Field: East Asian Religion

Advisor: Michael Como
Email: yr2529@columbia.edu

Emily Yian Ren is a PhD student specializing in medieval Japanese religion. Her research focuses on children and sexuality, particularly on youthful acolytes known as chigo, adolescent boys who received accommodation, education, and material support in exchange for companionship and sexual relations with high ranking clerics or elite courtiers between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. Her broader interests include female patronage, gendered perception, goddesses and demonesses, constructions of motherhood, and the negotiation of sexual taboos and transgression within religious contexts. Before joining EALAC, Emily received her B.A. in Art History from New York University (2023) and M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University (2025).