Satoko Shimazaki

Satoko Shimazaki holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor at UCLA and Waseda University. Her research focuses on early modern Japanese theater, kabuki history, and the intersection of performance with print/media. Previously, she served as Associate Professor at USC and taught at University of Colorado, Boulder.

Education includes a Ph.D. in Japanese Theater and Literature from Columbia University (2009), M.A. from Columbia (2002), and B.A. in Law/Political Science from Keio University (1999). She held postdoctoral fellowships at Tokyo University (2005-2007) and Waseda University's Theater Museum (2005-2006).

Her research explores gender representation in kabuki, media transitions in early modern Japan, and the textualization of performance. Notable works include Edo Kabuki in Transition (2016), awarded the John Whitney Hall Prize, and co-edited Publishing the Stage (2011). Current projects investigate kabuki's role in early modern media and theatrical ephemera.

Shimazaki has received ACLS and NEH fellowships (2019-2021). Her work bridges theater history, visual culture, and textual analysis, emphasizing how performance shaped urban identity in premodern Japan.