was a Japanese Buddhologist and Tibetologist. He was an emeritus professor at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

, where he also took his doctorate degree in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

in 1954. He also studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and for many years was a researcher at the Tōyō Bunko. He retired in 1986.

Biography

Zuihō Yamaguchi was born in Monzen,

Ishikawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

. He graduated the First High school in 1950. He entered

, and majored in

and

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśan ...

. He entered the graduate school of the same university after his graduation in 1953. He left the graduate school and went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1956. He started visiting in

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

. After 1962, he became a researcher supported by

the Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rock ...

and studied at l'

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

. He came back to Japan in 1964, and started working in Tōyō Bunko,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He became an assistant professor of

in 1970, and was promoted to professor in 1979. Zuihō specialized in the history of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. His studies included the manuscripts of

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

(Dunhuangologie), but also dealt with other subjects, such as the Tibetan calendar which he published a work in 1973 in Japanese. He also did a thorough investigation of facts surrounding emperor Langdarma, where he challenged the assertion that Langdarma was a persecutor of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and a supporter of

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

. Zuihō died from pneumonia on 15 April 2023, at the age of 97.

Bibliography

Books

*''"Tales of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

"『マハーバーラタものがたり』'' (青葉書房, 1957) *''"List of the Tibetan text gathered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein"『オーレル・スタイン蒐集チベット語文献解題目録』'' ( Tōyō Bunko, 1977-78) *''"Genesis of

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

"『吐蕃王国成立史研究』'' ( Iwanami Shoten, 1983) *''"

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

and society" 『チベットの仏教と社会』''　(Shunjyu-sya, 1986) * * The series of "Tibet" was received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award in 1988. *チベット語文語文法春秋社, 1998 *「概説」チベット語文語文典春秋社, 2002 *「要訣」チベット語文語文典 Institute of Buddhism studies at Narita-san, 2003 *「評説」インド仏教哲学史　岩波書店, 2010

Translations in Japanese

*''"Tibetian culture"『チベットの文化』"'' Rolf Stein (translation: Zuihō Yamaguchi, Akira Sadakata(定方晟), Iwanami Shoten, 1971)

Essays

CiNii>山口瑞鳳

INBUDS>山口瑞鳳

About Zuihō Yamaguchi

* 福田洋一「日本のチベット学10年—山口瑞鳳博士の研究を中心に」『仏教学』36, 1994. ("Ten years of Japanese Tibetian studies: Especially of Achievements by Zuihō Yamaguchi", "Buddhism study"36)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi, Zuiho 1926 births 2023 deaths Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Japanese scholars of Buddhism Japanese orientalists Tibetologists University of Tokyo alumni