Chinami Oka

I started a DPhil in history at Oxford in 2017, following an MSc in Modern Japanese Studies at Oxford in 2015-16 as an Oxford Kobe scholar. My research is on the transnational, intellectual, and religious history of modern Japan, which emerged and developed around forgotten northern people. Through the study of this small microcosm, I hope to challenge some of the large historical narratives that have consciously or unconsciously underpinned our historical understanding of modern Japan and beyond.

My doctoral research is generously funded by a Swire Scholarship via St Antony’s College, Oxford. My archival research in northern Japan was also enabled by research travel grants from the following funding bodies: Arnold, Bryce, and Read History Funds, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Sasakawa Fund, and STAR (Student Travel and Research) Grants at St Antony’s College, Oxford (in alphabetical order).

College: St. Antony's College

Department: Faculty of History

Supervisor: Professor Sho Konishi

Previous Degree Programme: MSc in Modern Japanese Studies 2015/2016