Nathan's research focuses on medieval Japan, primarily post-Onin War social constructions and exercises of military power. He received his B.A. in Japanese Language and Government/International Relations from the University of Notre Dame and his M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In Nathan's prior career, he served in the US Army as a Northeast Asia specialist and liaison.  Over the next year he will be conducting dissertation research at Kyushu University with support from the Fulbright Fellowship, looking at the nature of violence in sixteenth-century Japan.