Mai Misaki is a Hakubi researcher at Kyoto University. The Hakubi Project is an initiative to support promising young researchers from around the world. In her doctoral research she focused on Indigenous Christianity in French Polynesia and the role of colonial history and memory in forming religion. She also worked on revitalisation movements on intangible Indigenous cultural heritage in the Pacific, such as traditional medicine, language, and dance.

Her current project investigates concepts of sovereignty in state politics as well as grassroots movements in French Polynesia. 

Publications (selected)

2024 

“Liberty of Land, Liberty for God: Between Indigenous Land-Human Relationship and State Sovereignty in French Polynesia” Journal de la Société des Océanistes.158. Paris:Cairn.

2023

“The Double Bind of “Shame”: The Colonial Ramifications in Tahitian Language Revitalization” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. Web.

2021

“Rā'au Mā'ohi, the Sacred Gift of God: The Efficacy and Resurgence of Traditional Herbal Medicine in French Polynesia” Journal de la Société des Océanistes. 153: 245–58. Paris:Cairn. 

“Colonial Rupture and Native Continuity in Indigenous Cultural Representations: through Hawaiian Ancient Dance Kahiko.” Dance Research Journal. 53 (1):  44–60. New York: University of Cambridge Press.