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From Tuesday, 18 July, over the course of three weeks, we held the series “Seijo University & Books Kinokuniya Academia: An Introduction to Textual Scholarship — Plato, Shakespeare, Kafka.” This program was a collaboration between Books Kinokuniya and Seijo University, featuring lectures delivered mainly by Seijo University faculty at the Academic Lounge of Books Kinokuniya’s Shinjuku Main Store. Following the series “Japan’s Books Proudly Presented to the World,” offered from April to June by faculty members of the Department of Japanese Literature in the Faculty of Literature, this second installment (vol. 2) consisted of lectures by the Research Center for Textual Scholarship, Seijo University.

​​The books we encounter in our daily lives could not exist without someone’s editing. Reading a text always means engaging with the traces of such editorial interventions. In this three-part series, using Plato, Shakespeare, and Kafka as examples, we highlighted various issues surrounding texts and editorial practices, introducing the appeal and potential of “Textual Scholarship.”

​​The first session, held on Tuesday, 18 July, was titled “Western Classical Texts: Tradition and Revision – Plato’s “Republic”” and was delivered by Professor Noburu Notomi, Special Visiting Researcher at our Research Center and Professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo. He spoke on the history of manuscript transmission and textual criticism.

The second session followed on Tuesday, 25 July, with a lecture by Professor Arata Ide, also a Special Visiting Researcher and Professor in the Faculty of Letters, Keio University, titled “Who Authored the Theatrical Text? – Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.” Participants were given the rare opportunity to handle a 500-year-old book and experience the texture of its cover and paper firsthand. Both the first and second sessions were moderated by Professor Kiyoko Myojo, Director of the Center and Professor in the Department of European Cultural Studies, Faculty of Literature, Seijo University.​

The final session, held on Tuesday, 1 August, featured Professor Kiyoko Myojo as lecturer and Professor Noburu Notomi — who had taught the first session — as moderator. The lecture, titled “The Potential of Textual Scholarship – Kafka’s Manuscripts,” explored the potential of the discipline through the example of Kafka’s unpublished writings. Participants again had the chance to examine scholarly editions published in Germany.​

Each of the three sessions was fully booked with approximately 30 attendees. Participants actively engaged with the speakers, asking many questions and deepening their understanding through dialogue. Even after the lectures ended, many continued to inquire enthusiastically about the rare materials on display. The series concluded with great success.