"Yokai x Digital Science" event held at Teikyo University Recurrent College,Kasumigaseki Campus

On Thursday, May 9, 2024, the Teikyo University Recurrent College GJS Symposium "Yokai x Digital Science" was held at the Teikyo University Kasumigaseki Campus. This symposium was co-hosted by the Department of Department of Global Japanese Studies Faculty of Language Studies and Okinaga Research Institute, and deepened discussion on the theme of how the existence of yokai is changing by visualizing invisible yokai.
Mizuki Watanabe, Senior Assistant Professor the Department of Global Japanese Studies at our university who specializes in cultural anthropology, coordinated a diverse range of speakers, including researchers in folklore, viral biology, and digital semiotics, as well as an artist specializing in yokai, and provided topics and held a panel discussion centered on a common interest in all of these research fields: "the attempt to visualize the invisible, that is, yokai."
Masanobu Kagawa, Chief Curator of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, questioned how, during the Edo period, yokai went from being a source of fear to being an object of entertainment, and how people began to seek out the appearance and shape of yokai through "illustrated yokai guides" that were enjoyed by looking at them, as well as the perception of yokai among modern Japanese people.
Matt Meyer, a yokai artist and yokai researcher, explained the process and techniques he uses to depict yokai, which include traveling around the country to find reference materials and meticulously researching the scenery and customs of the time, and spoke about why Japanese yokai culture fascinates people overseas.
Professor Masaharu Takemura of the Tokyo University of Science Graduate School of Liberal Arts Education used the demons that appear in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as a subject and introduced his attempt to understand monsters from a biological mechanism in order to examine similarities with viruses, which are the subject of his research.
Kentaro Matsumoto, Professor of Faculty of Language Studies, considered what meaning the existence of shape-shifting yokai holds for us in an age where images of yokai are being updated by AI and yokai are being used as local mascots.
The panel discussion, "How will digital science change the existence of monsters?" saw a lively exchange of opinions between the speakers. The more than 90 participants, from students to working adults, asked enthusiastic questions, making the event a great success. Students from the Department of Department of Global Japanese Studies who attended the event commented, "I learned that Japan and Europe have different ways of thinking about monsters and ghosts, and it made me want to study more," and "I was able to hear from science experts, and the logical discussions were stimulating."
Teikyo University Recurrent College will continue to give back the diverse knowledge of Teikyo University to society and provide a place of learning for many people.

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