About

The Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA) is a joint research center attached to the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. It conducts research activities in Asia and Africa under the following three missions.

  • Conducting collaborative research projects
  • Processing, editing, and disseminating data on the languages and cultures of Asia and Africa
  • Training junior scholars through joint research, workshops, and seminars

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Pickup

News

Professor Masahiko Togawa and colleagues have released their co-authored book, "Islamization in ‘Secular’ Bangladesh: Beyond Bipolar Opposition."

Awarded Prizes

Descriptive Grammar Series 3: Matengo was awarded the Shinmura Izuru Prize FY2026

News

Call for 2027 Joint Research Proposals (Short-term stay) Document submission deadline: 2026-11-27(Fri)

Monthly Photos

Monthly Photos October 2026 : Whatever Grows Outside Belongs to Everyone

Latest News

2026.10.27News

Professor Masahiko Togawa and colleagues have released their co-authored book, “Islamization in ‘Secular’ Bangladesh: Beyond Bipolar Opposition.”

2026.10.27Awarded Prizes

Descriptive Grammar Series 3: Matengo was awarded the Shinmura Izuru Prize FY2026

2026.10.23News

Temporary Access Restriction and Restoration of the ILCAA Website

2026.10.22News

Restoration of Public Access to aa-ken.jp

2026.10.21News

Temporary Suspension of Public Access to aa-ken.jp

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Events

  • TUFiSCo
  • Public Lectures

Date:2026/11/06(Fri) 14:00-16:30
2026/11/07(Sat) 09:30-17:00 Venue:405 : Commons Lab., ILCAA

Lingka Salon: Discover the Cultures of Tibet and the Himalayas

  • TUFiSCo
  • Workshop/ Seminar/ Symposium

Date:2026/11/07(Sat) 16:30-20:30 Venue:306 : Multimedia Seminar Room, ILCAA, 304 : Multimedia Conference Room, ILCAA

Artistic Exchange between India and Japan: Santiniketan as a Contact Zone of Intercultural Flows

  • TUFiSCo
  • J-Peaks
  • Public Lectures
  • Joint Research Projects
  • Workshop/ Seminar/ Symposium

Date:2026/11/08(Sun) 10:00-15:30 Venue:Online／303 : Large Conference Room, ILCAA

Symposium "Rethinking Trans-Himalayan Ecology, Subsistence, and Mobility through Umami" / “Clarification of the Actual Situation of Agro-pastoral Complex Frontier in the Trans- Himalayan Region: From the approach of vocabulary study－”, the 1st meeting AY2026

  • TUFiSCo
  • Exhibition
  • Public Lectures
  • Workshop/ Seminar/ Symposium

Date:2026/11/14(Sat) ~ 11/15(Sun) 11:00-19:00
2026/11/17(Tue) ~ 11/23(Mon) 10:00-17:00 Venue:Online／101 : Exhibition Room, ILCAA, 405 : Commons Lab., ILCAA

Painting Together: Apprenticeship and Art Anthropology in a Sign-Painting Workshop in Kumasi, Ghana

  • Public Lectures
  • Workshop/ Seminar/ Symposium

Date:2026/11/14(Sat) 09:30-16:30 Venue:Online／303 : Large Conference Room, ILCAA

The 2026 Japan Consortium for Area Studies Annual Meeting and Symposium

  • Workshop/ Seminar/ Symposium

Date:2026/11/17(Tue) 18:00-19:30 Venue:Online／304 : Multimedia Conference Room, ILCAA

DDDLing forum, the 2nd meeting in 2026

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Core Projects

言語学
Description and Documentation of Language Dynamics in Asia and Africa: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Languages and Cultures of the Region (DDDLing)
人類学
Anthropological Inquiry of Sociality: Dynamics of Tolerance/Intolerance in Transcultural Contexts
歴史学・地域研究
Field Archiving of Memory: Dynamics of Cooperation within the Islamic Society

Pickup Publications

2026.07.01

Tibetan Folktale “The Old Woman and the Frog” (Picture-story show)Izumi HOSHI, Etsuko NOZAKA, Phagpajap

2026.03.31

Old Tibetan Studies in Honor of Tsuguhito Takeuchi and Helga Uebach, Proceedings of the Panel Old Tibetan Studies VII, Prague 2022Kazushi IWAO, Ai NISHIDA, Brandon DOTSON

2026.03.31

Tales from Tla'amin (Sliammon) Elders Vol. 1: As Told by Mary GeorgeHonoré Watanabe

2026.03.31

Research Based on Dr. Shigeru Tsuchida's Formosan Language MaterialsNaomi Tsukida, Asako Shiohara (eds.)

2026.03.31

Intensive Language Course 2025 "Nuosu Yi" Textbook: Nuosu Yi: Basic Knowledge and ConversationNorihiko Hayashi, Shen Hong (eds.)

2026.03.31

Intensive Language Course 2025 "Nuosu Yi" Textbook2: Nuosu Yi: GlossaryShen Hong, Norihiko Hayashi (ed.)

Latest Publications

Research Projects

ILCAA Joint Research Projects, conducted by the staff members of the Institute and external researchers, constitute the core of research activities at ILCAA as an international research center.

Joint Research Group is a new framework launched in 2019 to foster incipient research projects based on new creative ideas.

In order to conduct research on the languages and cultures of Asia and Africa, the staff of ILCAA apply for various external funds, such as Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) and other research grants by private organizations.

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