A General Study of the Epic in terms of Comparative Culture

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The purposes of this research have been as follows :A) To reconsider the whole epic world from the diachronic and synchronic point of view and clarify the aspects common to epics belonging to different cultural regions and those specific to each epic.B) To enlarge the field of the epic in terms of synchronicity and diachronicity and to analyze the relationship between aspects common to humanity and those historically and culturally different in order to study the origin of the same qualities of epics that belong to different historical and cultural, regions.The results of our study in the academic years 2000-2002 are as follows :As for the problem of allegorical quality of the epic, Sasaki discusses the use of the labyrinth in Greek and Roman epics and its influence on Shakespeare in his treatise 'The Synecdoche of the Labyrinth'. Kasai discusses the techniques of persuasion from the narrative and historical point of view in his 'An Aspect of Gods in Homer : Social Relationship and Persuasion'. T. Suzuki, Ogi and Takahashi discuss the problems of narration and narrator in the different cultural regions in their 'The Versification of The Tale of Heike'(T. Suzuki), 'Ukara of Human Beings'(Ogi) and 'The Transformation of Tale Type and Message in the case of <Complaint in Heavens>' (Takahashi). As for the problem of how the common idea of 'epic' is formed in different cultures, Karibe studies the common elements in the old English epic Beowulf and Japanese demonology in his 'Reading the Old English Epic Beowulf through the Japanese Monster Lore'.