics of the nation of Japan. Yanagita focused on the bonds within the family and community, the beliefs in spirits, and the appreciation and apprehension of nature. This focus is very close to that of the community culture school of thought in Thailand.

Part 1 : The Lives and Works of Professor Eiichi Hizen, Professor Akira Nozaki, and Professor Yoshiteru Iwamoto
Part 2 : Japan
Part 3 : Russia, Germany
Part 4 : Thailand
Part 5 : A farewell