Kawamura Eiko
河村 瑛子

Eiko Kawamura is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Japan. She received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in literature from Nagoya University. She joined Kyoto University as an Assistant Professor in 2016 and has served as an Associate Professor since 2019.

She specializes in Japanese classical literature, especially early modern haikai 俳諧, or popular linked verse, which is a precursor to haiku 俳句. Her current research focuses on kohaikai 古俳諧 (literally, old popular linked verse) from the 17th century. She has studied kohaikai from both fundamental and applied perspectives, and the results of her comprehensive research have culminated in her latest book, Kohaikai Research 古俳諧研究 (Osaka: Izumi Shoin, 2023).

At the Harvard-Yenching Institute, she continues her work on kohaikai, further developing its resource base, conducting annotative research, and performing multifaceted analyses. Through this work, she aims to uncover the potential of kohaikai as a significant cultural resource and contribute new perspectives to the study of Japanese literature and culture.