Yasufumi Horikawa
堀川康史
Associate Professor, Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo
Medieval History, Muromachi Bakufu, 14th-Century War
Japanese, English
Japan
I am a historian specializing in medieval Japan (11th–16th centuries), with a particular focus on warfare and social change in the 14th century. My dissertation, Muromachi bakufu chihō shihai no kenkyū (A Study of the Muromachi Bakufu’s Provincial Governance), examines the development of the Muromachi bakufu’s provincial control from the 14th through the late 15th century. My recent research has focused on Imagawa Ryōshun, the bakufu’s deputy in Kyushu, whose correspondence offers vivid insights into 14th-century warfare.
Since joining the Historiographical Institute at the University of Tokyo in 2015, I have engaged in research on and publication of premodern historical sources. In recent years, I have also helped manage and develop the Institute’s historical databases. This work has sparked a growing interest in the digital humanities from the perspective of a practicing historian.
In addition to my core research, overseas research at Princeton University in 2019–2020 and 2026 has deepened my interest in the study of Japanese history around the world. In 2023, I co-edited Kaigai no nihon chūseishi kenkyū (Studies of Medieval Japan Outside Japan), which explores international approaches to medieval Japanese history. I also oversee the Institute’s Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms.
Since 2025, I have also held a joint appointment at the IIIS/GSII at the University of Tokyo.
Ph.D., Literature, University of Tokyo, Japan, 2018
M.A., Literature, University of Tokyo, Japan, 2012
B.A., Literature, Gakushuin University, Japan, 2010
- Visiting Associate Professor, Princeton University, 2026 Fall
- Associate Professor (Mobile Faculty), IIIS/GSII, the University of Tokyo, 2025-Present
- Associate Professor, Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, 2023-Present
- Visiting Fellow, Princeton University, 2019-2020
- Assistant Professor, Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, 2015-2023
海外の日本中世史研究：「日本史」・自国史・外国史の交差（勉誠社、2023年）
室町幕府支配体制の形成と展開, 歴史学研究, vol. 1041 (2023)
今川了俊の探題解任と九州情勢, 史学雑誌, vol. 125-12 (2016)