CEAS Director Receives One KU Research PIVOT Award

The University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is pleased to announce that Director Akiko Takeyama, professor of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, has received a 2026 One KU Research Pivot Award from the KU Office of Research. 

The One KU Research Pivot Awards provide seed funding for faculty members to adapt existing research to emerging funding priorities and develop projects with strong potential for future external support. Takeyama's project, Rewriting Japanese Woodblock Printmaking: Gender, Labor, and an AI-Ready Cultural Database of the Yoshida Women, was one of only sixteen projects selected through a competitive peer-review process from nearly 100 proposals.

Building on the Spencer Museum of Art's exhibition Brush, Block, and Blood: Three Generations of Yoshida Women, the project combines archival research, oral history, digital humanities, and gender studies to document the overlooked contributions of three generations of Yoshida women artists. The project will develop a prototype AI-ready cultural database to support research, teaching, and public engagement while laying the groundwork for future digital humanities initiatives.

 The award will also create opportunities for KU students to participate in archival research, translation, metadata development, and international collaboration with Tokyo Zokei University in Japan through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

"This award reflects CEAS's commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration that connects the humanities, the arts, and emerging technologies in new ways. By bringing together scholars, artists, museum professionals, librarians, engineers, and students, this project demonstrates how East Asian Studies can serve as a catalyst for innovative research, transformative teaching, and meaningful public engagement," said Director Akiko Takeyama. "We are especially excited that it builds on our longstanding partnership with the Spencer Museum of Art and creates new opportunities for students to participate in international, collaborative research."

The One KU Research Pivot Award will provide the pilot data and digital infrastructure needed to pursue future external funding. The project is expected to produce a prototype cultural database, scholarly publications, conference presentations, and a public digital exhibition to be featured during the 2027 International Mokuhanga Conference at the University of Kansas.