Graduate School of Letters Professor Hiroshi Kanno received the "Academic Award of the Japan Society of Indian Studies and Buddhist Studies"

At the 76th Annual Conference of the Japan Society of Indian and Buddhist Studies held at Osaka University on Saturday, September 6, Professor Hiroshi Kanno of Graduate School of Letters received the first Academic Award of the Japan Society of Indian Studies and Buddhist Studies.

This award was newly established as the successor to the Suzuki Academic Foundation Special Award, which was awarded from 1990 to 2016. It is open to works published within the past five years, and Professor Sugano's "Chinese Buddhist Scripture Interpretation and Philosophical Research" (Hozokan, 2022) was the recipient. This book includes Buddhist thought from the Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties in China, commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra, and Prajnaparamita Sutra, and a study of the "Meaning of Buddha Nature" in the Four Treatises on the Mysterious Meaning of Mahayana Buddhism. Other works included include "Chinese Buddhism of Man and Nichiren's Thought on 'Entering the World' - Including a Comparison with Pure Land Buddhism."

At the award ceremony, Professor Kanno said the following:
"The title of my master's thesis was 'The Master Jiaxiang's View of the Lotus Sutra', and I began my research life as a graduate student by studying Jiaxiang's commentaries on the Lotus Sutra. After proceeding to the doctoral program, I broadened my research field by studying commentaries on Mahayana sutras other than Jiaxiang's commentaries on the Lotus Sutra. Inspired by Jiaxiang's works, which frequently cite sources from earlier periods, I also explored Buddhist thought from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. This study of Buddhist thought from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period also required the study of sutra commentaries. For these reasons, the basis of my research has been the study of sutra commentaries. As you can see from the title of my book for which I received this award, 'A Study of Scriptural Interpretation and Philosophy in Chinese Buddhism,' it is also related to the study of sutra commentaries. The translation and annotation of the Three Great Tiantai Schools that I am currently working on is also a study of sutra commentaries, and I hope to complete it."

Faculty Information

Professor

Hiroshi Kanno

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Specialized Field

Buddhist Studies, Chinese Buddhist Thought Studies

Research theme

Research on commentaries on the Lotus Sutra in China, research on the Chinese Tendai sect, research on the Chinese Sanron sect, research on Chinese Buddhist thought in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui dynasty