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20 YEARS OF JAPANESE STUDIES AT KÁROLI UNIVERSITY
This year the Faculty of Humanities of the Károli Gáspár University of the
Reformed Church in Hungary celebrates the 20th anniversary of the initiation of its
Japanese Studies program. Higher education in Hungary has undergone many
changes over the past two decades. Japanese education of university level started as
an undivided, five-year undergraduate program aimed at training Japanese language
teachers and specialists in the area of Japanese studies. Later on, credit system
education was adopted. Since 2006, a two-tier education system has been
implemented, and a basic training in Oriental languages and cultures focusing on MA
level in Japanese studies has been conducted since 2009. After establishing the
Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures in 2013, specialization in Chinese
studies was added to our educational program.
Since the initiation of a preliminary language course in 1994, the Japanese
Studies at the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary have
developed into a central workshop of the domestic Japanese language education and
Japanese studies, with a continuously increasing number of students and teaching
staff. A large number of our students are regularly granted scholarships of the
Japanese Ministry of Education, rank among the best in Japanese speech contests
organized in Hungary and in Japan, and are awarded prizes at the Conferences of the
National Scientific Students’ Circle (OTDK). Over the past twenty years, more than
300 students have graduated from our institute. Some of them are engaged in
postgraduate studies, or teaching in Japanese or Hungarian institutes of higher
education, also in our Institute as well as other institutes of public education. Some
are running private Japanese language schools, doing translation work, or working at
Hungarian affiliates of Japanese companies.
Since 2005 we have been organizing annual symposia of Japanese studies,
where, along with our faculty staff, Hungarian and foreign scholars present the
results of their research work. Our institute has hosted several international
conferences on Japanese language teaching as well. Major topics of education and
research according to the research areas of our instructors include the history of
modern Japan, history of Hungarian-Japanese relations, contemporary Japanese
society, language planning in Japan, lexicography, Japanese-English literary
relations, modern and classical Japanese literature, haiku poetry, history of Japanese
education and pedagogy, translation studies, computer-supported collaborative
learning, and language teaching methodology.
The principal aim of Japanese education at our institute has been to offer a
high-level knowledge of the Japanese language and a profound understanding of the
Japanese culture. According to the students’ interests, they are provided with a wide
range of courses offering practice-oriented knowledge, and, at the same time, they
have been encouraged to do research work by proceeding to postgraduate studies. In
order to achieve these objectives, our curriculum covers the diverse areas of Japanese
studies, including the history of modern Japan, politics, foreign relations, economics,
religion, Japanese history, arts, Japanese literature from the classical to the modern
age, Japanese linguistics, etc.
In the past twenty years, Japanese study courses at our department have been
conducted by guest professors, too, among others within the framework of the
visiting professorship program of the Japan Foundation. Japanese-language
education at our department was initially assisted by language instructors of JOCV.
We have also signed treaties on scientific cooperation and student exchange
programs with several Japanese universities (Ōsaka University, Ōita University, Jōsai
University and Gunma University). Within the framework of cooperation with the
Kanagawa University, many students have accomplished their practice teaching at
the Japanese Department of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in
Hungary for several years. In 2013 we concluded an agreement of cooperation with
the Confucius Institute of the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE).
From the beginning we have obtained invaluable support from the Embassy of
Japan in Hungary and the Japan Foundation to develop the infrastructure and
programs of our department.
We cordially welcome all of our present and former students and teachers, as well
as our sponsors at the symposium commemorating the 20th anniversary of
establishing the Japanese Department of our university.
DR. ILONA VARRÓK
Head of Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, Károli Gáspár University of the
Reformed Church in Hungary
20TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE
October 15, 2014.
Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Faculty of Humanities
Budapest, Reviczky utca 4.
Programm
9.00 Opening (First Floor, Ceremonial Hall)
Opening Address by Dr. Enikő Sepsi (Dean, Faculty of Humanities)
9.20 Welcoming Address on behalf of the Embassy of Japan, Budapest
9.20 Welcoming Address by Iwanaga Emi (Director, Japan Foundation Budapest
Office) on behalf of the Japan Foundation
9.30–11.30 Plenary session
9.30 Dr. Ilona Varrók (Head of Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures): 20
Years of Japanese Studies on Károli University
10.00 Prof. Dr. Judit Hidasi (BGF): Two Decades of Japan – through Hungarian
Eyes
10.45 Péter Wintermantel (former Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs): Japan and the Regime Change in Hungary– 25 Years Later
11.30–12.30 Lunch break
12.30–14.30 Sessions
14.30–15.00 Coffee break
15.00–16.30 Sessions
17.00 Reception
Sessions:
Literature I. 12.30–14.30
Place: Ceremonial Hall
Chair: Judit Vihar
12.30 Luca Rátkai: Nothing New under the Rising Sun...
12.50 Titanilla Mátrai: Classical Literature and Theatre in Modern Form: The Case of
Shindō’s Onibaba and Black Cat
13.10 Adrienn Czifra: About the Japanese Puppet Theatre
13.30 József Jámbor: The Stage-Universe of Yukio Mishima
13.50 István Janó: The Influence of Haiku on Ezra Pound’s Imagistic Poetry
14.10 Discussion
Literature II. 15–16.30
Place: Ceremonial Hall
Chair: Judit Vihar
15.00 Andrea Szilágyi: Yone Noguchi between two Cultures
15.20 Judit Vihar: „Baudelaire’s one line is worth more than the life of a man.” –
About Akutagawa’s and Kawabata’s Theory of Art
15.40 Ágnes Simon: The I-novels of Shiga Naoya from a Western Point of View
16.00 Ilona Varrók: Hisashi Inoue, Dramatist or Humorist?
16.20 Discussion
History I. 12.30–14.30
Place: Third Floor Room 315.
Chair: Ildikó Farkas
12.30 Ildikó Farkas: Formation of the Japanese Cultural and National Identity in the
Edo period
12.50 Noémi Szabó: Publications about Japan's Opening in the Hungarian and
Austrian Press
13.10 Attila Vargha: Japanese Americans – A Historical Overview (1868-1945)
13.30 Beatrix Mecsi: Japanese People in the United States of America: JapaneseAmerican Identity in Contemporary American Arts
13.50 Discussion
History II. Culture 15.00–16.30
Place: Third Floor Room 315.
Chair: Ildikó Farkas
15.00 Marianna Lázár: Examining the Artistic and Cultural Tradition of the Ancient
Chinese "Four Gods" Belief in Japan
15.20 Erika Vörös: The Buddhist Concept of Deluded Impulses as Triggers of
Enlightenment in the Light of Japanese Mountain Ascetism
15.40 Csilla Schmitt: Semamori and Kisshōmonyō – Symbols on Children Kimonos
16.00 Discussion
Translation Studies 12.30–14.30
Place: Third Floor Room 305.
Chair: Júlia Somodi
12.30 Veronika Samu: Connection between Hungarian and Japanese Languages in
Translating Realia
12.50 Júlia Somodi: Change in Interpersonal Relationships Reflected by the
Translation of Vocatives
13.10 László Imri: Characteristics of Japanese Subtitles
13.30 Sándor Kéry: The Function of Aizuchi in the Japanese Mass Media
13.50 Ariel Kaba: Particles are Particular! – On the Translation of Japanese Sentence
Final Particles ne and yo
14.10 Discussion
Society, Politics, Economy 15.00–16.30
Place: Third Floor Room 305.
Chair: Attila Gergely
15.00 Csaba Gergely Tamás: An Unamendable Constitution? The Case of Japan
15.20 András Bartók: The Senkaku Island Dispute from the Perspective of Japanese
and Chinese Strategic Cultures
15.40 Krisztina Hajnal: The Response of Japan’s Young Generation to Changes in the
Employment System
16.00 Attila Gergely: On the Contemporary Japanese Family
16.20 Discussion
Linguistics and communication I. 12.30–14.30
Place: Third Floor Room 318.
Chair: Zoltán Máté
12.30 Marcellina Spannraft: Botanical Names in the Contemporary Hungarian
Haiku Literature
12.50 Attila Sági: Archaisms in Kansai Dialects
13.10 Gábor Pintér: Japanese Consonant Representations
13.30 Márton Szemerey: Linguistic Devices of Emotion Representation in Japanese
13.50 Discussion
Linguistics and communication II. 15.00–16.30
Place: Third Floor Room 318.
Chair: Attila Sági
15.00 Zoltán Máté: Shinjiron: Searching for a “Perfect” Writing System
15.20 Dávid Bohács: Comparing the News Coverage in Japanese National and
Regional Newspapers
15.40 Wakai Seiji: Japanese Language Teacher Training in KRE
16.00 Borbála Juhász: My Japanese Language Teaching Experiences in the Past 11
Years
16.20 Discussion