Cultural-Historical Sociology, Nationalism, Urban Sociology, Japanese Studies, Japanese subcultures (anime), Hong Kong Studies

My research takes a cultural/historical sociological approach to examine the modern formation of Japan, as a nation, and Hong Kong, as a cosmopolitan city, seeing how Western modernity is perceived and transformed in the East Asian context. I am interested in the history of nation building, as seen from Japanese railway history, anime (Japanese animation) and the cultural economy of Japanese subcultures. My current research interest also includes cosmopolitanism and urban sociology, business history, contemporary culture and its history. My aim is to delineate the institutionalization process of "modernity" and "ordinary people" as seen from literature and art, economy, and politics in Japan, Hong Kong and East Asia. Theoretically, I focus on sociological new-institutionalism and the "World Society" thesis, particularly the formation and the changes of institutions ("ways of thinking and acting").

One should pick a theme by their own, get deeply involved into it, and deconstruct and reincarnate the topic. This should be a challenge to one's own self, which requires an intellectual thirst to others' wisdom. The most important quality is not to forget to ask fundamental questions concerning society and culture.

•   日本トレーディングカードゲームの経営戦略：遊☆戯☆王オフィシャルカードゲームを例として 
• Anime Pilgrimage: Exploring Transformative Experiences, Socio-Economic Dynamics, and the Negotiation of Authenticity
• 「仮面ライダー」シリーズの設定、表現形式から読み取る文化社会的構造「正義」の定義についての解読
• The Best of Both Worlds: Leslie Cheung's Suicide and Hong Kong Society
• Gathering Storm – A Study on the “HongKonger” Discourse on HKGolden, 2008-2016
• Understanding 2.5-Dimensional Musicals as an artform: Case Studies of Musical The Prince of Tennis and Shojo-kageki Revue Starlight
• Modern Scripts in Postmodern Disguise: The Perception, Translation, and Imagination of Modernity and World Society in Contemporary Japanese Anime through Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight
• Posthuman Identities in Contemporary Japanese Prose Science Fiction – A Case Study of Project Itoh’s Genocidal Organ and Harmony
• Crafting Identity with Honor & Dignity: Imagining Uesugi Kenshin in Contemporary Japan
• 現代日本サブカルチャーにおける自己制度としての「推し活」 ―ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』のファンを事例として―
• 台湾の味は想像・創造？京都における台湾料理店の経営と文化実践
• 「なんでもできる！なんでもなれる！」の少女神話：日本のアニメ〈プリキュア〉シリーズにおける「平等」と「成熟」 
• Racing the System: Feeder Series and the Construction of Legitimacy in Formula 1