Originally from Canada I first came to Japan in 1988 and have lived in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokushima for the past twenty-five years. I completed my BA (1995) and MA (2001) at the Asian Studies Department at the University of British Columbia. Since 1999 I have been researching various aspects of the Shikoku pilgrimage route, but mostly focussing on the history of Westerners and the pilgrimage.