Category Archives: Personal/Site Updates

Personal/Site Updates

Presenting at ConnectiCon 2022 (Hartford, CT): Panel Schedule & Descriptions

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I have been out of the game for some time, but I am very much looking forward to returning to ConnectiCon this year as a panelist.

This year I will be presenting 4 panels, two with co-panelist Sam Kyung Yoo. Detailed schedule and descriptions are below (full convention schedule). Hoping to see some people there!

SATURDAY, July 16

From Noh to TeniMyu: A Crash Course in Anime on Stage

10:15-11:15 AM in Utopia Unicorns (CTCC Meeting Room 27)

The theatre of Japan is among the most distinct and easily recognizable arts known today. Recent years have seen more and more production and performance of theatre shows based on popular anime, manga, and video games in Japan. Join us on a crash course of all there is to know about anime adapted for the live stae, including the mysterious noh masked theatre and its use of VR to recreate Ghost in the Shell, the flashy Prince of Tennis Musical (TeniMyu) that sparked an entire genre of anime theatrical adaptation in Japanese theatre, and recent kabuki productions of anime/manga such as Naruto and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Japanese Horror: Monstrous Mothers & Dead Wet Girls

11:30 AM-12:30 PM in Utopia Unicorns (CTCC Meeting Room 27)

No Japanese horror (J-horror) or ghost film is complete without its haunting woman specter, dating back from as early as the time of Akira Kurosawa to as recent as the latest Sadako film of the Ringu (The Ring) franchise. Join us and find out why the monstrous feminine has dominated J-horror cinema and why some of the most iconic women figures of the genre are the way they are.

Japanese Folklore: Ghosts, Monsters & Strange Tales

4:45-6:15 PM in Gotham Gundam (CTCC Meeting Room 11-13)

Ever wondered what a “tanuki” really is, or what the difference is between a youkai and a yuurei? Find out the answers here! Join us as we explore the supernatural side of Japan, its monstrous creatures and demons, its strange stories and superstitions, as well as its continued influence on popular culture.

SUNDAY, July 17

Blood and Honor: The Story of the Samurai in Japanese Cinema

10:45-11:45 AM in Zootopia Zebras (Marriott Conference Room 1/2)

From Kurosawa Akira to Yamada Yoji, Japanese directors have been telling the story of the samurai for decades. From the classics to the latest groundbreaking films and trends in cinema, find out all you need to know about this truly unique and essential genre of Japanese film!

Folklore, Movies, Personal/Site Updates, Religion, Theatre

Interview: Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers & Dead Wet Girls (Japan Station, JapanKyo.Com)

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Had a fun talk with Antonio (Tony) Vega discussing onryō (怨霊; “vengeful/wrathful ghost”) in the context of Japanese religion/folklore, theatre, as well as contemporary J-horror cinema. Feel free to give it a listen!

Tony’s podcast Japan Station is focused on discovering Japan through conversations with a guest featured on each episode. His podcast covers all aspects of Japan, including the Japanese language, history, Japanese pop culture, food, anime, manga, movies, music, comedy, the impact of Japanese culture around the world, underground social movements, social issues in Japan, and much more.

Movies, Personal/Site Updates, Theatre

Webinar Presentation: Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers, and Dead Wet Girls (Center for Japanese Studies, UH Manoa)

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Had the wonderful opportunity to talk and present my doctoral dissertation research as a part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) lecture series for Fall 2021.

This event was held on Zoom and was co-sponsored by CJS and the Department of Theatre and Dance at UH Mānoa. Q&A was moderated by my doctoral advisor, Professor Julie A. Iezzi.

Feel free to take a look at the replay recording of the webinar (see below) released on the Center for Japanese Studies at UH Mānoa YouTube channel!

Original Air Date of Webinar: Friday, September 24, 2021

ABSTRACT: As in many cultures, woman is often portrayed as monstrous or evil by sheer fact of her being female. Today, no Japanese horror film is considered complete without its haunting woman specter, the female onryō, or “vengeful ghost” archetype. Barbara Creed’s writings on the “monstrous feminine” illustrates an innate connection of “affinity” between woman and monster as “potent threats to vulnerable male power.” Although when writing Creed was referring to Western horror cinema, the same theories can be extended to Japanese media.

By analyzing the narrative style, visual representation, and enactment of this archetype found in Japanese theatre forms nō and kabuki compared to Japanese horror films, it becomes apparent that the female onryō reflects views of the feminine identity in Japanese society. Contrary to the portrayal of the male, only once these women have become “monstrous” can they break free from sociocultural limitations and act on their vengeance. Their frightening and grotesque forms, however, invoke more terror and horror than sympathy, transforming the victims into the villains.

Despite the change in norms of Japanese society over time, the way these female onryō are presented remains arguably consistent, positioning them as more “monsters” and “freaks” rather than women. More significant is the tendency to associate these characters with feminine traits or behavior, thereby transforming them into something grotesque, extending the association of horror to woman herself. In so doing, the female onryō may have helped serve as a means of patriarchal control prescribing women’s behavior, perhaps explaining its continued prevalence.

Movies, Personal/Site Updates

Interview: Dead Wet Girls (Kwok Talk, KTUH Online)

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Crystal Kwok on Kwok Talk

Had a lovely interview with Crystal Kwok (pictured above) where we discussed the representation of women in Japanese horror films. Feel free to give it a listen!

Crystal’s talk show Kwok Talk (KTUH Online) focuses on socially sensitive issues including gender and race with a multi-cultural perspective.

Personal/Site Updates

It’s hard in this world and society we live in to not think about getting old like it’s a bad thing.

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This month marks not only the two-month milestone in my field research year, but also the beginning of my last year I am able to call myself a “twenty-something.”

It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it has gotten me thinking how I’ve reached a stage in my life where I probably can’t “get away with” certain things anymore. Certain mistakes that were washed off my slate because I was “still young” and naïve or immature. This isn’t to say that I believe I can no longer afford to make mistakes (because they can, and will most definitely happen). More like I at least shouldn’t be making the same ones as when I was a college student, etc.

It’s hard in this world and society we live in to not think about getting old like it’s a bad thing. To feel that if you don’t do x or y or z by the time you’re 25 or 30 or 50 you’re behind everyone else. It’s near impossible not to think about it. That you might be running out of time to be what you are to be. To “make something of yourself,” if you will, or at least leave a footprint behind in something more substantial than sand or snow.

I remember planning my future, marking the stages in years and age. I still do, sometimes. Maybe that’s why I have times when I feel so low. Having no standard way to measure my progress here makes it difficult to stay confident and certain. “Is this where I should be at this point? Am I even doing this right?” Then comes the ominous pressure and doubt; the empty pit in the stomach sensation when I consider whether I am actually even capable of writing such a massive project even after all this research is said and done.

It’s at times like these when I think about quitting, or wish there was a way to press the reset button and start everything over. But in the end I keep going. I’m still walking. One step at a time.

Personal/Site Updates

久しぶり～ Back in Japan.

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Being a grad student is never boring.

Tiring? Yes. Stressful and soul-draining at times? Absolutely. But not boring. In the time since my last post (2 years… ^_^;;; ), I ended up switching from an MFA track to an MA and PhD track program in Asian Theatre with a Japan Focus, and have progressed to the dissertational research phase of my degree.

It’s been nearly two months but my field research year as part of my doctoral dissertation has begun~ It’s hard to believe that I am back in Japan again, this time in Kyoto, even if for just a short year. My apartment is small but it’s perfect for just me and I have an air con so I can stay warm in these winter months. I’ve only gotten sick once so far which I believe may be a personal record for me.

The past two months have gone by so fast and also painfully slowly. I don’t have a lot of confidence as this is the first time I have ever done something like this before, but I’m doing what I can by taking each day and the progress I manage to achieve in that day as an accomplishment in of itself.

My primary focus is of course on my research, but I also hope to make progress in other creative pursuits, especially writing.

Here’s to a better year.