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  • Earle Brigance: The Samurai Sword

    The Samurai Sword

    The Samurai Sword

    Earle Brigance will be with us again this year, giving two lectures on the Samurai Sword and the Samurai Sword’s influence on the history of Japan. Mr. Brigance will display Samurai Swords from his personal collection.

  • Earle Brigance: The Samurai Sword

    The Samurai Sword

    The Samurai Sword

    Earle Brigance will be with us again this year, giving two lectures on the Samurai Sword and the Samurai Sword’s influence on the history of Japan. Mr. Brigance will display Samurai Swords from his personal collection.

  • Amber Logan: The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

    Japan from the Outside: Writing “The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn”

    Local author Dr. Amber A. Logan will discuss the research process behind writing books set in Japan—including her debut novel, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn, an adult retelling of the children’s classic The Secret Garden set in a ryokan outside Kyoto.

  • Kabuki Actor Prints from the Nelson-Atkins Collection

    Promoting Kabuki: Edo-Era Prints from the Nelson-Atkins Collection

    Showcasing pieces from the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, this presentation will introduce Kabuki prints, featuring some beloved repertoires such as Chūshingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) and Musume Dōjōji (The Maiden at Dōjōji), in addition to portraits of famous Kabuki actors.

  • Gender and Kabuki: Onnagata and Takarazuka

    This lecture will examine how the history of kabuki theater – particularly the influence of the Tokugawa-era government in its early days – gave rise to the gender-subverting onnagata, or men who play female roles, and a comparison of them against the modern-day otokoyaku – women who act the parts of men in the Takarazuka Revue performance group.

  • Visualizing the Invisible: Hokusai, Yokai, Manga

    Visualizing the Invisible: Hokusai, Yokai, & Manga

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Hokusai, famed for his iconic print Under the Wave off Kanagawa (often called the Great Wave), was much more than a master of landscapes. He also delved into the mystical realms of yōkai.

  • Yokai in Anime & Manga

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Andrea Thimesch will help audiences explore the frequency of Yokai appearances in anime and manga that may have gone unnoticed.

  • The Human Mask: Yokai and Yurei Wearing Human Faces in Japanese Folklore – Lecture by Zack Davisson

    A Brief History of Yōkai

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    From Godzilla to Pokemon, Japan is monster country. All of Japan’s monsters have their roots in the bizarre menagerie of the creatures called “Yokai”.

  • J.M. “Tora” Lawson

    Evolution of the Samurai

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Mr. Lawson will discuss the evolution of Samurai culture and how it has survived into the modern era.

  • The Inner Life of Monsters: Noh, Godzilla and Japanese Culture – Lecture by Bill Tsutsui

    Kaiju, Character Goods, Pokemon in the World of Yōkai

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Dr. Bill Tsutsui, renowned Japanese history scholar, will explore how “commercial monsters” created by Japanese corporations since WWII fit within Japan’s rich heritage of folkloric creatures and spirits.

  • Yokai Panel Discussion

    Yokai Panel Discussion

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Is there something you’ve always wanted to know about Yokai? This is your chance to ask the experts!

  • A Look at Japanese Game Shows on American Television

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    In this presentation, Joshua Murphy will look at Japanese Game and Variety Shows and their effect on the American television landscape. Takeshi’s Castle, Ninja Warrior, Ultra Quiz, Shark Tank and America’s Funniest Home videos are some of the shows that will be discussed and seen in this panel.

  • The Noh Mask Reimagined: From Tradition to the Mona Lisa: Lecture by Dr. Kris Imants Ercums. Mask Image Credit: Bidou Yamaguchi | Artist

    The Noh Mask Reimagined: From Tradition to the Mona Lisa

    Featured
    MTC: 2nd Floor

    This talk, by Dr. Kris Imants Ercums, explores the transformation of tradition in the art of Noh mask carving, focusing on masks from the Spencer Museum of Art’s collection and the contemporary work of master carver Bidou Yamaguchi.

  • Samurai Armor Lecture

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Jimmy Forred's lecture will focus on the history of Japanese armor leading up to the modern era.

  • Masked Superheroes in Japan. Image Credit: Choudenshi Bioman (1984)

    Masked Superheroes in Japan

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    From Moonlight Mask (Gekko Kamen) to Super Sentai bands of fighters in Ultraman, masked Superheroes have been a staple of Japanese television. What lies behind their masks?

  • Lecture: the Masks of Kagura Musume

    Lecture: The Masks of Kagura Musume

    Featured
    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this fascinating lecture, dancer Asuka Iijima unveils the history, artistry, and cultural significance of the masks featured in her performance of Kagura Musume.

  • Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani

    Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Dr. Maki Kaneko will discuss "Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani", an exhibit presenting the remarkable art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani (1920–2012), a Japanese American artist who adapted his training in traditional Japanese painting to his life on the streets of New York City when he was unhoused later in life.

  • Japanese Religion and the Supernatural

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this presentation, Dr. Sarah Aptilon will delve into supernatural beliefs in Japanese culture and their connection to Shinto and Buddhism.

  • bonsai

    Miniature Trees: An Introduction to the Ancient Art of Bonsai

    SC: 1st Floor

    This presentation will provide a general overview of the many aspects in practicing the art of Bonsai, including Chinese and Japanese origins, philosophy, and description of design styles, tools, general horticulture procedures, pot selection and the design process.

  • Influence of Western Fantasy Gaming on Japanese Anime, Novels & Manga. Image: Main characters for the novel Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch. Illustrated by Yutaka Izubuchi.

    Influence of Western Fantasy Gaming on Japanese Anime, Novels & Manga

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    This talk will cover the introduction of Dungeons and Dragons into Japan, leading to the creation of the Record of Lodoss War novelization, Anime, and then Sword World and how these early influences have affected modern anime world-building, writing, and style.

  • Their Land is Still a Forest: Ainu in Contemporary Japan. Image: Hokkaido, Japan - Shiraoi Ainu Museum is one of the country's best museums about the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan.

    Their Land is Still a Forest: Ainu in Contemporary Japan

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    This presentation is a reflection of the famous works of "Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir" by Kayano Shigeru, a noted Ainu folklore expert, activist and politician as a lens to explore the persisting myths and lifestyles of the indigenous Ainu of northern Japan in contemporary times.

  • The Human Mask: Yokai and Yurei Wearing Human Faces in Japanese Folklore – Lecture by Zack Davisson

    The Human Mask: Yokai and Yurei Wearing Human Faces in Japanese Folklore

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    MTC 211 • 2nd Floor • 3:00 PM The Human Mask: Yokai and Yurei Wearing Human Faces in Japanese Folklore Zack Davisson, New York University In a flip of perspective, Zack will explain how Yokai are both the mask and the wearer of them. Many early tales from Noh theater and Buddhist literature featured supernatural […]

  • Zuihitsu, Haibun, and New Possibilities of Genre. Image: hand dipping brush in ink.

    Zuihitsu, Haibun, and New Possibilities of Genre

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Zuihitsu is a form of writing in which the writer “follows the brush” and writes associatively, and Haibun, a form of travel writing that includes a short prose piece describes an object scene or special moment coupled with a haiku poem, allows students to explore alternative genres to record the precision of their observations and thinking.

  • Japanese Garden Design

    Japanese Garden Design

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Koji Morimoto will show how to balance all aspects of a Japanese garden and explain the techniques and principles of making an outdoor living space.

  • Good Luck in Japan

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this talk by Dr. Alisa Freedman, learn more about Japanese lucky myths, gods, creatures, charms, holidays, and rituals and how they inspire us in the US.

  • Kaibyou - Supernatural Cats of Japan

    Kaibyou – Supernatural Cats of Japan

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Davisson’s presentation, like his book, will illuminate the vast realm of kaibyo, or supernatural cats, with historical and modern cultural context.