The Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop

Momoka Yamane

2nd year PhD student at the University of Tsukuba

◆Research Themes◆
Central Asian Buddhist culture, archaeological science and sculptural production in Central Asian Buddhist temples during the Kushan period

• "Buddhist Sculptural Production in Central Asia" (1st Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)
• "Methods and Applications of Optical Imaging in Humanities" (2nd Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)
• "Survey Report on Uzbekistan: Field Activities from Summer 2025 to Spring 2026" (6th Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop, Forthcoming)

Hyosuke Sugiyama

1st year PhD student at International College of Post-graduate Buddhist Studies

◆Research Themes◆
Folk nenbutsu (Buddhist invocation) practices and associated songs/hymns in the Tōhoku region in Edo period; The doctrinal development of, and devotion to, Kṣitigarbha (Jizō Bosatsu) since the 十輪経 (Daśacakrakṣitigarbhasūtra; J. Jūrin-gyō)

• "The Candragarbha Bodhisattva and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva: On the Close Relationship between 月蔵経 and 十輪経" (1st Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)
• "The Rock-Cut Caves of Kasugayama: A Study Based on Literature and Infrared Imaging Documents" (Co-presentation at the 2nd Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)
• "Some Observations on the Textual Lineage of Fascicle One of the 大方広十輪経" (5th Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop, March 28, 2026)

Kanata Kawasaki

2nd year MA student at International College of Post-graduate Buddhist Studies

◆Research Themes◆
Gāndhārī Buddhist texts

• "Report on the Visit to Gāndhāra — Participation in the 2025 Woodenfish-Waksaw Seminar on Gandhara Buddhism" (1st Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)
• "The Rock-Cut Caves of Kasugayama: A Study Based on Literature and Infrared Imaging Documents" (Co-presentation at the 2nd Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop)

Mompart Gonzalez Ema

Non-Degree Research Student, Ryukoku University

◆Research Themes◆
Buddhist Cultural History of South and Central Asia, Epigraphic and Excavated Document Studies, Silk Road Cultural Exchange

• Master's Thesis: "Buddhist Monastery Construction and Secular Society in Ancient India"
• "Visibility and Representation of navakarmika in Indian Buddhist Inscriptions: A Focus on Western, Southern, and Northwestern India (1st–3rd Centuries CE)" (6th Silk Road Buddhist Studies Workshop, Forthcoming)