Emilie Yuki Takayama

Emilie Takayama is an Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Business. She is a cultural and business historian with a focus on East Asia. Her current book project explores how the first generation of beauty entrepreneurs built the foundations of Japan’s beauty industry over the course of the twentieth century. It highlights how these pioneers navigated modernity, economic challenges, and cultural shifts to establish one of the world’s largest beauty markets. Professor Takayama is also interested in female entrepreneurship and is working on a second project exploring how women engaged in business as Japan transitioned into a modern nation-state after the Meiji Restoration.

Professor Takayama holds a Ph.D. in History from Northwestern University and was a Newcomen Postdoctoral Fellow in Business History at Harvard Business School. Before joining the Interactive Media and Business Program, she was a Global Perspectives in Society Fellow at NYU Shanghai.

Publications

“The History of Aesthetic Surgery in Early 20th Century Japan,” Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2022, pp.29-61.

With Geoffrey Jones, “Momofuku Andō and the Globalization of Noodles,” Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 320-049, Harvard Business Publishing, November 2019.

With Geoffrey Jones, “Ernesto Tornquist: Making a Fortune on the Pampas,” Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 820-006, Harvard Business Publishing, November 2019.

Education

• PhD, History, Northwestern University
• MA, International Relations, Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University
• BA, Political Science, Sophia University