Shiratori Kurakichi

A scholar of Oriental history. Doctor of Literature. Born in Chiba Prefecture. After graduating from the Department of History, Faculty of Letters, Tokyo Imperial University, he served as a professor at Gakushuin University, a professor at the Faculty of Letters, and an official advisor to the Crown Prince. He initially devoted himself to the study of ancient Korean history, but gradually expanded his focus to North and Central Asian history, while also becoming interested in ancient Chinese and Japanese history, and his research spans almost all of Asia. His academic style is characterized by a positivist approach that he learned from the German Riess while he was a university student, but he has taken up a wide range of issues, including history, language, ethnicity, mythology, religion, and archaeology. He is particularly known for denying the existence of Yao, Shun, and Yu, which pre-modern Chinese scholars accepted as historical fact, and for locating the location of Yamataikoku in Kyushu. He also contributed to the establishment and operation of institutions and organizations for the study of Oriental history, such as the Academic Research Department of the Oriental Association, the Historical Research Department of the South Manchuria Railway, and the Oriental Library. His books include "Study of the History of the Western Regions," "New Research on the History of the Age of the Gods," and "Solution to the Himiko Problem."

[Shiro Sekio]

"Complete Works of Shiratori Kurayoshi, supervised by Ishida Mikinosuke and Yamamoto Tatsuro, 10 volumes (1969-71, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東洋史学者。文学博士。千葉県出身。東京帝国大学文科大学史学科を卒業後、学習院教授、文科大学教授、および東宮御用掛などを歴任。初めは朝鮮古代史の研究に専念していたが、しだいに北アジア史、中央アジア史へと、その対象を西に向けて拡大させる一方、中国や日本の古代史にも関心をもち、その研究はほとんどアジアの全域に及んでいる。その学風は、大学在学中にドイツ人リースから指導された実証主義的な手法を特徴としているが、歴史はもとより、言語、民族、神話、宗教、および考古など実に多岐にわたる問題を取り上げており、とくに近代以前の漢学者が史実としていた堯(ぎょう)、舜(しゅん)、禹(う)の実在を否定したことや、邪馬台国(やまたいこく)の場所を九州に求めたことなどが有名である。またこのほか、東洋協会学術調査部、満鉄歴史調査部、および東洋文庫などの東洋史研究のための機関や組織の設立、運営にも尽力した。著書に『西域史研究』『神代史の新研究』『卑弥呼(ひみこ)問題の解決』などがある。

［關尾史郎］

『石田幹之助・山本達郎監修『白鳥庫吉全集』全10巻（1969～71・岩波書店）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例