This article explores the history of an ancient scroll known as the Furyu Ougi Hisho 浮立奥義秘書 kept secret for generations in Imari in Saga Prefecture, Japan. Actually entitled Kojitsu 古實 , it is considered to be a possible origin of ancient Furyu 浮立 rituals in the region, which the author considers a branch of Furyu 風流 rituals in Japan categorized as Furyu-Odori, which was added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2022. Stories about the discovery of the scroll and ensuing fieldwork are told. Having reviewed regional Furyu 浮立 rituals, the scroll’s content is presented. Analysis reveals apparent roots in Gagaku 雅楽 , which itself was added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009, and at least one possible connection to Noh theatre, which was added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as Nôgaku by UNESCO in 2008. The Kojitsu 古實 thus scroll seems to lie at a tripartite intersection point between Furyu-Odori, Gagaku and Nôgaku, all of which form part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But what does it mean to be human? Humanity faces an uncertain future considering accelerating developments in artificial intelligence. What should university educators do about this? The author collaborated with artificial intelligence (AI) Assistant Claude Sonnet 4 (by Anthropic) when developing this article. It concludes with suggestions about how university educators should proceed in the future in relation to the themes outlined above.
Ann Houghton Stephanie (Mon,) studied this question.