Dr YAO Qiong of IEAS was invited by Professor Seizo UCHIYAMA (内田青藏) of Research Center for Nonwritten Materials, Kanagawa University to be a visiting researcher for a short-term three-week research on the worship ceremony of Japanese royal court and folk sacrifices in middle ages. The focal area of her studies on spiritual discipline was the area near Kanagawa University but extended to encapsulate the worship ceremonies of Shinto shrines in Aichi Prefecture and Kyoto. On 3 June 2016, Dr Yao presented her research findings in Kanagawa University.