Katsuya Izumi started his graduate study in Tokyo University of Foreign Studies as an avid reader of Herman Melville. He has written articles and delivered conference papers and lectures on nineteenth-century American literature, Asian American literature, and Japanese literature. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation by studying the affinity of self-effacement between early-American Protestant sermons and nineteenth-century American authors such as Melville, Dickinson, and Thoreau at the University at Albany. Before cultivating his current interests in Japanese literature, Izumi had taught American literature and English writing at various institutions. When he teaches literature, whether it is American or Japanese, Izumi focuses the importance of close-reading by inviting his students to various “subtleties” of language. When he teaches the Japanese language, he introduces “peculiarities” of Japanese while explaining reflections of Japanese culture in the language. He is currently working on his articles on cannibalism in Japanese manga and film to contribute them to edited volumes.