École française d'Extrême-Orient - EFEO Kyoto 2.58

Established in 1966, the EFEO's Kyoto Center, currently directed by Benoît Jacquet was given the mission of the development and promotion of research on ancient and modern Japan in the humanities and social sciences. As a research institute, the Center holds a library of more than 10 000 works on Asian religions, especially Buddhism and Daoism. The Center regularly welcomes students and scholars affiliated to European, American and Asian universities.

Since 2003, the EFEO's Kyoto Center has worked in partnership with the Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyujo) of the University of Kyoto. The members of the EFEO serve as Visiting Professors at the University of Kyoto where they provide a research seminar. The Center focuses on developing European research on Japan in the domains of history, architecture, philology, archaeology, and religious studies. In 2009 EFEO's partnership with the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Kyoto widened to include the member institutions of the ECAF Consortium. An agreement on academic cooperation links the Center with Waseda University (Institutes of Asian, European, and Japanese Studies). The EFEO Center also works in partnerships with the Italian School of East Asian Studies (ISEAS ), and many universities in Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima.

The Centre edits the bilingual journal Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie in French and English. Since its creation in 1985, on the initiative of Anna Seidel, this annual periodical specializes in East Asian cultural and religious studies. It plays a major role in disseminating French and international research in these areas.