Central and UHART announce new articulation agreement for Athletic Training students
Assistant Professor of Japanese and Japanese Program Coordinator
World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
AAAPI Center Executive Board
Office
Willard-DiLoreto Hall
D403-08
Biography
Matthew Chudnow is an Assistant Professor of Japanese and the Japanese Program Coordinator at Central Connecticut State University, where he teaches courses on Japanese language, cultural history, and socio-religious topics. His primary research focuses on interdisciplinary analysis of combinatory religious issues in medieval Noh theater. He also works on the history and development of traditional Japanese martial arts, especially their religious, political, and intercultural aspects.
Prof. Chudnow is committed to international exchange through Japanese language and culture. He was an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) with the JET Program (CLAIR/MEXT) in Kyōtabane City, Kyōto prefecture (2002-2004) and was also employed at the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan, Washington DC (2008-2010). Prof. Chudnow also serves as an official JET Program interviewer for Northeast Regional finalists since 2023. He was the recipient of a Kakehashi Project grant from the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE) and assisted in guiding seven Japanese Minors on a fully funded Japan study trip to Tokyo and Matsuyama City, Ehime prefecture from March 7-15, 2024.
Prof. Chudnow is an Executive Board Member of the Asian-American, Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) Center, as well as the faculty supervisor for the Japanese Language Learning Club (JLLC) at Central. He is also a member of the Japan Society of Greater Hartford (JSGH).
Please contact mchudnow@ccsu.edu for inquiries on the Japanese Program and the Japanese Minor in World Language.
Education
Areas of Expertise
- Noh theater and traditional Japanese performance traditions.
- Japanese cultural history (classical, medieval, and modern).
- Classical and medieval Japanese literature.
- Japanese martial arts in socio-political and religious context.
- Buddhism, shamanism, and ritual in Japan and East Asia.
- Topics and problems related to Japanese colonialism and militarism.
- Gender studies in premodern and modern Japan and East Asia.
- Japanese language pedagogy (contemporary and classical).
- Japanese sacred art.
Publications, Research & Presentations
Recent Publications
“The Dynamics of Nyōnin jōbutsu in Zenchiku’s Yōkihi: Honzetsu, Poetic Allusion, and Sacred Space.” in Carolina Negri, ed. Images from the Past: Intertextuality in Japanese Premodern Literature, Ca’ Foscari University Press, Venice: 2022.
Recent Presentations
“Folding Time and Sacred Spaces via Narrative within the Noh Play Kasuga Ryūjin.” Research presented at as part of the panel “Narrative Transformations: Wrinkles in Time and Space” at the 2026 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Vancouver; March 14, 2026.
Folding Time and Sacred Spaces Within the Noh Play Kasuga Ryūjin.” Research presented at the Association for Japanese Literary Studies 33rd Annual Meeting on “Media Temporalities” held at the University of Chicago; November 21-22, 2025.
“Karma and Attachment: the Dramaturgy of Denied Enlightenment in Zenchiku’s Nonomiya (Shrine of the Fields).” Presentation for panel Gender and Theatricality in Premodern Japanese Performance at 2023 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Boston, March 16-19, 2023.
“The Dynamics of Nyōnin jōbutsu in Zenchiku’s Yōkihi: Honzetsu, Poetic Allusion, and Sacred Space.” Presented at Images from the Past: Intertextuality in Japanese Premodern Literature conference at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, February 5, 2021.
Awards & Grants
Recent
Excellence in Teaching (EIT) Committee Honor Roll, Central Connecticut State University, 2026.
Faculty Development Grant, Central Connecticut State University, 2025.
Kakehashi Project Recipient for Central Connecticut State University, Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE), 2024.
Social Science Research Council/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Long Term (24 Month) Fellowship Program, (deferred due to teaching commitments), 2023.
Central Connecticut State University Foundation Academic Enrichment Grant, 2022.
Fulbright Graduate Research Fellow Scholarship plus Fulbright 3-Month Extension, Project: “Soteriology in the Female Spirit Noh of Konparu Zenchiku,” Nogami Memorial Noh Theater Institute, Hōsei University, Japan. September 1, 2013-November 28, 2014.
Memberships & Affiliations
American Academy of Religion (AAR).
American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ).
Association of Asian Studies (AAS).
New Directions in Noh Theater Workshop.
Courses Taught
Japanese Language
Japanese 111: Elementary Japanese I (2 sections, Fall).
Japanese 112: Elementary Japanese II (Spring).
Japanese 125: Intermediate Japanese I (Fall).
Japanese 126: Intermediate Japanese II (Spring).
Japanese 225: Intermediate Japanese III (Fall).
Japanese 226: Intermediate Japanese IV (Spring).
WL 496: Independent Study- Elementary Japanese Languages Pedagogy (Spring).
Humanities
Humanities 100-01: East Asian Humanities (Spring).
Humanities 100-04: Japan in the World (Fall).
Humanities/International Studies 230-02: Development of Japanese Martial Arts (Spring).