Nanzan University: Institute for Religion and Culture (南山宗教文化研究所)

About the Library:

This non-lending specialized research library is maintained by the clerical staff.  The library is divided among 3 floors and a full basement.  The library holds about 35,000 items, with over 400 periodical titles. Half of the periodicals are written in Western languages, and the other half in Asian languages.

Founded in 1974 on the campus of Nanzan University, the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nanzan shūkyō bunka kenkyūjo 南山宗教文化研究所, is one of the largest institutions in the world, committed equally to scholarly research on the philosophies and religious traditions of the East and the West.  The institute has 3 founding goals:

1. The interdisciplinary study of the relations between religion and culture with particular reference to the Far East, and more specifically Japan,

2. The promotion of mutual understanding among Christians and the devotees of other religions,

3. The training of researchers in these areas.

With these 3 core principles, The Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture continues to be a center of academic excellence in this special field and actively publishes research outcomes and hosts a series of conferences.

The main staff consists of 5 Permanent Research Fellows who are also a part of the faculty of Arts and Letters of Nanzan University; who devote their time to the specific work of the Institute.

Collection Size (As of 2015): 

• Books: 40,000 volumes

• Periodicals: 400 periodical titles

Notable Collections:

• Japanese Philosophy Reference Materials: The collection consists of Asian and Western philosophy materials as well as documents of Mysticism and Hermes (about 2,800 volumes).

Note: The Guide uses the ALA/LC standard romanization, however, it also reflects a different romanization system used by an individual institution or collection.