Biography
Nobuko Yamasaki, after teaching literature and women's studies at Kenyon College, joined the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the Program of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Lehigh University in 2015. By exploring various figures of gendered and sexualized female workers, such as street prostitutes, hostesses, comfort women, teachers, idols, and actresses, her dissertation, Fragmenting History: Prostitutes, Hostesses, and Actresses at the Edge of Empire, revealed that women’s bodies were highly contested territories of knowledge in the Japanese Empire.
Outside of academic pursuit, she enjoys practicing Kendô, which she started when she was little. She holds a rank of Kendô 3rd dan that she earned at the end of 20th century, i.e., a long time ago.... Also, she enjoys Japanese tea ceremony (Urasenke Sadô), calligraphy, hiking, and yoga.