In August 2026, Ph.D. candidate Christy Sher traveled to Cambridge, UK, to attend the Mitsubishi Corporation Summer School in Early Modern Japanese Palaeography at the University of Cambridge, whose theme was “The Culture of Yoshiwara.” This two-week intensive training in reading early modern Japanese cursive writing, known as kuzushiji, enhanced Christy’s ability to read, transcribe, and translate the primary sources central to her research. During her time at Cambridge, she also met an inspiring group of scholars working on early modern Japan and greatly enjoyed connecting with colleagues from around the world.

Christy also conducted research for her dissertation chapters in London, visiting the Wellcome Collection and the British Museum. At the Wellcome Collection, she examined its collection of Japanese medicine, as well as the first volume of Andreas Vesalius’s De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem. At the British Museum, she consulted the museum’s remarkable collection of Japanese erotic art. Christy is grateful to the curators and staff at both institutions for their generous assistance in facilitating her research.

This trip was generously funded by the Mitsubishi Corporation Scholarship, the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine Research Fellowship, and the Cathleen M. Murnane Travel Scholarship.