About me
Hi there! My name is Masaki. I’m a Japan-based queer writer and YouTuber who creates stuff mostly about and against heteropatriarchy. Follow me on Twitter & Instagram, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
I studied sociology of gender and sexuality in college (International Christian University, Tokyo) and graduate school (the University of Chicago), researching mostly straight women’s fight against sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
My preferred gender pronouns are he, him, they, and them.
Me at Chicago Pride 2011, posing for the camera & holding a sign that says “Immigrants ≠ Your Homophobic Other.”
Writer & Speaker
I’ve been freelancing since 2015 as a writer and speaker on various topics pertaining to gender and sexuality. Publishers include Seidosha, wezzy, wotopi, and Human Rights Association for Korean Residents in Japan. Hosts include universities, queer activist groups, professional associations, and ethnic minority groups.
My writings in English can be found in the blog section.
If you’re considering to invite me to speak at your event or in class, here’s a sample lecture and video. Please use the form below to contact me for business inquiries.
For more information, visit my Japanese website.
Media appearances
- 2019 | Documentary film QUEER JAPAN by Graham Kolbeins
- 2019 | PinkNews Snapchat story series “Being Gay in Japan is HARD” (accessible only via smartphone apps)
- 2018 | Chatty AF (Anime Feminist Podcast) Episode 72 “BL Manga” with Devin Randall and Vrai Kaiser
- 2018 | Speak Out! Japan’s LGBTQ+ Community Responds to Politician Sugita’s Discriminatory Statements (Anime News Network)
- 2018 | Gay Japanese Vlogger Discusses Boys-Love in English-Subtitled Video (Anime News Network)
- 2016 | Global Voices profile by Navin Thompson (in English, Malagasy, Spanish, and Greek)
- 2016 | [Interview] Masaki C. Matsumoto, queer and feminist activist (Anime Feminist) – Esperanto translation is here.
YouTube
In exploring non-text format mediums for expressing myself, I started vlogging in 2015 on YouTube (Japanese / English).
Photography, drawing, & music
In 2017, in addition to my interest in queer photography, I took up drawing to better visually express myself. See my Instagram art account for more drawings and photography.
A brushwork of an angry feminine-looking person with caption “NO, KAREN WHITE IS NOT REASON ENOUGH TO LOCK UP TRANS FOLKS IN WRONG PRISONS.”
My illustrations appeared in mika’s Magical Time-Traveling Dog Therapy: a canine-assisted therapeutic modality for treating complex trauma without tearing time-space continuum (2018).
One of my six illustrations that appear in mika’s zine.
I’ve also loved making music since I was 11. Combining electro-pop and kayokyoku, I have made some queer-themed songs which you can listen to on IGTV.
FAT CATS Bar & Grill
After spending my late teen years and early 20’s in New Zealand and the U.S., I am now back in Kitakanto (area north of Tokyo) where I’m originally from, working as the co-owner and co-manager at FAT CATS, a minority-friendly, discrimination-free dining space that my mother and I started in 2014.
FAT CATS Bar & Grill