Junior Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University; Coordinator of the Joint Degree Master Program in Transcultural Studies; Editor-in-chief of the Japanese Journal of Analog Role-Playing Game Studies (JARPS)
Statement
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the nomination as a candidate for the EAJS Council. In 2021, I served as convenor for the Media Section, and I am truly honoured for this opportunity. I humbly volunteer my expertise and experience to our organization, whose goals I cherish and from which I have benefitted greatly. I have been a member of the EAJS since 2011, when I presented my research for the first time at the conference in Tallinn and subsequently received valuable support in the PhD workshop in Newcastle.
My research interests concern media stereotypes and marginalization in contemporary Japan, and my work includes cyberethnographic studies of translocal communities of interest with a focus on games. Currently, I collaborate with Japanese and German colleagues on a project on the othering of autists and the possibilities of game-based learning. I view the EAJS as an organization for advancing such interdisciplinary studies of Japan, and as a council member, I would work to support the interaction of academics from all fields and career stages.
I am especially passionate about promoting and facilitating the participation of early-career and low-income scholars in important events such as the EAJS conference. I believe that continuing to organize the conference as a hybrid event can greatly enhance its accessibility and inclusivity. In this regard, I would like to explore tools beyond Zoom and communication beyond the triennial event. As a council member, I would furthermore seek to advance the discussion of skills in digital humanities, the Internet, and AI technologies in the education of Japan scholars – for example, as an aspect of the EAJS workshops for doctoral candidates.
CV
2019 (current) Editor-in-chief of the Japanese Journal of Analog Role-Playing Game Studies (JARPS)
2017 (current) Junior Associate Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University; coordinator of the Joint Degree Master Program in Transcultural Studies
2015 Project-specific Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
2015 Doctor Degree in Japanese Studies, Heidelberg University
2013 Graduate Program Lecturer, Cluster “Asia & Europe,” Heidelberg University
2012 Research Area Coordinator, Cluster “Asia & Europe,” Heidelberg University
2010 Doctoral fellow at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, DIJ, Tokyo
2008 Magister Degree in Japanese Studies, Communication & Media Studies, Leipzig University
Publications
2023 “Reenacting Japan’s Past That Never Was – The Ninja in Tourism and Larp.” In Vanessa Agnew, Juliane Tomann und Sabine Stach (eds.), Reenactment Case Studies: Global Perspectives on Experiential History. London: Routledge, 146-170.
2022 “Methodological Concerns of Researching Larp and Educational Roleplay in Japan: The (Im) Possibilities of Remote Fieldwork.” In Araki Hiroshi et al. (eds.), Global Japanese Studies after/with COVID-19: Reports from Europe. International Research Center for Japanese Studies, 201-219.
2020 Role-Playing Games of Japan – Transcultural Dynamics and Orderings. New York: Palgrave.
2019 “ライブ・アクション・ロールプレイ(LARP)という意識向上を目的としたシリアス・ゲーミング方法:「ひきこもり」についてのLARPを例に” [Live-Action Role-Play (Larp) as a Serious Gaming Tool for Awareness Raising: The Case of hikikomori (Acute Social Withdrawal)]. Japanese Journal of Occupational Science 13 (1): 32-44. doi:10.32191/jjos.13.1_32.
2019 “Adapting Live-Action Role-Play in Japan: How ‘German’ Roots Do Not Destine ‘Japanese’ Routes.” Replaying Japan 1, 64-78. http://hdl.handle.net/10367/11682.
