Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Global Education 

Lecturer  2026.04 - Now

Doctor of Philosophy （ Kobe University ）

Master of Arts （ Kobe University ）

Bachelor (Cultural History) （ Doshisha University ）

Humanities & Social Sciences / History of Europe and America  / 18th century; Austrian history; Viennese court

Humanities & Social Sciences / Library and information science, humanistic and social informatics  / Topic modelling; Social network analysis

My field of specialization is the history of 18th-century Austria, with a particular focus on Viennese court society during the reign of Maria Theresa, roughly from 1740 to 1780. Rather than viewing the court simply as a political space governed by the monarch and institutions, I seek to understand it as a social network formed through the service, rituals, sociability, mobility, and residential arrangements of a diverse range of actors, including nobles, bureaucrats, diplomats, clergy, and ladies-in-waiting.

My central research source is the diary of Johann Joseph von Khevenhüller-Metsch (1706–1776), a high-ranking court official who served Maria Theresa. This diary records in detail the ceremonies, diplomacy, promotions, weddings, funerals, journeys, and war reports of the Viennese court from 1742 to 1776. Through close reading of this source, combined with quantitative methods such as topic modeling and social network analysis, I examine the long-term transformation of courtly order and interpersonal relations within court society.

In recent years, I have also expanded my research to include the residential system of the Viennese court, known as the Hofquartierwesen, through which lodgings were assigned to members of the court. By clarifying where courtiers lived within the urban space, how they moved through the city, and what kinds of sociable circles they formed, I aim to reconstruct more fully the relationship between court, city, and society in 18th-century Vienna.

I have also been working on the history of street trees as part of my broader interest in the history of urban space. I am currently participating in the research project “Exploring the Future of Street Trees,” organized by the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, where I am responsible for investigating the historical development of street trees. Against the backdrop of contemporary issues such as tree-fall accidents, excessive pruning, and preventive tree removal, this project examines street trees from multiple perspectives, including traffic safety, urban landscape, green infrastructure, and well-being. Its aim is to propose a vision for the next generation of street trees in Japan.

In the historical research for which I am responsible, I examine when and for what purposes street trees were introduced into urban spaces, and how they came to be associated with traffic, landscape design, public hygiene, disaster prevention, and urban beautification. In particular, by considering the development of street-tree planting in modern Japan and Asia in comparison with European urban planning and ideas about street space, I seek to offer a historical perspective on how street trees should be positioned within contemporary cities.

Austrian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies

2024.10 - Now

Society for Computational Social Science of Japan

2024.02 - Now

日本西洋史学会

2022.04 - Now

関西デジタルヒストリー研究会

2021.06 - Now

日本18世紀学会

2019.04 - Now

he Society for Historical Studies of Habsburg Monarchy   Board Member  

2019 - Now 

3rd Society for Computational Social Science of Japan, Conference Award

Taisei Yamashita, Atsuhiko Uchida

2024.03   Society for Computational Social Science of Japan   Political dynamics in the era of Maria Theresa reflected in the Topic Model: 35 years of the diaries of the Lord High Steward at the Viennese Court

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science   Overseas Research Fellowships

2025.02 - 2026.02

University of Vienna   Institute of Austrian Historical Research   Visiting Researcher

2024.09 - 2026.02

Kobe University   Graduate School of Humanities and Faculty of Letters   Researcher

2023.04 - 2026.03

Doshisha University   Faculty of Global and Regional Studies   Part‐time lecturer

2023.04 - 2024.09

Kansai University of International Studies   School of Management Department of Management

2021.10 - 2024.03

Historical analysis using topic modelling: insights from Khevenhüller’s diary 1742–76 Reviewed

Taisei Yamashita, Atsuhiko Uchida

Digital Scholarship in the Humanities   40 ( 2 )   651 - 667   2025.05（ ISSN:2055-7671 ） （ eISSN:2055-768X ）

Austrian Eighteenth Century Historical Studies and Text Mining: Assessing the State of the Art

Taisei Yamashita

Historical Studies of the Western World   3   44 - 48   2024.03

18世紀ウィーン宮廷貴族と「昇進コース」：廷臣ヨハン＝ヨーゼフ・ケーフェンヒュラーの栄達観 Reviewed

山下泰生

日本18世紀学会年報   ( 38 )   27 - 41   2023.06

18世紀オーストリア史におけるテキストマイニングの研究実践 Invited

山下泰生

西洋史学   ( 274 )   45 - 48   2022.12

18世紀ウィーン宮廷における使節の謁見伝奏：侍従長ケーフェンヒュラー伯爵の『日誌』の分析から Reviewed

山下泰生

神戸大学史学年報   ( 37 )   1 - 32   2022.06

ハプスブルクの文化を知るための71章

川成洋（ Role： Joint author ,  31．バロックの時代――華麗なる建築の舞台裏；32．居城都市ウィーン――ハプスブルクの栄光と残照）

明石書店  2025.12  （ ISBN:4750359939 ）

Maria Theresia: Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit. Eine Biographie.

（ Role： Joint translator）

2024.05  （ ISBN:4409511017 ）

Maria Theresia: Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit. Eine Biographie.

（ Role： Joint translator）

2024.05  （ ISBN:4409511025 ）

ハプスブルク家の歴史を知るための60章 (エリア・スタディーズ)

川成 洋（ Role： Contributor ,  29. フェルディナント1世; 41. フランツ1世; 42. シェーンブルン宮殿）

明石書店  2024.04  （ ISBN:4750357715 ）

“How Delightful It Is When Friends Come from Afar”: Reflections on the CEH-C 2025 in Vienna

Taisei Yamashita

CEH-C 2025 Looking back- looking ahead Blog   2025.10

歴史家協会の思い出：学生時代の回顧とともに Invited

山下泰生

歴史家協会年報   ( 解散記念 )   169 - 170   2025.02

【書評】Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, Maria Theresia: Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit, München, Verlag C. H. Beck, 2017 Reviewed International journal

山下泰生

東欧史研究   ( 43 )   44 - 51   2021.03

The Court Quartering System and Urban Space in Maria Theresa’s Vienna: Survey of Research and Preliminary Analysis Based on the Schematismus

Taisei Yamashita

2026.07 

(Discussant) The Influence and Acceptance of Prof. Pieter M. Judson‘s Work on Historical Studies of East-Central Europe in Japan Invited

Taisei Yamashita

Central European History Convention  2025.07 

Mapping Power: Court Quartering System and Aristocratic Networks in Maria Theresia’s Vienna

Taisei Yamashita

Central European History Convention  2025.07 

ウィーンの街路樹整備にみる近代都市緑化の起源

山下泰生

IATSS 2508Aプロジェクト「街路樹のあるべき姿を考える」第2回研究会  2025.07 

Reconstructing Courtly Networks: Johann Joseph Khevenhüller’s Diary as a Window into the Viennese Court under Maria Theresia Invited

Taisei Yamashita

Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts Guest Lecture  2025.05 

ドイツ語入門B（会話）

2026   Weekly class   Undergraduate

ドイツ語入門A（基礎）

2026   Weekly class   Undergraduate

ドイツ語入門2

2026   Weekly class   Undergraduate

ドイツ語入門1

2026   Weekly class   Undergraduate

Elementary German

Applied Studies in German

Introduction to Foreign History

増田良純（著）／大津留厚・石田勇治（編）『ナチ・ドイツにおける労働動員』神戸大学出版会

2022