is a Japanese Buddhologist and Tibetologist. He is an emeritus professor at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, where he also took his doctorate degree in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in 1954. He also studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and for many years was a researcher at the

Tōyō Bunko The , or "Oriental Library", is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest, located in Tokyo. It also functions as a research institute dedicated to the study of Asian history and culture. It has greatly contributed ...

. He retired in 1986. Zuiho Yamaguchi specializes in the history of Tibet and studied include the manuscripts of Dunhuang, but also dealt with other subjects, such as the Tibetan calendar which he published a work in 1973 in Japanese. He also did a thorough investigation of facts surrounding emperor

Langdarma Darma Udumtsen (), better known by his nickname Langdarma (, "Mature Bull" or "Dharma the Bull") was most likely the last Tibetan Emperor who most likely reigned from 838 to 841 CE. Early sources call him Tri Darma "King Dharma". His domain e ...

, where he challenged the assertion that Langdarma was a persecutor of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and a supporter of

Bon ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

Works

*マハーバーラタものがたり青葉書房, 1957 (学級図書館) *オーレル・スタイン蒐集チベット語文献解題目録 2冊組、東洋文庫,　1977-78 *吐蕃王国成立史研究, 岩波書店, 1983 *チベットの仏教と社会　春秋社, 1986 * * *チベット語文語文法春秋社, 1998 *「概説」チベット語文語文典春秋社, 2002 *「要訣」チベット語文語文典成田山新勝寺成田山仏教研究所, 2003 *「評説」インド仏教哲学史　岩波書店, 2010

Translations

*チベットの文化 R.A.スタン定方晟共訳岩波書店, 1971 (増補版 1993)

Essays

CiNii>山口瑞鳳

INBUDS>山口瑞鳳

References

* 福田洋一「日本のチベット学10年—山口瑞鳳博士の研究を中心に」『仏教学』36, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi, Zuiho University of Tokyo alumni University of Tokyo faculty 1926 births Living people Tibetologists Japanese scholars of Buddhism