Hi, I’m Kokoro Tomita.
I’m a Japanese writer and trauma researcher exploring how storytelling — and even silence — can help us reclaim a sense of self after pain. I study narrative agency: the ways we shape, lose, and restore authorship over our own stories, especially when direct speech isn’t possible.
My work is grounded in literature and trauma theory, with a particular focus on new materialism, assemblage theory, and contemporary authors like Rachel Cusk. My MA thesis, Vibrant Silence: Narrative Agency and Assemblage in Rachel Cusk’s Outline, examines how silence can itself be a generative narrative force.
I hold a BA in Sociology and Gender Studies from Waseda University and am completing my MA in trauma literature at National Taiwan University. Beyond academia, I’ve worked with Pride House Tokyo and Waseda’s Gender and Sexuality Center to support LGBTQ+ and marginalized youth in reclaiming their own stories.
This blog is where all of that meets: a space where academic thought and human vulnerability live side by side. Whether you’re navigating unspeakable experiences, searching for language, or simply trying to understand the weight of a memory — writing and hoping you feel seen here.