About

Carmen Săpunaru Tămaș

(b. 1979), Romanian anthropologist

After graduating from the Japanese Language Department of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Bucharest, I came to Japan in 2004 to continue my studies, obtaining an MA from Osaka University of Foreign Studies (2006), and a PhD in Japanese Language and Culture from Osaka University (2009), with a dissertation on the ritual aspects of weeping in Japanese mythology. I have taught Japanese mythology and anthropology at Osaka University, Kobe University, Doshisha University, and I am currently in charge of the Japanese language and culture program of the Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Kobe.

My research is focused on matsuri and their connection to sacred and social ritual, but I have also worked on the performative aspects of the drag queens from the Osaka stage.