Conferences and Workshops

Workshop mit Prof. em. Tokuda Kazuo
August 2026 at the Institue of of Asian and Oriental Studies of the University of Zurich 
Mittwoch, 2. September 2026, 11:00–13:00, Asien-Orient-Institut, Zürichbergstrasse 4, 8032 Zürich2. of

m Zusammenhang mit der im Museum Rietberg ge-zeigten Gastpräsentation «Zeit in der narrativen Kunst Japans – Malereien der Sammlung Tokuda» (1.9.2026–10.1.2027) wird Prof. em. Tokuda Kazuo am Asien-Orient-Institut der UZH am 2. September (11:00–13.00 Uhr) einen Workshop durchführen. Es wird die Ge-legenheit geben, weitere Werke – illustrierte Quer-rollen (emaki) und Bücher (Nara ehon) des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts –, die nicht im Museum Rietberg aus-gestellt sind, im Original zu betrachten. Der Schwer-punkt des Workshops liegt auf zeitlichen Aspekten der Werke, sowohl hinsichtlich ihrer Rezeption wie auch der dargestellten Szenen. Die Teilnahme steht Studie-renden der Japanologie und der Kunstgeschichte Ost-asiens sowie allen weiteren Interessierten offen. er Workshop wird in Zusammenarbeit mit dem vom Schweizerischen Nationalfonds (SNF) geförderten und an der Universität Zürich durchgeführten Forschungs-projekt «Time and Emotion in Medieval Japanese Lite-rature» realisiert.
Nach dem Workshop findet ein Apéro statt.
Eine Anmeldung ist bis 20. August 2026
erforderlich unter: Flyer (PDF, 825 KB)

In conjunction with a special display  of the private collection of Professor Emeritus Tokuda Kazuo in the Japan Room at the Museum Rietberg Zurich (September 1, 2026, to February 10, 2027), a workshop led by Professor Tokuda will be held on September 2 (12:00–2:00 p.m.) for students of Japanese Studies and East Asian Art History from the University of Zurich and members of the puplic. During the workshop, Professor Tokuda will discuss illustrated handscrolls (emaki), hanging scrolls, booklets, single sheets, and painted shells from his private collection that will not be on display at the Museum Rietberg.

For infomation about the special display, visit https://www.partnerschaft-rietberg.uzh.ch/en/in-progress-and-in-planning.html

25.-26. of August 2025 at the Institue of of Asian and Oriental Studies of the University of Zurich

Following the loss of political power by the aristocracy, medieval Japan (12th–16th centuries) was significantly shaped by the newly emerging warrior class and its military conflicts. However, literary texts repeatedly express a sense of nostalgia for the preceding courtly era. Furthermore, new Buddhist movements emerged that retained transience as a core concept but drew new conclusions from it. Thus, the epoch was permeated by different conceptions of time, which exerted a profound influence on its literature. The purpose of the workshop is to examine these conceptions of time, placing particular emphasis on their emotional dimension. It seeks to discuss various aspects of time and emotion in different literary genres, as well as in the social and imaginary spaces associated with them, including court narratives, along with diaries, travel literature and poetry (court and boudoir), historical and war tales (warrior clans and battlefields), recluse literature (travel and hermitage), legends and didactic tales (sacred spaces and fantastic worlds), as well as visual and performing arts (theater, recitation, and illustrated handscrolls). The key questions addressed in the contributions are: How are perceptions of time represented in literature, and how are they connected to culture, society, and religion? What role did aspects such as gender and social status play play in influencing literary representations of time? How did the literary engagement with time, in turn, shape literary works and genres, and which time-related motifs proved particularly productive? How did these literary and artistic objectifications give rise to emotional communities and discourses? 

You can find the program here: