Bio

Current Position

2021 April-: Associate Professor, Department of Social System Design, Eikei University of Hiroshima

Education

2016 Ph.D. in Social Sciences, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo

(Title: Between Civil Society and Political Society: An Anthropology of Citizen Movements in Mumbai, India. English summary)

2006 M.A. in Human Sciences, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka

2003 B.A. in Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University, Osaka

Research Profile

  • Anthropological research on civil society and social movements in India
  • Ethnographic exploration of care/domestic work in urban India
  • Anthropological theories of personhood, relations, and social imaginaries

Investigating the local concepts and practices of civil society and changes in public space, engaging with anthropological literature and conducting long-term anthropological fieldwork in Mumbai, India, including participant-observation and in-depth interviews. More recently, shifting focus from urban space to inside the house, studying care work and the dynamics of various households and kinship/family relations.

Major Research Grants and Fellowships

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists, April 2021–Mar 2026. Anthropological research on care work and householding in urban India, focusing on multiple social imaginaries.

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (PD), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, April 2013–March 2016. Anthropological research on the reconfiguration of public space in contemporary India, focusing on middle-class activism and civil society movements in Mumbai.

Doctoral Research Fellow (DC2), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University, April 2010–March 2012. Anthropological research on the conception of the public and regionalism in South Asia, focusing on urban space in Mumbai, India.

Areas of Teaching Expertise

  • Anthropology (cultural/social anthropology, anthropology and development, anthropology of personhood, religion and society)
  • South Asian Studies (postcolonial studies, Indian urban space, kinship and family)
  • Fieldwork (theories, methodologies, and practical training)

Developed and taught a variety of courses related to areas of expertise, often combining theories with case studies and providing academic skills training, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels, using both Japanese and English as the medium of education.

Professional Experience

2020 April–2021 March: Associate Professor, New University Establishment Preparatory Office, Prefectural University of Hiroshima

2018 April–2020 March: Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University; International Student Advisor, International Student and Study Abroad Advising Office, Center for Global Education, Hitotsubashi University

2016 April–2018 March: Junior Fellow (postdoctoral researcher/lecturer), Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University

2016 January–March: Visiting Scholar at Department of Anthropology, The University of California, Davis

2013 April–2016 March: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

2012 July–2013 March: Research Assistant at Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University

2010 August–2012 January: Research Affiliate, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

2010 April–2012 March: Doctoral Course Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University

2009 October–2010 February: Teaching Assistant at Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University

Other Courses Taught as a Part-time Lecturer

  • Area Studies (focusing on South Asia) (in English), Hiroshima University, 2021–
  • Cultural Anthropological Theories (in Japanese), Keio University, 2018–2020
  • Peripheral Societies and Globalization (in Japanese), Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, 2019
  • Research Seminar (for undergraduate projects) (in Japanese), Kanda University of International Studies, 2017
  • Cultural Anthropology Seminar a, Cultural Anthropology Research Method b, Development Anthropology (in Japanese), Chiba University, 2016–2018
  • Religion and Society (in English), Hosei University, 2016–2018
  • Learning about Culture (in Japanese), Sanno University, 2016

Other Work Experience

2007 April–2008 August: Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, Position:  Associate, Marketing / Translator ― English editing team, Student Counselor ― English education team

Additional Training and Certificates

Certificate of Achievement, English as Medium of Instruction for Academics, University of Southampton (UK), July 2020

TOEIC score 990, September 2012