About Me

Yoshiko Okuyama, Ph.D, Professor of Japanese Studies, Coordinator, Japanese Studies Program.

Accomplished professor and researcher in Japanese Studies with over 20 years of academic experience, specializing in Japanese language, culture, and disability representation in manga and media. Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Scholar (2025–2026) and author of multiple books, including Tojisha Manag, Reframing Disability in Manga, and Japanese Mythology in Film. Recognized for innovative teaching, program leadership, and international collaboration, with extensive experience in public scholarship, invited talks, and cross-cultural research. Native Japanese speaker with expertise in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and digital humanities.

GET IN TOUCH
yokuyama@hawaii.edu

AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS

Ritsumeikan University Graduate School Ars Vivendi (Kyakuin-kenkyuin, or Affiliated Researcher)

East Asia Program, Cornell University (Visiting Scholar)

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Cornell University (Fulbright Scholar)

ACADEMIC DEGREES

2020

Ph.D. Applied Linguistics/Second Language Acquisition, University of Arizona

1994

M.A. Teaching English as a Second Language, University of Arizona

1985

B.A. English and American Literature, Toyo University, Japan

CURRENT & PAST POSITIONS

2024 – present

Japanese Studies Program Coordinator, University of Hawaii at Hilo

2023 – present

Visiting Scholar, East Asian Program, Cornell University

2022 – present

Affiliated Scholar(kyakuin-kyōryoku kenkyūin), Institute of Ars Vivendi Ritsumeikan University Graduate School, Japan

2016 – present

Professor, Department of Languages, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH-Hilo)

2017

Research Fellow at Kokugakuin University, Graduate School of Letters

2014

Visiting Professor, Japanese Folklore, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan. I taught Japanese mythology to Nanzan’s international study-abroad students in English

2010 – 2016

Associate Professor, Department of Languages, CAS, UH-Hilo

2006 – 2010

Tenure Track Assistant Professor, UH-Hilo

2008 (Fall term)

Interim Program Chair, Japanese Studies Program, CAS, UH-Hilo

2002 – 2006

Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, CAS, UH-Hilo

1998 – 2002

Instructor of Japanese and Linguistics, CAS, UH-Hilo

1998

1996 – 1998

1995 – 1997

Part-Time Instructor of Japanese, Extended University/Univ. of Arizona

Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona

Adjunct Instructor of ESL & Japanese, Pima Community College

HONORS & AWARDS

2011

Nomination for Taniguchi Excellence and Innovation Award, UH-Hilo

2002

Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UH System

EXTRAMURAL GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

2025

Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Scholar Award for 2025-2026 Academic Year

2022

Northeast Asia Council (NEAC)/Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Grant. Awarded for spring 2020 research; extended until summer 2022 due to the pandemic

2018

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute Scholarship

2016

Research Fellowship (Long-Term Grant), the Japan Foundation

2013

Spring 2014 Teaching Fellowship, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan

2013

Publication Assistance Grant, Hawai’i Council for the Humanities (HCH)

INTRAMURAL GRANTS (RECENT ONLY)

2024

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Professional Development Award (2^nd)

2024

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Professional Development Award

2022

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Professional Development Award

2019

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Research and Teaching Small Grants

2018

Research Relations Grant, UH-Hilo

2015

Seed Money Grant, UH-Hilo

2011

Research Grant, Hawai’i Council for the Humanities (HCH)

2010

Diversity & Equity Initiative Fund, UH-Hilo

2009

Research Relations Fund, UH-Hilo

2006

Research Relations Fund, UH-Hilo

2002

Seed Money Grant, UH-Hilo

2002

Educational Improvement Fund, UH

BOOKS

Okuyama, Y. Illustrated Myths of Japan and India. (in preparation).

Okuyama, Y., Kay-Jones, K., & Larsen, N. (forthcoming). Manga on the Mind: What

Japanese Comics Can Tell Us About Mental Health. Springer Nature.

Okuyama, Y. (August 2022). Tōjisha Manga: Japan’s Graphic Memoirs of Brain and

Mental Health. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Okuyama, Y. (May 2020). Reframing Disability in Manga. University of Hawaii Press

Okuyama, Y. (April 2015). Japanese Mythology in Film: A Semiotic Approach to Reading Japanese Film and Anime. Lanham, ML: Lexington Books.

REFERRED JOURNAL ARTICLES, ENCYCROPEDIA & BOOK CHAPTERS

Okuyama, Y. (2024). Book Chapter “Japanese Religion in Film.” (Written for Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, 2^nd edition)

Okuyama, Y. & Kai-Jones, Chris. (2024). “Analyzing Motsuo’s Debut Manga: A Patient

Perspective on Mental Illness and Recovery.” Hawaiʻi Journal of the Humanities.

Okuyama, Y. & Kurikawa, Osamu. (2024). “Love’s in Sight: Japan’s Graphic Narrative of Blindness.” Vol.19, Issues 3 & 4 (2024), Review of Disability Studies

Okuyama, Y. (2021). “Raising Awareness of Cassandra Syndrome through Manga: Nonami Tsuna’s My Husband, Akira, Has Asperger’s Syndrome.” U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 60 (Fall 2021): 84-111

Okuyama, Y. (2017). Semiotics of Otherness in Japanese Mythology. Disability Studies

Quarterly, Vol. 37, No.1, Winter

Okuyama, Y. (2015). Christian Martyrdom in Japanese Contexts: The Amakusa-

Shimabara Revolt and Christian Martyrs. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 5(3), 33-41

Okuyama, Y. (2015). Deaf Adolescents’ Textisms. In Z. Yan (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Mobile Phone Behavior, Chapter 112, 1419-1430. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Okuyama, Y. (2014). Japanese Deaf Adolescents’ Textisms: A Case Study of the Under-Represented Population. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology, and Learning, 4(2), 20-32

Okuyama, Y. (2013). Semiotics of Japan’s Mountain Ascetics. The American Journal of Semiotics, 29(1/4), 17-38

Okuyama, Y. (2013). A Case Study of U.S. Deaf Teens’ Text Messaging. New Media & Society, 15 (8), 1224-1240

Okuyama, Y. (2013). Shinto and Buddhist Metaphors in Departures. The Journal of Religion and Film, 17(1) April, Article 39

Okuyama, Y. (2012). Cell Phone as Metaphor: Japanese Deaf and Hearing High School Students’ Concepts of Mobile Communication. In Timothy Iles (Ed.) Researching Twenty-First Century Japan: New Directions and Approaches for the Electronic Age. Lanham, ML: Lexington Books

Okuyama, Y. & Iwai, M. (2011). Use of Text-Messaging by Deaf Adolescents in Japan. Sign Language Studies, 11(3), 375-407

Okuyama, Y. (2009) Keitai Meeru: Younger People’s Mobile Communication in Japan. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, Article 1, February 20, 2009

Okuyama, Y. & Igarashi, H. (2007). Think-Aloud Protocol on Dictionary Use by Advanced Learners of Japanese. The JALT-CALL, 3 (1/2), 45-58

Okuyama, Y. (2007). CALL Vocabulary Learning in Japanese: Does Romaji help beginners learn more words? The CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) Journal, 24(2), 355-379

Okuyama, Y. (2006). Self-Determination in Adolescent Bilingualism. Academic Exchange Quarterly. Spring 2006, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (#3278-6w, 1-7)

Okuyama, Y. (2005). Distance Language Learning via Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC): Eight Factors Affecting NS-NNS Chat Interaction. The JALT- CALL Journal, 1(2), 3-20

BOOK REVIEWS & OTHER NON-REFEREED SCHOLARLY ARTICLES

Okuyama, Y. (2023). Review on Blind in Early Modern Japan (Wei Yu Wayne Tan), The Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies

Okuyama, Y. (2023). Tōjisha manga: Japan’s graphic memoirs of mental disability. The Polyphony

Okuyama, Y. (2013). Review on The Fairy Tale and Anime: Traditional Themes, Images and Symbols at Play on Screen (Dani Cavallaro). 27(2), 339-342, Marvels & Tales

Okuyama, Y. (2002). CALICO Software Review: TileTag for Kana (Version 1.02)/ TileSet Creator for TileTag (Version 1.0), The CALICO Journal

INVITED PUBLIC TALKS, INTERVIEWS, & PODCASTS

Interview: “Kami and Spirituality in Japan,” AJET CONNECT Magazine Japan #134, March 9, 2025, https://issuu.com/ajetconnect/docs/connect_magazine_japan_134_-_april_2025

Consultation and research contribution to National Geographic, Greeking Out Book, “Japanese Creation Myths” and Glossary, 2024-2025

Invited Talk: “A Journey from a Young Caregiver Experience to a Tōjisha Manga Translation Project.” The Japanese Association of Graphic Medicine, November 26, 2024.

Interview, “Kappa: A Japanese Mythological Creature,” Public Broadcasting Service, Monstrum: “Who is This Japanese Yokai That is Obsessed with Your Butt?” February 8, 2024

Invited Talk: “Manga Authors’ Experiences of Mental Disability,” Doshisa University, July 21, 2023

Invited Talk: “Tōjisha Manga: Japan’s Graphic Memoirs of Brain and Mental Health,” Disability Studies, New Books Network, June 10, 2023

Invited Talk: “Japan’s Graphic Memoirs on Depression and OCD,” Cornell University, March 9, 2023

Invited Talk: “Japan’s Graphic Memoirs on Depression and OCD,” University at Buffalo, April 14, 2023

Invited Talk: “Narratives of Blindness and TGNC in Manga,” Georgia Institute of Technology, Feb. 2, 2023

Invited Talk: “Reframing Disability in Manga,” Disability Studies, New Books Network, October 24, 2022

Interview for “A Black Samurai Fighting Giant Mechas? ‘Yasuke’ Asks, Why Not?” National Public Radio (NPR), February 10, 2021

Interview for “A Japanese ‘killing stone,’ said to contain an evil 9-trailed fox spirit, has split in two,” CNN, March 21, 2022

Invited Talk: “Reframing Disability: Manga’s Portrayals of Deaf Characters,” The East Asia Program, Cornell University, October 18, 2021

Interview for “Reframing Disability in Manga,” Asian Ethnology Podcast, July 3, 2020

Interview for “Why Summer is Spooky Season in Japan,” CNN, August 5, 2021

Interview for “The fascinating history behind the popular ‘waving lucky cat,’” National Geographic, May 3, 2021

Invited Talk: “Manga ni miru shōgaisha zō (Characters with Disabilities Portrayed in Manga),” JACET (The Japanese Association of College English Teachers), Tokyo University, Komaba Campus, Japan, 2017

Invited Talk: UN International Topics Speaker Series “Genderism Made Them ‘Disabled,” International Student Services & Intercultural Education Program, UH-Hilo, October 20, 2016

Invited Talk: “Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” Kamana Senior Center, Patricia O’Toole’s Film Class, 2016

Invited Talk: “What Japanese Film and Anime Tell You,” Kaua’i Community College and UH Maui College, September 21-24, 2015

Invited Talk: “From Snakes to Dolls: Hidden Signifiers of Mythology in Japanese Movies and Anime,” Center for Japanese Studies Seminar Series, Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures, UH-Manoa, October 2, 2015

Public Library Talk Series: “Japanese Mythology in Film with Yoshiko Okuyama,” Hilo Public Library, Hilo HI, August 19, 2015; Hanapepe Public Library, Kauai, 10:00 am, September 19, 2015; Princeville Public Library, Kauai, 3:00 pm, September 19, 2015; Lihue Public Library, Kauai, September 21, 2015; Kahului Public Library, Maui, 6:00 pm, September 22, 2015; Wailuku Public Library, 1:30 pm, September 23, 2015

ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (RECENT ONLY)

2025

Disability in Japan Symposium, Monash University, Australia, Co-Organizer, April 23-24, 2025 In addition to Chair for Discussion Panel “The Representation of Neurodivergence in Japanese Graphic Memoirs” and Speaker of Masterclass: “Disability Research in Japan”

2024

“Teaching Japanese Religions: Innovative Methods for Engaging Learning,” Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, March 14-17. Roundtable presentations by five scholars on innovative teaching methods utilizing AI and other technology applications for today’s tech-savvy university students.

2022

“Things on the Move: The Circulation of Material Knowledge Across Premodern Asia,” Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI., March 24-27. Served as Panel Chairman.

2019

“Destigmatizing Mental Illness in Tōjisha Manga.” Presentation in the Panel Titled: Precarity, Possibility, and the Paralympics: Revising Disability in Japan Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Denver, CO., March 21-24

2018

“Disability Portrayal in Japanese Comics: From Deafness to Gender Identity Disorder.” Presentation in the Panel Titled: (De)Constructing Differences: Representations of Disability in Chinese Literature and Film and Japanese Manga Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Washington D.C., March 22-25.

2015

“Christian Martyrdom in Japanese Contexts: The Amakusa-Shimabara Revolt and Christian Martyrs,” The 5^th International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society, April 16-17, The University of California at Berkeley.

2013

“Semiotics of Japan’s Mountain Ascetics.” The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies, May 24-26, Osaka, Japan.

2013

“Passage to Spiritual Rebirth.” The 3rd International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society, March 8-9,

2011

“Online Internship Program for Deaf University Students.” Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities, April 18-19, Honolulu, HI

2010

Panel Presentation “Literary Representations, Visual and Cultural Studies.” New York Conference on Asian Studies, October 1-2, Rochester, NY

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & QUALIFICATION (RECENT ONLY)

2025

Google AI Essentials Certificate. Focused on security and privacy, prompting engineering, and ethical use of AI.

2024

Digital Humanities Certificate: “Brand Storytelling,” Cornell University. Focused on integrating digital tools and storytelling for academic and professional purposes, with an emphasis on web design, video production, and podcasting.

2024

AI Explorer Badge Award, UH-Hilo. Recognition for completing AI literacy training, demonstrating knowledge of artificial intelligence concepts and their academic applications.

2020

Online Language Learning Series, Center for Language & Learning, UH-Manoa. Six-week program for foreign language teachers focused on remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Approach to Teaching. UH-Hilo.

2018

Kognito Training for Faculty & Staff: Responding Students with Depression, Anxiety, and Suicide, UH-Hilo.

2018

American Sign Language Courses: Beginner to Intermediate, Gallaudet University.

2018

National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program, NAMI.

2017

Student Advising Training for Faculty Advisers, UH-Hilo.

2016

CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) Training, RIB, UH System.

2016

CCECS Professional Development Courses: iPhone Workshop, UH-Hilo.

2015

Technology Workshops: Social Media, Google Apps, PowerPoint & Excel.

2015

Suicide Prevention Training Program, safeTALK, UH-Hilo

2003

Competent Toast Masters, Toastmasters International. [Completed the Toastmasters International Communication & Leadership Program, with a focus on teaching and communication skills.

CREATIVE WORK

2022

The Japanese Teaching Certificate Program. Founder and program coordinator.

2020

Toyo University Collaboration, Agreement for Visiting Students Between UH-Hilo and Toyo University’s Department of International Culture and Communication Studies. Collaboration efforts initiated in 2017, with a formal contract signed in 2020.

2016

Nanja Ninja, Smartphone-Based Japanese Language Game Application.

2015

YouTube Video, “Christian Persecution in Japan.”

2013

YouTube Video, “Passage to Spiritual Rebirth.”

2012

Photo Essay Library Exhibits: “Ohenro: Japanese Spiritual Roots in Shikoku”

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

AAS: Association for Asian Studies

JGMA: Japan Graphic Medicine Association

SDS: Society for Disability Studies