Q: What is your academic background?
I received my Ph.D. in East Asian Studies in 2019 from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), where I also worked as an Adjunct Professor of modern and classical Japanese language before joining UHM. During my graduate studies, I have been in Japan off and on for a total of four years, two of which I spent at the Institute of Oriental Classics of Keio University, where I specialized in medieval Japanese poetry and codicology. I was also a visiting student at the Free University of Berlin (Germany) and the University of Cambridge (UK).
Q: Can you tell us about your research interests?
My research weaves together literature and history by studying warrior culture and its local reconfigurations during the Japanese “long Middle Ages,” a period roughly spanning from the late 12th to the early 17th century. Currently, I am working on a book manuscript that explores the poetics and politics of warrior self-fashioning as seen through various primary sources, including literary works, autobiographies, and historical records. More broadly, I am interested in how writing practices shaped gender, agency, and selfhood in premodern societies.
Q: When and why did you become interested in (Japanese) literature?
In Italy, people of my generation grew up immersed in Japanese popular media such as anime and manga. When I was in high school, I joined a local dojo just out of curiosity, but as I got more and more into the martial traditions of Japan, I realized I wanted to learn more about that culture, so I went to college to study Japanese in earnest. In Venice, I was fortunate enough to meet a mentor who opened my eyes to the fascinating world of medieval Japan. I have always been intrigued by how people use languages and texts to make claims of authority and construct a sense of identity and belonging. This intersection of literature, politics, and subjectivity is something I found in the ideal of the “cultured warrior,” which is why I started to do research in this field.
Q: How do you like your life in Hawaii so far?
I am astounded by the beauty of nature here in Hawaii. However, landscape aside, I think it’s the linguistic soundscape that makes this place special and unique. My experience of the U.S. is limited, but I bet one could hardly find such a diverse cultural heritage elsewhere in the country. Not to mention the kindness of the people I’ve met so far! I also feel privileged to belong to one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions worldwide for the study of Japan, and I am thrilled to be contributing to its outstanding legacy.
Q: What courses are you teaching now, and will you be teaching in the near future?
I am currently teaching a topic course on “Gender & Otherness in Premodern Japan” (EALL 371). In the Fall, I’ll be offering “Traditional Japanese Literature in Translation” (EALL 271), along with “Introduction to Classical Japanese” (JPN 461). Hawaii has always been a crucial place to train scholars, so I am thrilled to teach a class that provides students with a better understanding of how the language evolved through history and promotes active engagement with original materials from the most important Hawaiian collections of Japanese books and prints. In particular, students will have a chance to gain hands-on experience with Japanese material culture and curatorial practices thanks to our collaboration with the Honolulu Museum of Art. My goal for the near future is to launch a research project that will get students involved in the analysis and translation of a rare sixteenth-century poetry scroll recently acquired by the Hamilton Library.
Q: Please tell us anything you would like your current and future students to know about you.
Every culture has different modes of engagement with the tradition. The Japanese one can claim continuity within change—an aspect that makes it so compelling and exciting to explore. I hope my students will enjoy the richness of premodern literature and learn to think critically about how the Japanese past can still be relevant to our contemporary concerns. More specifically, I would be eager to advise students from across the world working on classical poetry and literary theory, knowledge networks in medieval Japan, premodern forms of self-writing, and samurai culture. If you are interested in the program, please email me directly at tommasi@hawaii.edu.