雷門
寶藏門
浅草寺本堂

大藏經研究會

Advancing comprehensive research on the Chinese Buddhist Canon and contributing to the preservation and development of Buddhist culture in East Asia.

About the Association

五重塔

Statement of Purpose

The Chinese Buddhist Canon constitutes a comprehensive corpus of Buddhist scriptures compiled over successive historical periods. Centered on, but not limited to, Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, it is systematically organized in accordance with established structures and editorial principles, forming a coherent body of Buddhist literature and related works. From the perspective of material form, its historical development may be broadly divided into four stages: manuscript, printed edition, modern print, and digital edition.

Among these, the printed editions of the canon that emerged from the late tenth century onward played an exceptionally important role as a foundation supporting the transmission of Buddhism and the development of Buddhist studies across East Asia.

The Association for the Study of the Buddhist Canon is an academic organization established to promote research on the compilation, circulation, and reception of the Chinese Buddhist Canon in East Asia, and to facilitate scholarly exchange among researchers both within Japan and internationally.

The Association is founded on the principle of contributing to the preservation and development of Buddhist culture in East Asia through comprehensive research on Chinese Buddhist texts, while also promoting international scholarly exchange. At the same time, it advances philological studies of individual texts and undertakes comprehensive investigations into the historical and cultural processes underlying the formation and transmission of the Buddhist Canon, with the aim of fostering an international research network in this field.

Some of the activities of the Association are supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), “A comprehensive study of the Yuan Imperially-Sponsored Buddhist Canon and reconsideration of the lineages of Chinese Buddhist Canons” (Grant Number: 22K00060; 2022-2025), and JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), "A Comprehensive Study of the Yuan-Dynasty Puning Canon Preserved in Japan: Its Formation and Reception" (Grant Number: 26H01893; 2026-2030).

Organization

Founding Members

  • Tomofusa Uesugi (Senior Researcher, Kyoto National Museum, Japan)
  • Akira Saitō (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Yoshimi Nozawa (Professor, Risshō University, Japan)
  • Limei Chi (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Yuji Fujimoto (Curator, Sensō-ji Temple, Japan)
  • Shinya Maejima (Research Fellow, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)

Representative

(To be announced)

Advisory Board

(To be announced)

Executive Board

  • Tomofusa Uesugi (Senior Researcher, Kyoto National Museum, Japan)
  • Akira Saitō (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Yoshimi Nozawa (Professor, Risshō University, Japan)
  • Limei Chi (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Yuji Fujimoto (Curator, Sensō-ji Temple, Japan)
  • Shinya Maejima (Research Fellow, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)

Activities

Research Project Supported by JSPS KAKENHI

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)

Grant Number: 26H01893  ·  2026–2030

"A Comprehensive Study of the Yuan-Dynasty Puning Canon Preserved in Japan: Its Formation, Reception, and Development"

This project focuses on the Chinese Buddhist Canon known as the Puning Canon, a printed edition produced in the thirteenth century at Dapuning Temple in Hangzhou, China. As part of the broader corpus of Chinese Buddhist texts that have historically underpinned Buddhist traditions across East Asia—including Japan, China, and Korea—the Puning Canon represents a significant case for examining the formation and transmission of the Buddhist canon. Particular emphasis is placed on the set of the Puning Canon transmitted to Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in Kamakura in the early fourteenth century and preserved at Sensō-ji Temple in Tokyo since 1871. Through comprehensive on-site investigation and foundational research, this project aims to elucidate how the Puning Canon was produced, transmitted, received, and further developed in Japan from both historical and scholarly perspectives. Building upon the systematic study of the Puning Canon held at Sensō-ji Temple, the project also seeks to develop a Full-image Digital Database of the canon. By integrating this resource with the Bibliographical Database and related digital tools, the project aims to establish a research platform for Chinese Buddhist textual materials.

Principal Investigator

Limei Chi (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)

Co-Investigators

  • Akira Saitō (Professor, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Yoshimi Nozawa (Professor, Risshō University, Japan)
  • Tomofusa Uesugi (Senior Researcher, Kyoto National Museum, Japan)
  • Shinya Maejima (Research Fellow, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)

Research Collaborators

  • Yuji Fujimoto (Curator, Sensō-ji Temple, Japan)
  • Haidong Fan (PhD Candidate, Peking University, China)

Research Assistants (RA)

  • Yi Peng (PhD Candidate, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Zhuyin Zhou (PhD Candidate, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
  • Jing Wen (PhD Candidate, International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan)
普寧蔵
Completed

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)  ·  Grant Number: 22K00060  ·  2022–2025

"A comprehensive study of the Yuan Imperially-Sponsored Buddhist Canon and reconsideration of the lineages of Chinese Buddhist Canons"

Publications

1. Research Outputs Supported by JSPS KAKENHI

Books

Chi, Limei. Studies on the Song–Yuan Editions of the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Kyoto: Hōzōkan, 2026.

[Table of Contents and Afterword (PDF)]

2. Members' Publications on the Buddhist Canon

Books

(Forthcoming)

Papers

(Forthcoming)

Presentations

(Forthcoming)

Membership

Membership in the Association is open to individuals who support its objectives, and is granted upon recommendation by a member of the Executive Board and approval by the Board.

Contact Us

Contact

Administrative Office

International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies
Kyōdō Kenkyūshitsu 2
2-8-9 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku
Tokyo 112-0003, Japan

Email

daizoken2026[at]gmail.com
(※Replace [at] with @)