Professor Sepp Linhart
KIPPO News: Prof. Sepp Linhart wins 21st YAMAGATA BANTO Prize
Sepp Linhart, 60 , a professor of Japanese studies and director of the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna, has won the 21st YAMAGATA BANTO Prize, 2004 for his contributions to the introduction of Japanese culture in foreign countries. Yamagata Banto (1748-1821) was an Osaka rice merchant and scholar.
...Born in Austria, Linhart once studied at Hokkaido University. As a social scientist, he conducted a Japan study for as long as 35 years and announced a series of results of his studies on the change of Japanese people's perception about traditional houses and family patterns.
Especially he focused on labor and leisure, and the sense of fun of the "ken" games at drinking parties that were popular in the 18-19th century Japanese society. He manifested that the sense of equality of Japanese people was symbolically expressed in such party games.
