Joan Piggott

Joan Piggott serves as Professor of History and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where she holds the distinction of founding the premier graduate program for Premodern Japanese History outside Japan. As Director of the Project for Premodern Japan Studies, she has established USC as a global hub for interdisciplinary research through partnerships with Meiji University, the University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute, and Harvard University's Reischauer Institute.

Education:

• Ph.D. in History, Stanford University (1987)
• M.A. in East Asian Studies, Stanford University (1972)

Piggott's research pioneers the integration of archaeological evidence with textual analysis to reconstruct premodern Japanese society, with landmark contributions to understanding monarchy, land tenure systems, and family structures. Her seminal work The Emergence of Japanese Kingship redefined scholarly approaches to early Japanese state formation through its examination of seven monarchs from the 3rd to 8th centuries. Current projects continue this tradition by analyzing court-province dynamics and urban development in Heian-period Kyoto.

Her extensive publication record reveals consistent engagement with courtly life, religious institutions, and social hierarchies across Japan's classical and medieval periods. Recent works demonstrate methodological innovation through comparative frameworks examining East Asian state formation and gender systems, while her editorial projects like the Dictionary of Sources of Classical Japan provide essential research infrastructure for the field.

Scientific Awards:

• Gordon L. MacDonald Chair in History (2003-2013)
• Arisawa Prize from the Association of University Presses (1997-1998)
• Japan Foundation Fellowship at University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute (1995-1996)

Professor Piggott mentors graduate students through the Obe Estate Research Group and Meiji University-USC exchange program while securing significant external funding including $80,000 from USC Libraries for Premodern Japan Collection development and multiple $5,000 awards from the Center for Japanese Religions and North East Asia Council. Her leadership extends to directing the annual USC-Tokyo University Summer Kambun Workshops and managing a dynamic Visitors' Series that brings seven to eight international scholars to campus annually.

She maintains active research collaborations through the University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute's Glossary Advisory Committee, the Meiji University Program for Interdisciplinary Specialists, and the USC Center for the Study of Japanese Religions, overseeing projects that include the Slide Database for Premodern Japanese History and the Inscriptifact Database with Japanese epigraphic materials.