Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow 2025-2026
DPhil., Free University of Berlin, 2024
Dr. Clara Momoko Geber-Mérida is a scholar focussing on traditional craftsmanship (dentō kōgei), with a particular emphasis on the multifaceted roles of women within this field. Currently serving as a Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures in Norwich, she previously spent six years as a lecturer and assistant professor in Japanese Studies at the Free University of Berlin. Her monograph Women and dentō kōgei in Contemporary Japan: Traditional Craftsmanship and Identity in Tokyo will be published by Bloomsbury Publishing as part of the SOAS Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan series.
Dr. Geber-Mérida holds a DPhil. in Japanese Studies from the Free University of Berlin, alongside an MA and BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Vienna, an MA in Art History in a Global Context from the Free University of Berlin, and a MAS in Cultural Management from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
At the Sainsbury Institute, she will work on the topics of traditional metal craftsmanship, the portrayal of Japanese craftswomen in popular culture, and the female perspective within the pearl jewellery industry of modern and contemporary Japan.
Email: cmgeber-merida@sainsbury-institute.org
Read more about Clara’s research in her Research Spotlight article for our monthly ebulletin here.