Takakusu Junjiro

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Takakusu Junjirō, 高楠順次郎, (1866-1945) who often published as J. Takakusu, was a leading Buddhist scholar.

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Selected works
4 See also

[edit] Early life

Takakusu was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, adopted by the Takakusu family of Kobe, and sent to England to study Sanskrit at Oxford University (1890). After receiving his doctorate, he continued his studies in France and Germany.

[edit] Career

Upon his return to Japan in 1894, he was appointed Professor at Tokyo University and Director of Tokyo School of Foreign Languages. He founded the Musashino Girls' School in 1924, now known as Musashino Women's University, on the principle of "Buddhist-based human education."

From 1924 to 1934, Takakusu and others established the Tokyo Taisho Tripitaka Publication Association (東京大正一切經刊行會), later known as the Daizo Shuppansha (大藏出版株式會社), which collected, edited, and published the Taisho Tripitaka. This massive compendium is now available online as the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA) Tripitaka.

In 1930 he became President of Tokyo University. He was a member of the Imperial Academy of Japan, Fellow of the British Academy, and recipient of Asahi Cultural Prize and Cultural Order. In addition he was he was awarded honorary degrees by the universities of Oxford, Leipzig, Tokyo, and Heidelberg. At the time of his death in June 1945, he was Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit at the Tokyo University.

[edit] Selected works

The Amitâyur dhyâna-sûtra, trans J. Takakusu, in Buddhist Mahâyâna Texts, Part 2, published in Sacred Books of the East, vol. 49, pp. 161-201, Oxford University Press, 1894.

A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago, London: Clarendon Press, 1896.

Dai Nihon Bukkyō zensho, ed. Takakusu Junjirō et al., 150 volumes, Tokyo: Dai Nihon Bukkyō zensho kankōkai, 1913-1921. (Re-edited, 100 volumes, Suzuki gakujutsu zaidan, Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1970-1973.