Research Interests
I am a specialist in late medieval and early modern Japan, with a focus on material culture, environmental history, and urban history.
Some Notable Publications
- Reading Medieval Ruins: Urban Life and Destruction in Sixteenth-Century Japan. Cambridge University Press, 2021.
- Letters from Japan’s Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Correspondence of Warlords, Tea, Masters, Zen Priests, and Aristocrats, with Reiko Tanimura and Masuda Takashi. University of California, Berkeley, IEAS Publications, 2021.
- Spectacular Accumulation: Material Culture, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Samurai Sociability. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2016. Winner, 2016 Book Prize, Southeastern Conference of the Association of Asian Studies.
- Kyoto Visual Culture in the Early Edo and Meiji Periods: The Arts of Reinvention. Co-edited with Alice Tseng. New York: Routledge, 2016.
- What’s the Use of Art? Asian Visual and Material Culture in Context. Co-edited with Jan Mrazek. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2007.
- Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in Japan. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005.
- Japanese Tea Culture: Art, History, and Practice. Editor. London and New York: Routledge, 2003; paperback edition, 2007.
Graduate Students
- This faculty member is accepting applicants for the 2023-2024 cycle
- Jason Castro (Co-advised with Cemil Aydin)
- Megan McClory
- Morgan Wilson (Co-Advised with Susan Dabney Pennybacker)
- ASIA 63: First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture
- JAPN 231: Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture
- JAPN 246: Early Modern Japanese History and Culture
- JAPN 363: Samurai, Monks, and Pirates: History and Historiography of Japan’s Long Sixteenth Century
- JAPN 451: Swords, Tea Bowls, and Woodblock Prints: Exploring Japanese Material Culture
- HIST 890: Material Culture and Material histories
Courses Taught (as schedule allows)
For current information about course offerings, click here.