Moriyuki It� holds a PhD from T�hoku University, (1995). He taught from 1984 to 2005 at Hirosaki University. He is currently professor of Japanese Literature at Gakush�in Women's College in Tokyo. He has published many articles on the Sarashina Diary over a period of thirty years. His Sarashina nikki Kenky�, (Research on the Sarashina Diary) published in 1995 is recognized as a definitive work on the subject.