KUNIHIRO Akiko

KUNIHIRO Akiko is a Professor at the School of Culture, Media and Society, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University. Her work bridges Gender Studies, Cultural Anthropology, and Religious Practices, with a focus on non-Western gender identities and rituals in India and France.

• Education: PhD in Humanities from Ochanomizu University Graduate School.
• Sub-affiliations: Global Education Center and Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University.

Her research explores the Hijras of Gujarat, India, analyzing their role in transitional life events like childbirth, their religious devotion to the Hindu goddess Bahuchara, and their ambiguous gender status. She also investigates cross-cultural comparisons, including French same-sex marriage policies and societal tolerance frameworks, linking queer theory to anthropological fieldwork.

The article trends show a consistent focus on gender boundaries, gift economies, and ritual practices, with keywords spanning Anthropology, Gender Studies, and South Asian Religions. Subfields highlight Hijra communal living, devotional rituals, and postcolonial critiques of Western gender taxonomies.

Her grants include Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) funding for projects like The paradox between sexuality and asceticism (2023-2027) and Narrative Politics on Tolerance/Intolerance (2018-2023). She has contributed to collective works such as "Hindu Goddess Devotees: The Hijra in Gujarat" (2009) and "Singlehood and Human Relations" (2014).

Key presentations address topics like gift-giving practices at Hindu temples (2013) and "Queer Anthropology" (2024). She actively participates in professional societies such as the Japanese Society for Current Anthropology and the Society for Comparative Family History.