Teacher Profiles
SAKURAI, Yasuto Professor (European Medieval History)
Research topic
In particular, this study explores the changes in views of the Crusades and Islam in the medieval and early modern European world through an analysis of "pilgrimage accounts."
Research Topics
Europe vs. Islam? What we can learn from pilgrimage accounts.
Generally, the Crusades are often viewed as a simple conflict between Europe and Islam. However, even after the area around Jerusalem came under Islamic rule, Europeans continued to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and some of them documented their experiences in this "other" world in the form of pilgrimage journals. An analysis of these journals reveals that those who were able to safely make pilgrimages under the Pax Islamica tend to have a favorable view of Muslims. So, why not start by questioning your own assumptions?
Augsburg
Knight Martin Ketzel
A Pilgrimage Account (1476)
Examples of graduation thesis titles from the Sakurai Seminar
- "The Process of Autonomy in the City of Cologne: Focusing on the Transformation of the Political Ruling Class"
- "Peripheral Relations and the Transformation of Identity in Medieval Ireland"
Recent works
- "Illustrated Guide to the Crusades," Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 2019.
- "A Study of Crusader States: The Structure of the Kingdom of Jerusalem," Nagoya University Press, 2020.
- "Crusader States," Chikuma Shobo, 2023.