Whole Year 2012 Center Grant （Application No.: 2012WYYR22）
Period when you used the grant: 2013/03/08 - 2013/03/08
Research activities: Overview and implications: I have been researching mid-nineteenth century kabuki-related ukiyo-e by the Utagawa School of woodblock artists, and how Post- Tenpou government censorship affected theater and publishing in the 1840s. The explosion of publishing in the nineteenth century is often referred to as the beginning of mass media and mass communication, and the sheer volume of material necessitates new approaches to storing metadata and archiving digital images. Since my Ph.D is in 'Digital Humanities' I consider it a priority to learn how to use web design and mobile apps to explore how web technology can be used to connect scholars working in interrelated areas of research.
Progress and effects in your overall research plan and objectives: I am interested in how the sumptuary edicts affected textiles and dress, particularly textile designs that were directly inspired by the Utagawa School of woodblock print artists. I will use the Adobe software to explore different digital approaches to documenting kabuki and ukiyo-e related tsutsugaki textiles from the late Edo to early Meiji period. I would like to explore the problematic process of categorizing and archiving ethnographical objects in order to discover how digital technology could be used to facilitate the creation of ethnographic or 'folk' archives.
Advisor: Ryo Akama ／ Ritsumeikan University