Hayden Burke
Souleymane Burgo
Thomas Curtis
Margaux Gackiere
Shalini Kanchanamala
Ruilin Kou
Isaac Lee
Ileana Rojas
Yasmin Shamsi
Louis Tedeschi
Dane Whittier

Jan is a PhD student in Japanese humanities and religious studies at Kyushu University. His research explores the developments of Japanese religious confraternities from the Edo to the Meiji period. Specifically, he compares the developments of confraternities associated with different religious sites across Japan, among them Mount Fuji, Mount Ishizuchi and Ise Grand Shrine. His research relies primarily on written sources.

Research Interests: Popular religion, confraternities, new religions, pilgrimage, modernity, Edo period, Meiji period.

Professional Activities:

Conference Presentations:

Hausmann, Jan Frederik. “Hagiographies in Japanese New Religions: An Example from Nakayama Shingoshōshū.” Paper presented at “EAJS 2023, the 17th International Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies,” Ghent University, Ghent, 2023.08.18

Journal Articles:

Hausmann, Jan Frederik. ハウスマン ヤン フレデリック. “Shinshūkyō to sono shūso: Nakayama shingoshōshū o rei ni” 新宗教とその宗祖：中山身語正宗を例に. Shingoshō kenkyū 身語正研究 4 (2023), 45–58.

Book Reviews:

Hausmann, Jan Frederik. Review of Faith in Mount Fuji: The Rise of Independent Religion in Early Modern Japan, by Janine Anderson Sawada. Asian Ethnology 82:1 (2023), pp. 181–83.

Raditya is a Phd student at Kyushu University. His research explores the relationship between religion and popular culture through the phenomenon of anime pilgrimage. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork at various pilgrimage sites, including Fukuoka, Gifu, and Ishikawa. He is particularly interested in the construction of sacred spaces through practices inspired by popular media such as anime or manga.

Research Interests: Religion and popular culture, pilgrimage, material culture, contemporary, religious practices.

Fellowships/Scholarships:
Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation Scholarship 2018 – 2020
Sōjitz Foundation Scholarship 2021 - 2023
Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation (SPRING) by JST (Japan
Science and Technology Agency) 2021 - Present

Professional Activities:
Conferences and Workshops
Mutual Images 8 th International Workshop (Presentation)
Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference 2022 (Panel Convenor and
Panelist)
Mechademia Conference 2022 (Presentation)
UN/REAL Workshop Transcultural Perspectives on Digital Living 2022 (Presentation)
Others:
Host for New Books in Japanese Studies, a podcast channel of New Books Network (NBN)
Check Raditya’s episodes here.

Jacob's research focuses on the heroes or "eiketsu" of the Bakumatsu period, in particular Sakamoto Ryōma, and their depiction in media and popular culture. He is interested in the cultural meaning of heroism, and his MA thesis explored a similar issue through the lens of Japanese detective fiction.

Alejandra's Masters' thesis focused on the reception of Japanese porcelain in 18th centure Europe. Her main fields of interest are material culture, art history and cultural memory studies. Particularily, she is interested in the study of Arita, Saga Prefecture and the construction of an identity of this town based on its history on porcelain production.

Arisha's research focuses on the Former Residence of Takatori located in Karatsu city, Saga Prefecture built in the Meiji period which she approach as an expression of social identity in reaction to Japan’s modernization and cross-cultural exchange, particularly in the regional area.

Publication:

"Politics of Heritage: Karatsu's Takatori-tei as a Status Symbol, Monument of Modernity, and Symbol of Regional Identity," In Heritage, Contested Sites, and Borders of Memory in the Asia Pacific. eds. Boyle, Edward and Steven Ivings. Leiden: Brill, 2023
Link: https://brill.com/display/title/62093

Presentations:

・International Joint Workshop between Kyushu University and Shanghai International Studies University. “East Asia Global Governance.” November 2019

Politics of Style: Manifestation of Social Identity during the Meiji Period in the Former Takatori Residence.

(Paper) Kyushu University Border Studies (KUBS). “Heritage, Conflicted Sites, and Bordered Memories in Asia.” July 2020

・Politics of Heritage: The Takatori Residence as an Expression of Status for the Meiji Elite.

・Interlab Japan (International Laboratory for Architectural and Urban Research Japan) April 2023

Presentation on Dissertation Research: The Politics of Architecture: The Takatori Residence in Karatsu as Expression of Social Class and Regional Identity

Extra-curricular activities

Interlab Japan (International Laboratory for Architectural and Urban Research Japan) - Member and Co-founder

An International Research Community that aims to provide space for rigorous discussions on architecture and urban planning in Japan. My role as a member is to provide support for the community development, gives constructive criticism for members’ research presentations, and engage in in-group sharing session seminars. I was part of the proposal team that succesfully received grant funding from Otasuke NEO (a Nara University research funding) for the group’s development.