Seitaro Okajima and Egyptology in Japan

Abstract

This paper aims to reconstruct the history of Japanese Egyptology from its birth in the 19th century to the work of Seitaro Okajima in the 1940s. Where exactly did this discipline originate, and what kind of discipline is it? By exploring these questions, this paper attempts to demonstrate that the birth of Japanese Egyptology owes a great deal to the efforts of Shogoro Tsuboi and Kei’ichiro Kume. Next, it examines how Takashi Sakaguchi, who inspired Seitaro Okajima, and Kosaku Hamada, who received over 1,500 Egyptian artefacts from Flinders Petrie, paved the way for academic Egyptology. Finally, this paper explores how Okajima, who had studied under both Sakaguchi and Hamada, developed the discipline to a fuller extent, and the governing idea of his works is discussed.