Rae Fujimori

Thesis title: Unveiling Identities: Language, Gender, and Power in Achaemenid Yehud

Biography

Qualifications

Master of Theology in Biblical Studies with Distinction

University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (September 2021 - August 2022)

Bachelor of Arts in Letters with Study Abroad

Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan (April 2017 - March 2021)

University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (September 2019 - May 2020)

Responsibilities & affiliations

Co-Chair, CSCO Decolonising Biblical Studies Postgraduate Research and Reading Group (2023 - present) 

Undergraduate teaching

Tutoring

DIVI08034 Patriarchs, Prophets and Poets

DIVI08003 The Bible in Literature 

Project activity

My PhD thesis explores how the masculinity of Judean men, as colonial subjects, is represented in biblical literary traditions set under Persian imperial rule, with particular focus on language as a key tool of imperial domination.  

Current project grants

School of Divinity PhD Scholarship Award (September 2023 - present)
Graduate Scholarship for Degree-Seeking Students sponsored by Japan Student Service Organization (September 2023 - present)

Past project grants

Landeskirche Scholarship sponsored by Evangelisches Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung e.V. (Brot für die Welt), awarded for for research stay at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany (April 2025 - March 2026)
Graduate Scholarship for Degree-Seeking Students sponsored by Japan Student Service Organization awarded for the Master of Theology in Biblical Studies at the University of Edinburgh (September 2021 - August 2022)

Invited speaker

  • ‘Die Sprache seines eigenen Volkes’: Imperiale Männlichkeit und Sprachpolitik in Est 1. 29th January 2026. [In Person]. Feministische Exegese und Theologie Course. Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz.
  • Why the Language of ‘His Own People’ Matters: Imperial Masculinity in Esther 1. 12th December 2025. [In Person]. Kiel-Hamburg Forschungssymposium zum Alten Testament. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.
  • 'Muted Voice: The Reinterpretation of Job’s Wife'. Colloquium Patristicum. 5th November 2022. [Online]. Kyoto University. [in Japanese: 「抹消された声 −ヨブの妻の再解釈をめぐって−」コロキウム・パトリスティクム].

Organiser

Chairs

  • Co‑chair, Unit: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in the Bible and the Ancient Mediterranean, European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS), 2026–2031.
  • Co‑chair, Unit: Intersectional Criticism: Gender, Class, Race, Sexuality, and Disability, EABS, 2025–2028.
  • Co‑chair, Workshop: Intersectional Criticism: Gender, Class, Race, Sexuality, and Disability, EABS, 2024.

Event organised

  • Organiser, one‑day conference: “Decolonising Biblical Studies,” New College, University of Edinburgh, 13th March 2026.

Papers delivered

  • ‘Lavish Dominion: Hospitality and Imperial Masculinity in Esther 1.' European Association of Biblical Studies Graduate Symposium. 17th February 2026. [In Person]. University of Lisbon, Portugal.
  • “The Scope of Applying Masculinity Studies in Old Testament Studies.” Japanese Biblical Institute Monthly Meeting. 19th January 2026. [Online]. [in Japanese: 「旧約聖書学における男性学適用の射程」日本聖書学研究所1月例会]
  • ‘Reimagining Diasporic Masculinities: Language, Gender, and Imperial Power in the Book of Esther.’ Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting. 22nd November 2025. [In Person]. Boston, USA.
  • ‘Reimagining Imperial Masculinity through the Eunuchs of Esther.’ Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods. 30th August 2025. [In Person]. Copenhagen University, Denmark.
  • ‘Mediating Masculine Power: Eunuchs as Boundary-Crossers in the Persian Imperial Order in the Book of Esther Traditions.’ European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Conference. 26th June 2025. [In-person]. Uppsala University.
  • 'Masters of the House: Gendered Linguistic Power in the Book of Esther.' European Association of Biblical Studies Graduate Symposium. 5th March, 2025. [Online]. University of Groningen.
  • '"And They Did Not Know How to Speak the Language of Yehud": Socio-Linguistic Analysis on the Book of Nehemiah’. Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods. 24th August 2024. [In-person]. Sandbjerg Gods, Aarhus University.
  • 'Yehudite Identity and Hebrew Language in the Book of Nehemiah'. European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Conference. 16th July, 2024. [In-person]. Sofia University.
  • 'In what way Job's wife is relevant to the female survivors of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki?'. Northern Universities Postgraduate Day Conference. 31st May 2022. [In-person]. Durham University. 

Panels and roundtables

  • Panellist, Panel: “The Role of Biblical Scholarship in Response to Global Crises” Unit: Intersectional Criticism: Gender, Class, Race, Sexuality, and Disability, EABS Annual Conference, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; 24 June 2025.
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