Research Profile:
Annika Wagner works on Japanese prehistory and its contemporary conceptualizations. Her research draws on archaeology, heritage studies, cultural anthropology, and intellectual history, with a particular focus on the Jōmon period (c. 16,500–2,300 BP) and its framing as eco‑heritage. She examines how the “Snow Country,” an area spanning parts of Niigata, Gunma, and Nagano Prefectures west of the Kanto Plain, is imagined, narrated, and promoted as both place and idea. In this context, she explores how Jōmon archaeology is instrumentalized to shape regional branding, the production of “authentic” environments, and the formation of local identities.
Curriculum Vitae:
Annika Wagner completed a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Japanese Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany, where she also pursued a minor in prehistoric archaeology. In 2017–2018, she spent one year at Doshisha University in Kyoto, which included an internship in Niigata Prefecture at the Niigata City History Museum and an excavation site in Agano City. In 2025, she conducted archaeological fieldwork in Japan, visiting Jōmon‑period sites in and around Niigata Prefecture; further fieldwork is planned for 2026-2027, focusing on the cultural heritage and identity of the Snow Country.
She currently is a PhD candidate at the Department of Japanese Studies, Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies at the University of Tübingen, and a member of the DFG research project “The Japanese Alpine Empire.”
