Ziqing He is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Area Studies

More information about Ziqing (Mandy) He

Fields of interest

Early modern Japanese visual and material culture; Animal studies and human–animal relations; Urban and environmental history; East Asian transcultural exchange.

Research

My research explores canine–human relations in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century urban Japan, expanding the approach to dogs from pictorial motifs to historical actors. Focusing on Kyoto and Edo, the study examines how dogs moved through and inhabited urban spaces, and how their presence, agency, and interactions with humans shaped everyday social life. By reading visual materials alongside textual records, the project investigates the relationship between artistic representation and the place of dogs within early modern Japanese society, examining how canine imagery engaged with questions of care, affective bonds, and shared urban environments.

Grants and awards

2026: Ishibashi Foundation Fellowship (Graduate Programme in Japanese Art History and Multimodal Heritage Curation, University of Zurich)

Curriculum vitae

2026–Present: PhD Candidate in Asian Studies, Leiden University
2026–Present: Research & Gallery Assistant, Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden
2025–2026: MA in Asian Studies (History, Arts and Culture of Asia), Leiden University (Cum Laude)