I earned my BA and MA in Classical Japanese Literature at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan. After
several years of teaching, I decided to take my PhD in North America in order to contribute to building
a bridge between scholars of Japan in both countries. Given that my approach to literature was rooted
in history to begin with, moving into a history program seemed a logical step. I continue to make use
of literature in my research, and am interested in theorizing the interaction between history and
literature, as well as in how to more effectively utilize literary sources for historical studies.
My area of research is medieval Japan, and in particular courtier society, which I consider in
light of perspectives from social, cultural, and women's history. My dissertation is a multi-dimensional assessment of this courtier society, based on a case study of the Saionji family,
focusing on their human networks and cultural capital. I also work extensively on the translation of
various primary materials written in classical Japanese or Sino-Japanese (Kambun).
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