With its current membership standing at over 1,900 people, The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (JAIBS) is one of Japan's largest academic associations in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Since it's inception at the University of Tokyo on October 15, 1951 (the 26th year of the Shōwa era), we celebrated the seventieth year of the founding of our organization in 2021 (the 3rd year of the Reiwa era). After the end of the Second World War, there was an increased need for research on both India and Buddhism, owing in part to India and Pakistan's gaining independence. Following the the establishment of The Japanese Association for Religious Studies (Nihon Shūkyō Gakkai 日本宗教学会), the proposal to establish a national-level academic association for the field of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies was brought to the fore.
Before the Second World War, to commemorate the enthronement (gotaiten 御大典) of the Shōwa Emperor (Hirohito) in the third year of the Shōwa era (1928), several sectarian Buddhist Universities, together with the Indian Philosophy departments at the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tohoku University, established an organization specifically for Buddhist studies, the Nihon Bukkyōgaku Kyōkai 日本仏教学協会 (The Japanese Buddhist Studies Society). After the war, in 1947 (the 22nd year of the Shōwa era), this Nihon Bukkyōgaku Kyōkai was reorganized and renamed the Nihon Bukkyō Gakkai 日本仏教学会 (The Japanese Buddhist Studies Association), and went on to develop a plan to reestablish itself as a nation-wide organization. However, this plan did not come to fruition, as it was unable to garner the consensus of the relevant parties who favored creating a new, separate academic organization instead.
Then, on the third of October, 1949 (the 24th year of the Shōwa era), a group of scholars representative of Indian Studies and Buddhist Studies of the time, Miyamoto Shōson 宮本正尊, Kanakura Enshō 金倉圓照, Hikata Ryūshō 干潟龍祥, Honda Giei 本田義英, Yamaguchi Susumu 山口益, Tsuji Naoshirō 辻直四郎, Hanayama Shinshō 花山信勝, Nakamura Hajime 中村元, Sakamoto Yukio 坂本幸男, Nishi Yoshio 西義雄, and Masunaga Reihō 増永霊鳳 gathered at the University of Tokyo's Indian Philosophy Department, and held the association's first meeting to inagurate the association. In 1951 (the 26th year of the Shōwa era), the association was officially established with Miyamoto Shōson as the first director of the board of trustees. In January of the following year, the association was admitted to the Gakkai Rengō 学会連合 (The Consortium of Academic Associations), and its recognition as a national academic association continues until this day.
Our association aims at contributing to the development of research on Indian and Buddhist Studies within Japan, and to cooperate with scholars in related fields throughout the world in order to promote the development of intellectual acheievement in the world at large. In addition to the membership of individual researchers, our association includes Universities and Colleges with courses or departments in Indian Philosophy or Buddhist Studies as Affiliated Schools (kameikō 加盟校), as well as research centers and research organizations incorporated as Affiliated Organizations (kamei dantai 加盟団体).
Founded to promote research in Indian Studies and Buddhist Studies, The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (JAIBS, or Nihon Indogaku Bukkyō Gakkai 日本印度学仏教学会) is made up of researchers, their associates, academic and research institutions, and related non-governmental organizations of all kinds. The JAIBS is composed of two divisions: an administrative division for the upkeep and management of the Association, and the members division.
To begin by way of explaining the structure of our association, there are five types of members in the member division. Regular Members, Honorary Members, Supporting Members, Special Supporting Members, and Adjunct Members. To become a Regular Member (Futsū Kaiin 普通会員), one must secure a recommendation from a member of either the Board of Directors or the Board of Councillors , and must then be approved by the Board of Directors. By paying the annual membership fee (6,500 Japanese yen, as of 2014), Regular Members have the right to present at our annual conference, and will be sent the Association's journal. Emeritus Members (Meiyo Kaiin 名誉会員) are individuals who have made great contributions to the field over many years, or other organization members recommended by the Board of Directors who have generally made a noteworthy effort to support the development of academics. Supporting Members (Iji Kaiin 維持会員) are academic research organizations and non-governmental organizations that have given financial support to the Association, and make up the JAIBS's Affiliated Schools and Organizations. Special Supporting Members (Tokubetsu Iji Kaiin 特別維持会員) are groups and organizations who pay a special yearly fee to support the continued operation of the Association. Adjunct Members (Jun Kaiin 準会員) are individuals and organizations who purchase our association Journal on a regular basis. Membership at any level is not limited to people or organizations currently residing in or active in Japan, and, at present, our organization includes both Regular Members and Supporting Members from Europe and the Americas, as well Korea and Taiwan. The financial operations of the association are supported not only by membership fees from the different types of members, but from yearly donations made by Buddhism-related groups and organizations, as well from the support of individual benefactors from the general public.
Secondly, the administrative division is made up of the Board of Directors (Rijikai 理事会) and the Board of Councillors (Hyōgiinkai 評議員会), and these two boards form the Association's decision-making body. The Board of Directors and the Board of Councillors are made up of individuals selected from the Association's Affiliated Schools and Organizations (Kameikō 加盟校 and Kamei Dantai 加盟団体), and is in charge of the upkeep and operation of the Association. In addition, two individuals are assigned as auditors to monitor the organization's accounting and financial status and otherwise ensure the proper operation of the Association, while several other full-time employees are in charge of business related to the Association's main office and day-to-day operations.
MIYAMOTO Shōson
宮本正尊 (1951.10–1983.6) Chairperson Emeritus From June to November 1983
HIRAKAWA Akira
平川彰 (1983.6–1991.7)
MAEDA Sengaku
前田專學 (1991.7–1996.9)
EJIMA Yasunori
江島惠教 (1996.9–1999.5)
MAEDA Sengaku
前田專學 (1999.6–2002.7)
KIMURA Kiyotaka
木村清孝 (2002.7–2008.9)
SAITŌ Akira
斎藤明 (2008.9–2014.8)
MARUI Hiroshi
丸井浩 (2014.8–2017.1)
KIMURA Kiyotaka
木村清孝 (2017.1-2017.9)
SHIMODA Masahiro
下田正弘 (2017.9–2023.8)
MINOWA Kenryō
蓑輪顕量 (2023.8–) Present Chairperson