With a main research interest in pottery-making technology in the Predynastic period, Masahiro joined the Hierakonpolis Expedition in 2003 just as excavations of the pottery kilns at HK11C were beginning. In the following season, he continued the research at HK11C and gradually revealed the well-preserved industrial complex there, which included pit-kilns for pottery, vats for brewing, and still enigmatic mudbrick structures.
With archaeological data from Hierakonpolis and the materials stored at the British Museum, he carried out the petrographical and chemical analyses at Cardiff University, the results of which were bases for his doctorates, which he received from the Department of Archaeology at Waseda University in Japan. He is now an assistant Professor at the Institute of Egyptology at Waseda University, and lectures on the Ancient Egypt.
Since 1995 Masahiro has worked on a variety of archaeological sites in Egypt. He was a member of the Waseda University expeditions excavating in the Western Valley of the Kings, Abusir South and Dahshur North. From 2005 to 2007 he was the field-director of the Dahshur North mission, during which intact tombs and coffins of Middle and New Kingdoms were discovered. However. Hierakonpolis is still his favorite place, and not just for the food.
