Japanese Historical Studies Research Exchange
The annual USC-Meiji Research Exchange will be held on November 1-2, 2025 at the University of Southern California. The Exchange provides an opportunity for researchers, students, and faculty at both institutions to share the latest research in Japan studies.
This year, scholars from both sides of the Pacific will be exploring archaeology, religion, literature, and the navigation of center and periphery across the premodern and modern eras.
Since 2008, the Exchange has provided a valuable space for networking and exchange. USC scholars have used the Meiji University research library and attended seminars with the Interdisciplinary Classical Japanese Historical Studies Program, and Meiji scholars have presented their research at USC, used the collections, and attended university events.
Location: History Department, SOS 250
RSVP Here
Saturday
11:00 Greetings, Prof. Joan R. Piggott, USC and Prof. Ken’ichi Sasaki, Meiji University
11:30 Sachiko Kawai, USC PPJS, “’Historical Hot Spring Inn, Craft Beers, and the Murder in the Hot Spring’ via My YouTube Channel”
12:15 Lunch
1:30 Yoko Shirai, USC PPJS, “Figured Buddha Tiles at Yamadadera”
2:30 Andrew Tschirki, USC School of Religion, “Shōkū and the Nyoin Gosho: Centering Elite Women in Medieval Pure Land Discourse”
3:30 Aito Shimizu, Meiji University, “When Officials Didn’t Show Up for Court Events”
4:30 Jan Goodwin, USC PPJS, “Resilience and Resistance: Outcasts in Late Medieval Times”
Sunday
11:00 Prof. Ken’ichi Sasaki, Meiji University, “Report from the Field, Kofun Culture in the Vicinity of Kashima Shrine”
12:00 Lunch
1:30 Taiji Sasaki, Meiji University, “Effects of Citing a Waka in a Noh Song, Oshio’s ‘Is it the same moon as before? Is the spring the same as before?' at the Unrin’in”
2:30 Lewis Hou, USC EALC, “Becoming ‘King of Japan.’ Diplomatics Between Japan and Other East Asian States, 1268-1368”
3:30 Sophie Calderon, USC EASC, “What Did Women Study, How, and Why in Kamakura Times”
4:30 Emily Warren, Lisa Kochinsky, Yoko Shirai, “Recollections of the Archeology Workshop, Summer 2024”