University of Southern California

Graduate Students


Rieko Kamei-Dyche


Contact Information

E-mail: rkamei@usc.edu


Biographical Sketch


Rieko Kamei-Dyche is a historian of premodern Japan, specializing in the medieval era. She is primarily concerned with courtier society, which she examines in light of a range of perspectives from social, cultural, and women's history. Her work also makes extensive use of literature, drawing upon her background in classical Japanese literary studies. She is interested in theorizing the interaction between history and literature, as well as in how to more effectively utilize literary sources for historical studies. Her dissertation project is a multi-dimensional assessment of early medieval courtier society, based on a case study of the Saionji family, focusing in particular on their human networks and cultural capital. Finally, she also works extensively on the translation of various primary materials written in classical Japanese or Sino-Japanese (Kambun).

Education

  • B.A. Aoyama Gakuin University, 03/1994
  • M.A. Aoyama Gakuin University, 03/1997


Employment History

  • Project Coordinator, Hitotsubashi University, 2010 - Present

Research


Research Specialties


  • Premodern Japan, Courtier Society, History of Women and the Family, History and Literature, Human Networks

Other Presentations


  • "The Foundations of Courtier Society in Medieval Japan: The Economic and Spatial Power of the Saionji", International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA) Conference, Singapore, Spring 2010   
  • "Exploring Human Networks Underlying Court and Bakufu", Joint East Asian Studies Conference (JEASC), University of Sheffield, UK, Fall 2009   
  • "Women in Medieval Courtier Society: Focusing on the Saionji", Ochanomizu University & USC Joint Seminar, Ochanomizu University, Japan, Fall 2009   
  • "Gathering Old Leaves in New Winds: Omiya-in and the Fuyoshu", Women of Talent in Times of Trouble: Creative Personalities in the Late Heian/Early Kamakura Period (Conference), Tallinn University, Estonia, Spring 2009   
  • "Familial Doorways: Saionji Women, Marriage Alliances, and Power in Medieval Japan", Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC) Conference, Waterloo, Canada, Fall 2008   

Publications


  • Book Review
    Kamei-Dyche, R. (2010). Review of Goto Michiko, Wives of Courtiers during the Sengoku Period. Annual Review of Women’s History.
     
    Journal Article
    Kamei-Dyche, R. (2010). Rethinking the Role of Women in Medieval Courtier Society: A Study of the Saionji Family. Developing International Communication Skills in Japanese Cultural Studies.
     

Honors and Awards

  • ACE/Nikaido Fellowship in Japanese Studies (USC), 2010-2011   
  • International Conference Travel Award (USC), Fall 2009   
  • Toshiba International Foundation Graduate Research Studentship (British Association for Japanese Studies), Fall 2009   
  • Wallis Annenberg Fellowship (USC), 2008-2009   
  • Roberta Persinger Foulke Endowment Summer Research Fellowship (USC), Fall 2008   
  • Roberta Persinger Foulke Endowment Summer Research Fellowship (USC), Fall 2007   
  • Barbara Inamoto Scholarship (USC), 2006-2007