She was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to the U.S. with her family when she was six years old. She received her doctorate in History from Stanford University and is currently writing a book on Japanese magazines for girls and women in the early 20th century. Her latest publication is entitled "Girl Meets Boy Meets Girl: Heterosocial Relations, Wholesome Youth, and Democracy in Postwar Japan," in the September 2008 issue of the Asian Studies Review.