Minoru Takano

Minoru Takano is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, guided by Prof. Ge Zhaoguang. He earned his PhD in 2023 from the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia under supervisor Dr. Bruce Rusk, following an MA (2014) and BA (2011) in Asian Studies.

• Specializes in cultural/intellectual history of late imperial China (1368–1911)
• Focuses on early modern Japanese intellectual history (1603–1868)
• Examines inter-regional cultural exchanges in premodern East Asia
• Expert in migration studies and geocultural identity analysis

His research explores how migration shapes literary identity through case studies like Li Dongyang, a mid-Ming literatus with dual Beijing/Hunan affiliations. He challenges traditional scholarly narratives about Li's 'Chaling School' identity and demonstrates how migrant descendants negotiated belonging across administrative and cultural boundaries.

Recent work extends this analysis to Japanese intellectual history, examining Ogyū Sorai's integration of Chinese literary models with Edo-period political reform. Current projects focus on:

• Transnational Sinographic networks
• Memory practices in premodern East Asia
• Bureaucratic identity formation