Japan's Commercial Monsters--Dr. William Tsutsui

This talk will explore how the “commercial monsters” created by Japanese corporations since World War II fit within Japan’s rich heritage of folkloric creatures and spirits. Focusing on the kaijū of Japanese cinema, the ubiquitous cute characters of Sanrio, and the games in the Pokémon media franchise, this lighthearted but substantive presentation will reflect on the many ways in which Godzilla, Hello Kitty, and Nintendo’s “pocket monsters” might be considered modern-day yōkai. Bill Tsutsui has served as Chancellor and Professor of History at Ottawa University since 2021, after more than 30 years teaching modern Japanese history and holding a variety of administrative positions at the University of Kansas, Southern Methodist University, Hendrix College, and Harvard University. Among the eight books he has written or edited are Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (called a “cult classic” by the New York Times) and Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization. He continues to speak, write, and teach on the Godzilla movies, monster culture in Japan, and the environmental history of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. Admission is free, lecture will be available online on zoom: us06web.zoom.us/j/6355945651. More information available at: https://jaschicago.org/event/japans-commerical-monsters/.