Our Team
We are a diverse group of scholars and students from all around the world who have one thing in common: our interest in Japan. This passion inspired us to create Wasshoi!, an interdisciplinary digital magazine providing unique insights into this country.
Luigi Zeni
Role
Chief editor
Introduction
MA degree in Japanese Studies and East-Asian Art History from the University of Zürich. Currently, Luigi is researching… Learn More
Aurel Baele
Role
Managing editor
Introduction
Aurel is currently a PhD student in the Department of Japanese Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium. Having an MA in History and a BA in Japanese Studies and History, his interests are… Learn More
Marty Borsotti
Role
Managing editor
Introduction
Master’s degree in Japanology with a minor in Anthropology. Marty is currently working on Japanese ethnology (minzoku gaku 民俗学) and folk performing arts (minzoku geinō 民俗芸能)… Learn More
Riccardo Lopes
Role
Graphic designer
Introduction
Graphic designer. From 2017 to 2019 Riccardo studied computer animation at the SSSAA in Lugano, where he also attended a web design course. He graduated in early 2020 after a short internship… Learn More
Momoka Asano
Role
Content editor
Introduction
Momoka is a MA student of Joint Degree in Transcultural Studies at Kyoto University and Heidelberg University. After finishing her BA study in interdisciplinary studies in North Carolina and having studied the goddess worship in Turkey, she decided to… Learn More
Freya Terryn
Role
Content editor
Introduction
Freya is a postdoctoral teaching assistant in the research group of Japanese Studies at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium). In 2021, she graduated with a PhD in Japanese Studies with a specialization in… Learn More
Fengyu Wang
Role
Content editor
Introduction
A PhD student at Institute for East Asian Art History at Heidelberg University, Germany, Fengyu specializes in emaki 絵巻 or illuminated handscrolls, and his current project investigates… Learn More
Amelia Lipko
Role
Translator
Introduction
Amelia graduated from English Philology and Japanology in Poland, and has also studied for a year at Osaka University. Her research interests include… Learn More
Dœlma Goldhorn
Role
Translator
Introduction
Dœlma is an avid coffee and donburi lover. She is fascinated by Scandinavia, the complexity of the human mind and she has got a flair for languages. While taking a break from her studies, she… Learn More
Julian Bentham
Role
Copy editor
Introduction
Julian has a BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield, and spent a year at Osaka University studying Japanese language and culture. His research interests include… Learn More
Sian Bentham
Role
Copy editor
Introduction
A first year English student at Durham University, Sian is fascinated by art and literature from all over the world, with a particular fondness for the works of Tolstoy and Murakami… Learn More
Tim Bentham
Role
Copy editor
Introduction
BA graduate in Chinese Studies with Japanese from the University of Sheffield, including one year at Nanjing University. Tim spent two years working in Nagasaki as an ALT on the JET Programme, which instilled in him a lifelong love of Kyushu… Learn More
Kimberly Schlegel
Role
Copy editor
Introduction
Kimberly is in the middle of her MA in English and Japanese Studies at the University of Zurich. In 2017/18, she was able to spend a year at Keio University in Tokyo, and she is generally interested in… Learn More
Manuel Jose Flores Aguilar
Role
Social media manager
Introduction
Manuel Jose graduated with a degree in Anthropology and Japanese studies from the University of Zurich, and is now doing his master’s in Linguistics. In 2016 he worked as a volunteer… Learn More
Aurelia Antonini
Role
Communications manager
Introduction
Her passion for everything Japanese started during high school when every Wednesday Aurelia would go to a local manga shop with her friends and spend all the money she had. Unsurprisingly, this interest continued well after graduation… Learn More
Enrico Bachmann
Role
Illustrator
Introduction
After having graduated from a professional school in 2014 and having worked in several ateliers as a goldsmith, Enrico is now completing… Learn More
Giovanni Baldi
Role
Digital marketing consultant
Introduction
Giovanni is an MA student in Management and Business at the University of Salerno UNISA, Italy. His friends call him… Learn More
Paola Citterio
Role
Web developer
Introduction
Paola concluded her BA in Psychology and Japanese studies at the University of Zurich, after spending one year in the fascinating city of Kyoto, doing an exchange year at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies in Japan. She is currently… Learn More
Jannick Scherrer
Role
Blog contributor
Introduction
Jannick obtained her double-BA in Japanology and German literature and linguistics in 2020. In her studies she has developed a particular interest in Japan’s use of self-portrayal as a kind of political strategy during times of early contact with western countries… Learn More