ON LEAVE
July 1, 2023—June 30, 2024

Christina Laffin

Associate Professor | Classical Japanese
phone 604 822 4990
location_on Asian Centre 210
Research Area

About

Associate Professor

Japanese CV (PDF)

English CV (PDF)

Research Interests

Medieval travel diaries; women’s education and socialization before 1600; poetic practices and waka culture; theories of travel, gender, and autobiography; noh theatre; and comparative approaches to medieval literature.

Past Events

Kanbun resources workshop. Instructed by Fukuda Takeshi (Organizer, UBC, 2012).

Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period (Co-organizer, Tallinn University, 2009)

Gatherings Beneath the Dai: Seasonal Topics in Hyakushu and Utaawase (Co-organizer, Columbia University, 2008)

Dressing Up Japanese History: Gender, Class, and Clothing from Premodern to Present (Organizer, UBC, 2007)

Uzawa Noh Troupe, Lady Aoi Performance and Noh Theatre Workshop [PDF press release] (Co-organizer, UBC, 2007)

New Perspectives on Waka Culture: Women, Patronage, and Genre in Medieval Japan (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)

Early-Modern Komonjo and Kuzushiji Workshop (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)


Teaching


Publications

Books

Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women: Politics, Personality, and Literary Production in the Life of Nun Abutsu. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2013. Accepted, approx. 300 pages.

(Co-editor) The Noh Ominameshi: A Flower Viewed From Many Directions. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2003. 358 pages.

Review: Scholz-Cionca, Stanca. Asian Theatre Journal 22, no. 1 (2005): 154-8.

(Managing Editor) Gender and Japanese History. Vol. 1 and 2, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999. 428 pages, 610 pages.

Review: Hastings, Sally A. Monumenta Nipponica 56, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 102-4.

Journals

Articles

「旅、自伝、経験―阿仏尼の日記をめぐって」 “Tabi, jiden, keiken: Abutsu-ni no nikki o megutte” (Travel, Autobiography, and Experience: On the Diaries of Nun Abutsu). 『アジア遊学』 Ajia gaku 142. Special edition, 環境という視座―日本文学とエククリティシズム “Kankyo to iu shiza: Nihon bungaku to ecokuritishizumu” (Environmental Perspectives: Japanese Literature and Ecocriticism) (July 2011): 133-42.

“Travel as Sacrifice: Abutsu’s Poetic Journey in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Review of Japanese Society and Culture 19 (December 2007): 71-86.

「北米公演を終えて」 “Hokubei kōen o oete (Completion of the North American Performances).” 『観世』 Kanze (June 2007): 60-2.

「古代・中世の日記における女流紀行―ヨーロッパとの比較の可能性」 “Kodai, chūsei no nikki ni okeru ‘joryū kikō’: Yōroppa to no hikaku no kanōsei” (Women’s Travel in Ancient and Medieval Diaries: Possibilities for European Comparison). 『国文学』 Kokubungaku (Japanese Literature) (July 2006): 6-14.

「桑原佐太郎の伝記」 “Kuwabara Satarō no denki (1886-1953)” (The Biography of Kuwabara Satarō [1886-1953]). 『人間文化』 Ningen bunka (Human Cultures) 15 (March 2004): 72-3.

「十六夜日記の位置付けと解釈の可能性」 “Izayoi nikki no ichizuke to kaishaku no kanōsei” (Possibilities for the Interpretation and Repositioning of Izayoi nikki.” 『物語研究』 Monogatari Kenkyū: The Journal of the Monogatari Kenkyūkai. Special Issue: 「母」 “The Mother.” No. 3 (March 2003): 159-61.

(Translation) Imazeki Toshiko. “When Women Write: Examining the Gaps in Japanese Literary History.” Annual Review of Gender Studies. Center for Gender Studies, Kawamura Gakuen Woman’s University. Inaugural issue (2003): 73-7.

Reviews

Preachers, Poets, Women, and the Way: Izumi Shikibu and the Buddhist Literature of Medieval Japan by R. Keller Kimbrough.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 70. No. 2 (December 2010): 541-6. (Book review.)

「木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales).” 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 20 (2010): 145-8. (Book review.) “Sacred Rites in Moonlight: Ben no Naishi Nikki.” Monumenta Nipponica 61. No. 2 (Summer 2006): 272-5. (Book review.)

「脇田晴子著『女性芸能の原流―傀儡子・謡曲・白拍子』」 “Wakita Haruko, Josei geinō no genryū: kugutsushi, kusemai, shirabyōshi” (Wakita Haruko, The Origins of Women’s Performance: Puppeteers, Song, and Dancers). 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 12 (2002): 124-6. (Book review.)

Interviews

「婦人公論井戸端会議―誰が為に日記はある」 “Fujin Kōron idobata kaigi: dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (Fujin Kōron Wellside Discussion: For Whom are Diaries Written?). Roundtable member with 半藤一利 Handō Kazutoshi, chaired 糸井重里 Itoi Shigesato. 『婦人公論』 Fujin Kōron (January 2003): 192-7.

Book Chapters and Anthology Sections

“Menoto no fumi (The Nursemaid’s Letter).” In The Genji Reader, edited by Thomas J. Harper and Haruo Shirane, Columbia University Press, forthcoming.

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to the Production and Reception of Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” In Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 62-6. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

「女性教育とジェンダー―阿仏尼『乳母の文』をめぐって」 “Josei kyōiku to jendā: Abutsu-ni Menoto no fumi o megutte” (Women’s Education and Gender: On Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi). In 『越境する日本文学研究―カノン形成・ジェンダー・メディア』 Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 68-72. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

Teishinkōki: Year 939, A Classical Japanese Transcription.” In Teishinkōki: What Did a Heian Regent Do? The Year 939 in the Journal of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, edited by Joan R. Piggott and Yoshida Sanae, 82-147. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2008.

“Mother of Michitsuna” and “Kagerō Diary.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 222-4. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

“Travel Diaries.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 777-8. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to section.)

“Nun Abutsu” and “The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 778-87. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction and translation.)

“Lady Nijō” and “The Confessions of Lady Nijō.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 787-9. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

「誰が為に日記はある」 “Dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (For Whom Are Diaries Written?). In 『さらに経験を盗め』 Sara ni keiken o nusume (Stealing the Wisdom of Others, Continued), 175-94. Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 2006.

(Translation) Ueno Kenji. “The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll: The Origins of Japanese Caricature.” In The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll. Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2004, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

(Translation) Taizō Kuroda. “The Ban Dainagon-E: Commentary.” In The Ban Dainagon-E, Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2003, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

「クリスティーン・ド・ピザンと阿仏尼の文学活動―女性作家の歴史的条件を問う」 “Kurisutīn do Pizan to Abutsu-ni no bungaku katsudō: Josei sakkai no rekishiteki jōken o tō” (The Literary Activities of Christine de Pisan and Nun Abutsu: Reconsidering the Historical Conditions of Female Authors). In 『ニューヨーク・コロンビア大学の日本研究』 Nyūyōku, Koronbia daigaku no Nihon kenkyū (Japanese Studies at Columbia University, New York), 193-202. Tsukuba: Tsukuba University, 2001.

“Inviting Empathy: Kagerō Nikki and the Implied Reader.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 3-45. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tanaka Takako, “Medieval Literature and Women: Focusing on Mumyōzōshi.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 99-129. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tabata Yasuko, “Female Attendants and Wives of the Medieval Warrior Class.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 313-47. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

Conference Proceedings

「東アジア古典学のために――実践的深化をめざして(2)」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies). 『東アジア古典学としての上代文学の構築―活動報告』 Higashi Ajia kotengaku toshite no jōdai bungaku no kōchiku: katsudō hōkoku (The Construction of Ancient Japanese Literature within East Asian Classical Studies: Activities Report). Tokyo, Japan: University of Tokyo (March, 2011).

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki.” 『エコクリティシズムと日本文学研究―自然、環境、都市 』 Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen, kankyō to toshi. Tokyo: Rikkyō University (January 2011): 135-9.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetry and Politics in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, Travel in Japanese Representational Culture: Its Past, Present, and Future 8 (Summer 2007): 95-103.

「カナダ日系移民の研究史」 “Canada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study of Nikkei Emigration to Canada). 『近江商人研究』 Ōmi shōnin kenkyū (Research on Omi Merchants), edited by Wakita Haruko. Hikone, Japan: University of Shiga Prefecture (2006): 130-44.

 

Other

Uzawa Noh Troupe. Lady Aoi. 2007. Performance program, 28 pages. (Wrote content. Program designed by Julien Butterlin.)

Work in Progress

(Co-editor) Birth of a Sovereign. (Translated excerpt from the courtier journal Chūyūki and nine related essays). Content complete, editing underway. To be submitted for review in 2011.

Invited Presentations

「阿仏尼の人生と作品から読みとられる中世女性の姿」 “Abutsu-ni no jinsei to sakuhin kara yomitorareru chūsei josei no sugata” (Reading Medieval Women through the Life and Works of Nun Abutsu). Invited presentation for 日本研究における内外の視点 “Nihon kenkyū ni okeru naigai no shiten” (Internal and External Perspectives on Japanese Studies) symposium. Iwase Bunko Library, Nagoya, March 6, 2011.

「東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして―北米における現状と課題」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite―Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies, Aiming for Depth through Practice). Invited presentation for 東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして(1) “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite (1)” (Toward East Asian Classical Studies: Aiming for Depth through Practice [1]) symposium. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, December 4, 2010.

“Prequels, Sequels, and Self-Narratives: The Tale of Genji in Women’s Memoirs.” Invited presentation for “The Story of the Stone and The Tale of Genji in Modern China and Japan: Issues in Media, Technology, Gender, and National Identity.” Columbia University, New York, November 19, 2010. [Program PDF]

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2010.

“La lecture du Roman du Genji dans les mémoires médiévaux.” Hosted by Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. Lecture and debate delivered in Japanese at École Normale Supérieure, Paris, March 27, 2010. [Program PDF]

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki” (Lovesickness, Landscape, and Litigation: Reconstructing ‘Experience’ in Abutsu-ni’s Travel Diaries). “Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen kankyō to toshi” (Ecocriticism and the Study of Japanese Literature: The Natural Environment and the City). Rikkyo University, Tokyo, January 10, 2010. [Complete abstracts PDF]

第四回女性史学賞 木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Dai yon kai Josei shigaku shō: Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Fourth Women’s History Prize: Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales.” Nominational Address. Kyoto Campus Plaza, Kyoto, January 9, 2010.

Sex, Nuns, and Motherhood in Kamakura-Era Women’s Diaries: Tonsure in Fitful Slumbers and Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Columbia University, New York, October 22, 2009.

“Gender and Buddhism.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 20, 2009.

“Mothers, Mentors, Nuns: Court Culture and Women’s Writing in Kamakura-Era Japan.” Invited presentation for “2009 Toshiba International Foundation Symposium: Japan’s Cultural Imagination and its Contribution to the World.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 17, 2009.

What’s Nunhood Got to Do with It? Power, Patronage, Poetry and the Case of Nun Abutsu (1222-1283).” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 9, 2009.

“Lady Nijō.” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 7, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2008.

“Reading Japan through Women’s Diaries from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century.” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2008.

“Commentary.” Invited response for “Third COE International Symposium: Memories Inscribed in Places and the Body—New Horizons in the Study of Nonwritten Cultural Materials.” Kanagawa University. Yokohama, February 23, 2008.

“Telling Women What to Do: Nun Abutsu’s Nursemaid’s Letter and Christine de Pisan’s Book of the Three Virtues.” UBC Ritsumeikan Programme, Vancouver, February 9, 2007.

“Travel, Poetry, and Politics: Nun Abutsu’s Production of The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Invited presenter for Japanese Women Writing: Beginnings, Endings, Reversals, and Returns conference. Gabriola Island, August 2006.

“Gender, History, and the Japanese Household Unit (Ie).” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2006.

“Abutsu-ni to GoFukakusa Nijō no tabi to bungaku seisan” (Travel and Literary Production in the Case of Nun Abutsu and GoFukakusa Nijō). University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute, November 25, 2004.

“Kanada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study on Nikkei Emigration to Canada).” Ōmi Shōnin Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Ōmi Merchants). University of Shiga Prefecture, Hakone, Japan, May 10, 2003.

阿仏尼の位置付け―『十六夜日記』を通した社会文学的なアプローチ」  “The Position of Nun Abutsu: A Socio-Literary Approach to Izayoi nikki.” Monogatari Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Narrative Literature). Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan, November 16, 2002.

Other Presentations

“Japanese Language through Modern Literature.” Roundtable presentation. Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education Annual Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, August 14, 2010.

“Love, Locks, and Loyalty: Nunhood in the Diaries of Abutsu-ni.” Presentation at “Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period” workshop. Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia, May 23, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu and The Tale of Genji: Marketing Cultural Knowledge in the Middle Ages.” Panel presentation in “Voices Heard and Unheard: Rethinking Perceptions of Women in Pre-modern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, March 26, 2009.

Genji Readers and Genji Scholars: The Case for a Female-Authored Commentarial Tradition.” Panel presentation in “Murasaki’s Daughters: Female Traditions of Reading, Interpreting, and Transmitting The Tale of Genji.” European Association for Japanese Studies International Conference. Lecce, Italy. September 21, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Parsing The Nursemaid’s Letter: Feminine Advice for the Thirteenth-Century Court Woman.”  Religion, Border and History in Japanese Society and Culture. Hanyang-UBC Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, June 19, 2008.

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in Thirteenth-Century Japan.” Roundtable presentation in “What Women Should Know in Medieval and Early Modern Japan: Textual and Visual Discourses on Women’s Education, ca. 1200-1850.” Berkshire Conference on the History of Women. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, June 14, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” Panel presentation in “New Horizons in Japanese Literature Studies II: Gender, Genre, and Sociality.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Meiji Gakuin University. Tokyo, June 23, 2007. [Complete abtracts PDF]

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in The Nursemaid’s Letter.” Panel presentation in “What Women Should Know: Transmission and Teaching in Thirteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Boston, March 23, 2007.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetic Expectation in The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Panel Presentation in “Engendering Landscape: Women, Narrative, and Medieval Travel.” Association for Japanese Literary Studies Annual Meeting. Tokyo, Josai International University, July 2, 2006.

“Women on the Road: Nijō’s Encounters with Female Travelers.” Panel presentation in “Mapping the Journey through Texts: Courtiers on the Road in Premodern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. San Francisco, April 9, 2006.

“Inscribing the Body Politic: Japanese Women Writers on the China Front and in Colonial Manchuria.” Experts and Mediators of Knowledge in the 20th Century: Transregional Perspectives. Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study). Berlin, September 8, 2005.

“Following in Teika’s Footsteps: The Poetry and Travels of Nun Abutsu.” Panel presentation in “Interpreting Teika’s Legacy: Four Textual Perspectives on the Reception of Fujiwara Teika.” European Association for Asian Studies. University of Vienna, September 3, 2005.

“Redefining Nikki bungaku.” Panel Presentation in “Diaries and Records: Historical and Literary Perspectives on Tenth- and Eleventh-Century Japanese Sources.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, April 2, 2005.

“Abutsu-ni: Wise Mother, Faithful Wife, and Heroine.” Panel presentation in “Poems and Characters: Nukata no Ōkimi, Saigyō, and Abutsu-ni.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Sophia University, Tokyo, June 21, 2003.

Izayoi nikki as Poetic Appeal.” Panel presentation in “Poetic Capitals and Poetic Journeys: Man’yōshū, Tales of Ise, and Izayoi nikki.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. New York, March 30, 2003.


Christina Laffin

Associate Professor | Classical Japanese
phone 604 822 4990
location_on Asian Centre 210
Research Area
ON LEAVE
July 1, 2023—June 30, 2024

About

Associate Professor

Japanese CV (PDF)

English CV (PDF)

Research Interests

Medieval travel diaries; women’s education and socialization before 1600; poetic practices and waka culture; theories of travel, gender, and autobiography; noh theatre; and comparative approaches to medieval literature.

Past Events

Kanbun resources workshop. Instructed by Fukuda Takeshi (Organizer, UBC, 2012).

Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period (Co-organizer, Tallinn University, 2009)

Gatherings Beneath the Dai: Seasonal Topics in Hyakushu and Utaawase (Co-organizer, Columbia University, 2008)

Dressing Up Japanese History: Gender, Class, and Clothing from Premodern to Present (Organizer, UBC, 2007)

Uzawa Noh Troupe, Lady Aoi Performance and Noh Theatre Workshop [PDF press release] (Co-organizer, UBC, 2007)

New Perspectives on Waka Culture: Women, Patronage, and Genre in Medieval Japan (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)

Early-Modern Komonjo and Kuzushiji Workshop (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)


Teaching


Publications

Books

Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women: Politics, Personality, and Literary Production in the Life of Nun Abutsu. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2013. Accepted, approx. 300 pages.

(Co-editor) The Noh Ominameshi: A Flower Viewed From Many Directions. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2003. 358 pages.

Review: Scholz-Cionca, Stanca. Asian Theatre Journal 22, no. 1 (2005): 154-8.

(Managing Editor) Gender and Japanese History. Vol. 1 and 2, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999. 428 pages, 610 pages.

Review: Hastings, Sally A. Monumenta Nipponica 56, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 102-4.

Journals

Articles

「旅、自伝、経験―阿仏尼の日記をめぐって」 “Tabi, jiden, keiken: Abutsu-ni no nikki o megutte” (Travel, Autobiography, and Experience: On the Diaries of Nun Abutsu). 『アジア遊学』 Ajia gaku 142. Special edition, 環境という視座―日本文学とエククリティシズム “Kankyo to iu shiza: Nihon bungaku to ecokuritishizumu” (Environmental Perspectives: Japanese Literature and Ecocriticism) (July 2011): 133-42.

“Travel as Sacrifice: Abutsu’s Poetic Journey in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Review of Japanese Society and Culture 19 (December 2007): 71-86.

「北米公演を終えて」 “Hokubei kōen o oete (Completion of the North American Performances).” 『観世』 Kanze (June 2007): 60-2.

「古代・中世の日記における女流紀行―ヨーロッパとの比較の可能性」 “Kodai, chūsei no nikki ni okeru ‘joryū kikō’: Yōroppa to no hikaku no kanōsei” (Women’s Travel in Ancient and Medieval Diaries: Possibilities for European Comparison). 『国文学』 Kokubungaku (Japanese Literature) (July 2006): 6-14.

「桑原佐太郎の伝記」 “Kuwabara Satarō no denki (1886-1953)” (The Biography of Kuwabara Satarō [1886-1953]). 『人間文化』 Ningen bunka (Human Cultures) 15 (March 2004): 72-3.

「十六夜日記の位置付けと解釈の可能性」 “Izayoi nikki no ichizuke to kaishaku no kanōsei” (Possibilities for the Interpretation and Repositioning of Izayoi nikki.” 『物語研究』 Monogatari Kenkyū: The Journal of the Monogatari Kenkyūkai. Special Issue: 「母」 “The Mother.” No. 3 (March 2003): 159-61.

(Translation) Imazeki Toshiko. “When Women Write: Examining the Gaps in Japanese Literary History.” Annual Review of Gender Studies. Center for Gender Studies, Kawamura Gakuen Woman’s University. Inaugural issue (2003): 73-7.

Reviews

Preachers, Poets, Women, and the Way: Izumi Shikibu and the Buddhist Literature of Medieval Japan by R. Keller Kimbrough.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 70. No. 2 (December 2010): 541-6. (Book review.)

「木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales).” 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 20 (2010): 145-8. (Book review.) “Sacred Rites in Moonlight: Ben no Naishi Nikki.” Monumenta Nipponica 61. No. 2 (Summer 2006): 272-5. (Book review.)

「脇田晴子著『女性芸能の原流―傀儡子・謡曲・白拍子』」 “Wakita Haruko, Josei geinō no genryū: kugutsushi, kusemai, shirabyōshi” (Wakita Haruko, The Origins of Women’s Performance: Puppeteers, Song, and Dancers). 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 12 (2002): 124-6. (Book review.)

Interviews

「婦人公論井戸端会議―誰が為に日記はある」 “Fujin Kōron idobata kaigi: dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (Fujin Kōron Wellside Discussion: For Whom are Diaries Written?). Roundtable member with 半藤一利 Handō Kazutoshi, chaired 糸井重里 Itoi Shigesato. 『婦人公論』 Fujin Kōron (January 2003): 192-7.

Book Chapters and Anthology Sections

“Menoto no fumi (The Nursemaid’s Letter).” In The Genji Reader, edited by Thomas J. Harper and Haruo Shirane, Columbia University Press, forthcoming.

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to the Production and Reception of Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” In Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 62-6. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

「女性教育とジェンダー―阿仏尼『乳母の文』をめぐって」 “Josei kyōiku to jendā: Abutsu-ni Menoto no fumi o megutte” (Women’s Education and Gender: On Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi). In 『越境する日本文学研究―カノン形成・ジェンダー・メディア』 Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 68-72. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

Teishinkōki: Year 939, A Classical Japanese Transcription.” In Teishinkōki: What Did a Heian Regent Do? The Year 939 in the Journal of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, edited by Joan R. Piggott and Yoshida Sanae, 82-147. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2008.

“Mother of Michitsuna” and “Kagerō Diary.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 222-4. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

“Travel Diaries.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 777-8. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to section.)

“Nun Abutsu” and “The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 778-87. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction and translation.)

“Lady Nijō” and “The Confessions of Lady Nijō.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 787-9. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

「誰が為に日記はある」 “Dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (For Whom Are Diaries Written?). In 『さらに経験を盗め』 Sara ni keiken o nusume (Stealing the Wisdom of Others, Continued), 175-94. Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 2006.

(Translation) Ueno Kenji. “The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll: The Origins of Japanese Caricature.” In The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll. Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2004, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

(Translation) Taizō Kuroda. “The Ban Dainagon-E: Commentary.” In The Ban Dainagon-E, Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2003, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

「クリスティーン・ド・ピザンと阿仏尼の文学活動―女性作家の歴史的条件を問う」 “Kurisutīn do Pizan to Abutsu-ni no bungaku katsudō: Josei sakkai no rekishiteki jōken o tō” (The Literary Activities of Christine de Pisan and Nun Abutsu: Reconsidering the Historical Conditions of Female Authors). In 『ニューヨーク・コロンビア大学の日本研究』 Nyūyōku, Koronbia daigaku no Nihon kenkyū (Japanese Studies at Columbia University, New York), 193-202. Tsukuba: Tsukuba University, 2001.

“Inviting Empathy: Kagerō Nikki and the Implied Reader.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 3-45. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tanaka Takako, “Medieval Literature and Women: Focusing on Mumyōzōshi.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 99-129. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tabata Yasuko, “Female Attendants and Wives of the Medieval Warrior Class.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 313-47. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

Conference Proceedings

「東アジア古典学のために――実践的深化をめざして(2)」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies). 『東アジア古典学としての上代文学の構築―活動報告』 Higashi Ajia kotengaku toshite no jōdai bungaku no kōchiku: katsudō hōkoku (The Construction of Ancient Japanese Literature within East Asian Classical Studies: Activities Report). Tokyo, Japan: University of Tokyo (March, 2011).

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki.” 『エコクリティシズムと日本文学研究―自然、環境、都市 』 Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen, kankyō to toshi. Tokyo: Rikkyō University (January 2011): 135-9.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetry and Politics in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, Travel in Japanese Representational Culture: Its Past, Present, and Future 8 (Summer 2007): 95-103.

「カナダ日系移民の研究史」 “Canada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study of Nikkei Emigration to Canada). 『近江商人研究』 Ōmi shōnin kenkyū (Research on Omi Merchants), edited by Wakita Haruko. Hikone, Japan: University of Shiga Prefecture (2006): 130-44.

 

Other

Uzawa Noh Troupe. Lady Aoi. 2007. Performance program, 28 pages. (Wrote content. Program designed by Julien Butterlin.)

Work in Progress

(Co-editor) Birth of a Sovereign. (Translated excerpt from the courtier journal Chūyūki and nine related essays). Content complete, editing underway. To be submitted for review in 2011.

Invited Presentations

「阿仏尼の人生と作品から読みとられる中世女性の姿」 “Abutsu-ni no jinsei to sakuhin kara yomitorareru chūsei josei no sugata” (Reading Medieval Women through the Life and Works of Nun Abutsu). Invited presentation for 日本研究における内外の視点 “Nihon kenkyū ni okeru naigai no shiten” (Internal and External Perspectives on Japanese Studies) symposium. Iwase Bunko Library, Nagoya, March 6, 2011.

「東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして―北米における現状と課題」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite―Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies, Aiming for Depth through Practice). Invited presentation for 東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして(1) “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite (1)” (Toward East Asian Classical Studies: Aiming for Depth through Practice [1]) symposium. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, December 4, 2010.

“Prequels, Sequels, and Self-Narratives: The Tale of Genji in Women’s Memoirs.” Invited presentation for “The Story of the Stone and The Tale of Genji in Modern China and Japan: Issues in Media, Technology, Gender, and National Identity.” Columbia University, New York, November 19, 2010. [Program PDF]

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2010.

“La lecture du Roman du Genji dans les mémoires médiévaux.” Hosted by Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. Lecture and debate delivered in Japanese at École Normale Supérieure, Paris, March 27, 2010. [Program PDF]

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki” (Lovesickness, Landscape, and Litigation: Reconstructing ‘Experience’ in Abutsu-ni’s Travel Diaries). “Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen kankyō to toshi” (Ecocriticism and the Study of Japanese Literature: The Natural Environment and the City). Rikkyo University, Tokyo, January 10, 2010. [Complete abstracts PDF]

第四回女性史学賞 木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Dai yon kai Josei shigaku shō: Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Fourth Women’s History Prize: Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales.” Nominational Address. Kyoto Campus Plaza, Kyoto, January 9, 2010.

Sex, Nuns, and Motherhood in Kamakura-Era Women’s Diaries: Tonsure in Fitful Slumbers and Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Columbia University, New York, October 22, 2009.

“Gender and Buddhism.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 20, 2009.

“Mothers, Mentors, Nuns: Court Culture and Women’s Writing in Kamakura-Era Japan.” Invited presentation for “2009 Toshiba International Foundation Symposium: Japan’s Cultural Imagination and its Contribution to the World.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 17, 2009.

What’s Nunhood Got to Do with It? Power, Patronage, Poetry and the Case of Nun Abutsu (1222-1283).” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 9, 2009.

“Lady Nijō.” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 7, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2008.

“Reading Japan through Women’s Diaries from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century.” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2008.

“Commentary.” Invited response for “Third COE International Symposium: Memories Inscribed in Places and the Body—New Horizons in the Study of Nonwritten Cultural Materials.” Kanagawa University. Yokohama, February 23, 2008.

“Telling Women What to Do: Nun Abutsu’s Nursemaid’s Letter and Christine de Pisan’s Book of the Three Virtues.” UBC Ritsumeikan Programme, Vancouver, February 9, 2007.

“Travel, Poetry, and Politics: Nun Abutsu’s Production of The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Invited presenter for Japanese Women Writing: Beginnings, Endings, Reversals, and Returns conference. Gabriola Island, August 2006.

“Gender, History, and the Japanese Household Unit (Ie).” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2006.

“Abutsu-ni to GoFukakusa Nijō no tabi to bungaku seisan” (Travel and Literary Production in the Case of Nun Abutsu and GoFukakusa Nijō). University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute, November 25, 2004.

“Kanada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study on Nikkei Emigration to Canada).” Ōmi Shōnin Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Ōmi Merchants). University of Shiga Prefecture, Hakone, Japan, May 10, 2003.

阿仏尼の位置付け―『十六夜日記』を通した社会文学的なアプローチ」  “The Position of Nun Abutsu: A Socio-Literary Approach to Izayoi nikki.” Monogatari Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Narrative Literature). Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan, November 16, 2002.

Other Presentations

“Japanese Language through Modern Literature.” Roundtable presentation. Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education Annual Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, August 14, 2010.

“Love, Locks, and Loyalty: Nunhood in the Diaries of Abutsu-ni.” Presentation at “Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period” workshop. Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia, May 23, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu and The Tale of Genji: Marketing Cultural Knowledge in the Middle Ages.” Panel presentation in “Voices Heard and Unheard: Rethinking Perceptions of Women in Pre-modern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, March 26, 2009.

Genji Readers and Genji Scholars: The Case for a Female-Authored Commentarial Tradition.” Panel presentation in “Murasaki’s Daughters: Female Traditions of Reading, Interpreting, and Transmitting The Tale of Genji.” European Association for Japanese Studies International Conference. Lecce, Italy. September 21, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Parsing The Nursemaid’s Letter: Feminine Advice for the Thirteenth-Century Court Woman.”  Religion, Border and History in Japanese Society and Culture. Hanyang-UBC Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, June 19, 2008.

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in Thirteenth-Century Japan.” Roundtable presentation in “What Women Should Know in Medieval and Early Modern Japan: Textual and Visual Discourses on Women’s Education, ca. 1200-1850.” Berkshire Conference on the History of Women. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, June 14, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” Panel presentation in “New Horizons in Japanese Literature Studies II: Gender, Genre, and Sociality.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Meiji Gakuin University. Tokyo, June 23, 2007. [Complete abtracts PDF]

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in The Nursemaid’s Letter.” Panel presentation in “What Women Should Know: Transmission and Teaching in Thirteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Boston, March 23, 2007.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetic Expectation in The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Panel Presentation in “Engendering Landscape: Women, Narrative, and Medieval Travel.” Association for Japanese Literary Studies Annual Meeting. Tokyo, Josai International University, July 2, 2006.

“Women on the Road: Nijō’s Encounters with Female Travelers.” Panel presentation in “Mapping the Journey through Texts: Courtiers on the Road in Premodern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. San Francisco, April 9, 2006.

“Inscribing the Body Politic: Japanese Women Writers on the China Front and in Colonial Manchuria.” Experts and Mediators of Knowledge in the 20th Century: Transregional Perspectives. Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study). Berlin, September 8, 2005.

“Following in Teika’s Footsteps: The Poetry and Travels of Nun Abutsu.” Panel presentation in “Interpreting Teika’s Legacy: Four Textual Perspectives on the Reception of Fujiwara Teika.” European Association for Asian Studies. University of Vienna, September 3, 2005.

“Redefining Nikki bungaku.” Panel Presentation in “Diaries and Records: Historical and Literary Perspectives on Tenth- and Eleventh-Century Japanese Sources.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, April 2, 2005.

“Abutsu-ni: Wise Mother, Faithful Wife, and Heroine.” Panel presentation in “Poems and Characters: Nukata no Ōkimi, Saigyō, and Abutsu-ni.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Sophia University, Tokyo, June 21, 2003.

Izayoi nikki as Poetic Appeal.” Panel presentation in “Poetic Capitals and Poetic Journeys: Man’yōshū, Tales of Ise, and Izayoi nikki.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. New York, March 30, 2003.


Christina Laffin

Associate Professor | Classical Japanese
ON LEAVE
July 1, 2023—June 30, 2024
phone 604 822 4990
location_on Asian Centre 210
Research Area
About keyboard_arrow_down

Associate Professor

Japanese CV (PDF)

English CV (PDF)

Research Interests

Medieval travel diaries; women’s education and socialization before 1600; poetic practices and waka culture; theories of travel, gender, and autobiography; noh theatre; and comparative approaches to medieval literature.

Past Events

Kanbun resources workshop. Instructed by Fukuda Takeshi (Organizer, UBC, 2012).

Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period (Co-organizer, Tallinn University, 2009)

Gatherings Beneath the Dai: Seasonal Topics in Hyakushu and Utaawase (Co-organizer, Columbia University, 2008)

Dressing Up Japanese History: Gender, Class, and Clothing from Premodern to Present (Organizer, UBC, 2007)

Uzawa Noh Troupe, Lady Aoi Performance and Noh Theatre Workshop [PDF press release] (Co-organizer, UBC, 2007)

New Perspectives on Waka Culture: Women, Patronage, and Genre in Medieval Japan (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)

Early-Modern Komonjo and Kuzushiji Workshop (Co-organizer, UBC, 2006)

Teaching keyboard_arrow_down
Publications keyboard_arrow_down

Books

Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women: Politics, Personality, and Literary Production in the Life of Nun Abutsu. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2013. Accepted, approx. 300 pages.

(Co-editor) The Noh Ominameshi: A Flower Viewed From Many Directions. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2003. 358 pages.

Review: Scholz-Cionca, Stanca. Asian Theatre Journal 22, no. 1 (2005): 154-8.

(Managing Editor) Gender and Japanese History. Vol. 1 and 2, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999. 428 pages, 610 pages.

Review: Hastings, Sally A. Monumenta Nipponica 56, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 102-4.

Journals

Articles

「旅、自伝、経験―阿仏尼の日記をめぐって」 “Tabi, jiden, keiken: Abutsu-ni no nikki o megutte” (Travel, Autobiography, and Experience: On the Diaries of Nun Abutsu). 『アジア遊学』 Ajia gaku 142. Special edition, 環境という視座―日本文学とエククリティシズム “Kankyo to iu shiza: Nihon bungaku to ecokuritishizumu” (Environmental Perspectives: Japanese Literature and Ecocriticism) (July 2011): 133-42.

“Travel as Sacrifice: Abutsu’s Poetic Journey in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Review of Japanese Society and Culture 19 (December 2007): 71-86.

「北米公演を終えて」 “Hokubei kōen o oete (Completion of the North American Performances).” 『観世』 Kanze (June 2007): 60-2.

「古代・中世の日記における女流紀行―ヨーロッパとの比較の可能性」 “Kodai, chūsei no nikki ni okeru ‘joryū kikō’: Yōroppa to no hikaku no kanōsei” (Women’s Travel in Ancient and Medieval Diaries: Possibilities for European Comparison). 『国文学』 Kokubungaku (Japanese Literature) (July 2006): 6-14.

「桑原佐太郎の伝記」 “Kuwabara Satarō no denki (1886-1953)” (The Biography of Kuwabara Satarō [1886-1953]). 『人間文化』 Ningen bunka (Human Cultures) 15 (March 2004): 72-3.

「十六夜日記の位置付けと解釈の可能性」 “Izayoi nikki no ichizuke to kaishaku no kanōsei” (Possibilities for the Interpretation and Repositioning of Izayoi nikki.” 『物語研究』 Monogatari Kenkyū: The Journal of the Monogatari Kenkyūkai. Special Issue: 「母」 “The Mother.” No. 3 (March 2003): 159-61.

(Translation) Imazeki Toshiko. “When Women Write: Examining the Gaps in Japanese Literary History.” Annual Review of Gender Studies. Center for Gender Studies, Kawamura Gakuen Woman’s University. Inaugural issue (2003): 73-7.

Reviews

Preachers, Poets, Women, and the Way: Izumi Shikibu and the Buddhist Literature of Medieval Japan by R. Keller Kimbrough.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 70. No. 2 (December 2010): 541-6. (Book review.)

「木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales).” 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 20 (2010): 145-8. (Book review.) “Sacred Rites in Moonlight: Ben no Naishi Nikki.” Monumenta Nipponica 61. No. 2 (Summer 2006): 272-5. (Book review.)

「脇田晴子著『女性芸能の原流―傀儡子・謡曲・白拍子』」 “Wakita Haruko, Josei geinō no genryū: kugutsushi, kusemai, shirabyōshi” (Wakita Haruko, The Origins of Women’s Performance: Puppeteers, Song, and Dancers). 『女性史学』 Joseishigaku: The Annals of Women’s History. No. 12 (2002): 124-6. (Book review.)

Interviews

「婦人公論井戸端会議―誰が為に日記はある」 “Fujin Kōron idobata kaigi: dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (Fujin Kōron Wellside Discussion: For Whom are Diaries Written?). Roundtable member with 半藤一利 Handō Kazutoshi, chaired 糸井重里 Itoi Shigesato. 『婦人公論』 Fujin Kōron (January 2003): 192-7.

Book Chapters and Anthology Sections

“Menoto no fumi (The Nursemaid’s Letter).” In The Genji Reader, edited by Thomas J. Harper and Haruo Shirane, Columbia University Press, forthcoming.

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to the Production and Reception of Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” In Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 62-6. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

「女性教育とジェンダー―阿仏尼『乳母の文』をめぐって」 “Josei kyōiku to jendā: Abutsu-ni Menoto no fumi o megutte” (Women’s Education and Gender: On Nun Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi). In 『越境する日本文学研究―カノン形成・ジェンダー・メディア』 Ekkyō suru Nihon bungaku kenkyū: Kanon keisei, jendā, media (New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies: Canon Formation, Gender, and Media), 68-72. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2009.

Teishinkōki: Year 939, A Classical Japanese Transcription.” In Teishinkōki: What Did a Heian Regent Do? The Year 939 in the Journal of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, edited by Joan R. Piggott and Yoshida Sanae, 82-147. Ithaca: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2008.

“Mother of Michitsuna” and “Kagerō Diary.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 222-4. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

“Travel Diaries.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 777-8. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to section.)

“Nun Abutsu” and “The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 778-87. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction and translation.)

“Lady Nijō” and “The Confessions of Lady Nijō.” In Traditional Japanese Literature, An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 787-9. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. (Introduction to translation.)

「誰が為に日記はある」 “Dare ga tame ni nikki wa aru” (For Whom Are Diaries Written?). In 『さらに経験を盗め』 Sara ni keiken o nusume (Stealing the Wisdom of Others, Continued), 175-94. Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 2006.

(Translation) Ueno Kenji. “The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll: The Origins of Japanese Caricature.” In The Frolicking Animals and Humans Scroll. Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2004, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

(Translation) Taizō Kuroda. “The Ban Dainagon-E: Commentary.” In The Ban Dainagon-E, Kanzen Fukkoku Shiriizu. Tokyo: Maruzen, 2003, unpaginated, approx. 10 pages.

「クリスティーン・ド・ピザンと阿仏尼の文学活動―女性作家の歴史的条件を問う」 “Kurisutīn do Pizan to Abutsu-ni no bungaku katsudō: Josei sakkai no rekishiteki jōken o tō” (The Literary Activities of Christine de Pisan and Nun Abutsu: Reconsidering the Historical Conditions of Female Authors). In 『ニューヨーク・コロンビア大学の日本研究』 Nyūyōku, Koronbia daigaku no Nihon kenkyū (Japanese Studies at Columbia University, New York), 193-202. Tsukuba: Tsukuba University, 2001.

“Inviting Empathy: Kagerō Nikki and the Implied Reader.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 3-45. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tanaka Takako, “Medieval Literature and Women: Focusing on Mumyōzōshi.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 99-129. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

(Translation) Tabata Yasuko, “Female Attendants and Wives of the Medieval Warrior Class.” In vol. 2 of Gender and Japanese History, edited by Wakita Haruko, Anne Bouchy, and Ueno Chizuko, 313-47. Osaka: Osaka University Press, 1999.

Conference Proceedings

「東アジア古典学のために――実践的深化をめざして(2)」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies). 『東アジア古典学としての上代文学の構築―活動報告』 Higashi Ajia kotengaku toshite no jōdai bungaku no kōchiku: katsudō hōkoku (The Construction of Ancient Japanese Literature within East Asian Classical Studies: Activities Report). Tokyo, Japan: University of Tokyo (March, 2011).

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki.” 『エコクリティシズムと日本文学研究―自然、環境、都市 』 Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen, kankyō to toshi. Tokyo: Rikkyō University (January 2011): 135-9.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetry and Politics in Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, Travel in Japanese Representational Culture: Its Past, Present, and Future 8 (Summer 2007): 95-103.

「カナダ日系移民の研究史」 “Canada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study of Nikkei Emigration to Canada). 『近江商人研究』 Ōmi shōnin kenkyū (Research on Omi Merchants), edited by Wakita Haruko. Hikone, Japan: University of Shiga Prefecture (2006): 130-44.

 

Other

Uzawa Noh Troupe. Lady Aoi. 2007. Performance program, 28 pages. (Wrote content. Program designed by Julien Butterlin.)

Work in Progress

(Co-editor) Birth of a Sovereign. (Translated excerpt from the courtier journal Chūyūki and nine related essays). Content complete, editing underway. To be submitted for review in 2011.

Invited Presentations

「阿仏尼の人生と作品から読みとられる中世女性の姿」 “Abutsu-ni no jinsei to sakuhin kara yomitorareru chūsei josei no sugata” (Reading Medieval Women through the Life and Works of Nun Abutsu). Invited presentation for 日本研究における内外の視点 “Nihon kenkyū ni okeru naigai no shiten” (Internal and External Perspectives on Japanese Studies) symposium. Iwase Bunko Library, Nagoya, March 6, 2011.

「東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして―北米における現状と課題」 “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite―Hokubei ni okeru genjō to kadai” (North American Perspectives: Toward East Asian Classical Studies, Aiming for Depth through Practice). Invited presentation for 東アジア古典学のために―実践的深化をめざして(1) “Higashi Ajia kotengaku no tame ni: jissenteki shinka o mezashite (1)” (Toward East Asian Classical Studies: Aiming for Depth through Practice [1]) symposium. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, December 4, 2010.

“Prequels, Sequels, and Self-Narratives: The Tale of Genji in Women’s Memoirs.” Invited presentation for “The Story of the Stone and The Tale of Genji in Modern China and Japan: Issues in Media, Technology, Gender, and National Identity.” Columbia University, New York, November 19, 2010. [Program PDF]

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2010.

“La lecture du Roman du Genji dans les mémoires médiévaux.” Hosted by Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. Lecture and debate delivered in Japanese at École Normale Supérieure, Paris, March 27, 2010. [Program PDF]

「恋、風景、訴訟―『経験』の再構築と阿仏尼の旅日記」 “Koi, fūkei, soshō: ‘keiken’ no saikōchiku to Abutsu-ni no tabi nikki” (Lovesickness, Landscape, and Litigation: Reconstructing ‘Experience’ in Abutsu-ni’s Travel Diaries). “Ekokuritishizumu to Nihon bungaku kenkyū: shizen kankyō to toshi” (Ecocriticism and the Study of Japanese Literature: The Natural Environment and the City). Rikkyo University, Tokyo, January 10, 2010. [Complete abstracts PDF]

第四回女性史学賞 木村朗子『乳房はだれのものか―日本中世物語にみる性と権力』」 “Dai yon kai Josei shigaku shō: Kimura Saeko, Chibusa wa dare no mono ka: Nihon chūsei monogatari ni miru sei to kenryoku (Fourth Women’s History Prize: Kimura Saeko, Breasts for Whom? Sexuality and Authority in Japanese Medieval Tales.” Nominational Address. Kyoto Campus Plaza, Kyoto, January 9, 2010.

Sex, Nuns, and Motherhood in Kamakura-Era Women’s Diaries: Tonsure in Fitful Slumbers and Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Columbia University, New York, October 22, 2009.

“Gender and Buddhism.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 20, 2009.

“Mothers, Mentors, Nuns: Court Culture and Women’s Writing in Kamakura-Era Japan.” Invited presentation for “2009 Toshiba International Foundation Symposium: Japan’s Cultural Imagination and its Contribution to the World.” University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, October 17, 2009.

What’s Nunhood Got to Do with It? Power, Patronage, Poetry and the Case of Nun Abutsu (1222-1283).” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 9, 2009.

“Lady Nijō.” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 7, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu’s Travels: The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon.” Waseda University, Tokyo, May 13, 2008.

“Reading Japan through Women’s Diaries from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century.” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2008.

“Commentary.” Invited response for “Third COE International Symposium: Memories Inscribed in Places and the Body—New Horizons in the Study of Nonwritten Cultural Materials.” Kanagawa University. Yokohama, February 23, 2008.

“Telling Women What to Do: Nun Abutsu’s Nursemaid’s Letter and Christine de Pisan’s Book of the Three Virtues.” UBC Ritsumeikan Programme, Vancouver, February 9, 2007.

“Travel, Poetry, and Politics: Nun Abutsu’s Production of The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Invited presenter for Japanese Women Writing: Beginnings, Endings, Reversals, and Returns conference. Gabriola Island, August 2006.

“Gender, History, and the Japanese Household Unit (Ie).” UBC School of Architecture, Vancouver, February 27, 2006.

“Abutsu-ni to GoFukakusa Nijō no tabi to bungaku seisan” (Travel and Literary Production in the Case of Nun Abutsu and GoFukakusa Nijō). University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute, November 25, 2004.

“Kanada Nikkei imin no kenkyūshi” (The History of Study on Nikkei Emigration to Canada).” Ōmi Shōnin Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Ōmi Merchants). University of Shiga Prefecture, Hakone, Japan, May 10, 2003.

阿仏尼の位置付け―『十六夜日記』を通した社会文学的なアプローチ」  “The Position of Nun Abutsu: A Socio-Literary Approach to Izayoi nikki.” Monogatari Kenkyūkai (Association for the Study of Narrative Literature). Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan, November 16, 2002.

Other Presentations

“Japanese Language through Modern Literature.” Roundtable presentation. Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education Annual Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, August 14, 2010.

“Love, Locks, and Loyalty: Nunhood in the Diaries of Abutsu-ni.” Presentation at “Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period” workshop. Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia, May 23, 2009.

“Nun Abutsu and The Tale of Genji: Marketing Cultural Knowledge in the Middle Ages.” Panel presentation in “Voices Heard and Unheard: Rethinking Perceptions of Women in Pre-modern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, March 26, 2009.

Genji Readers and Genji Scholars: The Case for a Female-Authored Commentarial Tradition.” Panel presentation in “Murasaki’s Daughters: Female Traditions of Reading, Interpreting, and Transmitting The Tale of Genji.” European Association for Japanese Studies International Conference. Lecce, Italy. September 21, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Parsing The Nursemaid’s Letter: Feminine Advice for the Thirteenth-Century Court Woman.”  Religion, Border and History in Japanese Society and Culture. Hanyang-UBC Conference. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, June 19, 2008.

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in Thirteenth-Century Japan.” Roundtable presentation in “What Women Should Know in Medieval and Early Modern Japan: Textual and Visual Discourses on Women’s Education, ca. 1200-1850.” Berkshire Conference on the History of Women. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, June 14, 2008. [Complete program PDF]

“Grappling with Women’s Education: Approaches to Abutsu’s Menoto no fumi.” Panel presentation in “New Horizons in Japanese Literature Studies II: Gender, Genre, and Sociality.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Meiji Gakuin University. Tokyo, June 23, 2007. [Complete abtracts PDF]

“Parting the Reeds of Naniwa: Courtly Advice to Women in The Nursemaid’s Letter.” Panel presentation in “What Women Should Know: Transmission and Teaching in Thirteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Boston, March 23, 2007.

“The Road Well Traveled: Poetic Expectation in The Diary of the Sixteenth Night.” Panel Presentation in “Engendering Landscape: Women, Narrative, and Medieval Travel.” Association for Japanese Literary Studies Annual Meeting. Tokyo, Josai International University, July 2, 2006.

“Women on the Road: Nijō’s Encounters with Female Travelers.” Panel presentation in “Mapping the Journey through Texts: Courtiers on the Road in Premodern Japan.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. San Francisco, April 9, 2006.

“Inscribing the Body Politic: Japanese Women Writers on the China Front and in Colonial Manchuria.” Experts and Mediators of Knowledge in the 20th Century: Transregional Perspectives. Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study). Berlin, September 8, 2005.

“Following in Teika’s Footsteps: The Poetry and Travels of Nun Abutsu.” Panel presentation in “Interpreting Teika’s Legacy: Four Textual Perspectives on the Reception of Fujiwara Teika.” European Association for Asian Studies. University of Vienna, September 3, 2005.

“Redefining Nikki bungaku.” Panel Presentation in “Diaries and Records: Historical and Literary Perspectives on Tenth- and Eleventh-Century Japanese Sources.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, April 2, 2005.

“Abutsu-ni: Wise Mother, Faithful Wife, and Heroine.” Panel presentation in “Poems and Characters: Nukata no Ōkimi, Saigyō, and Abutsu-ni.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Sophia University, Tokyo, June 21, 2003.

Izayoi nikki as Poetic Appeal.” Panel presentation in “Poetic Capitals and Poetic Journeys: Man’yōshū, Tales of Ise, and Izayoi nikki.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. New York, March 30, 2003.