- This event has passed.
Screening and Talk of AKUTAGAWA: Modern Tales Retold in Traditional Japanese Puppetry
04/21/2023 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
AKUTAGAWA is a stage portrait of Ryūnoske Akutagawa, influential modernist Japanese short
story writer and author of Rashōmon. Told through stunning traditional Japanese and
contemporary puppetry and an amalgam of five of his short stories (Rashōmon, Hell
Screen (Jigokuhen), The Dragon, Toshishun and Kappa), AKUTAGAWA is a lush, visual
exploration of the process of artistic creation. AKUTAGAWA is a collaboration by Japanese fifth
generation master puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V and puppeteer Tom Lee.
Screening (1-3:30 pm): In-person only | Talk (3:30-5 pm): HybridRegistration
RSVP required via Google Form [https://forms.gle/TaPLmDNx1nZiWQLK7] | Registration ends April 19th, 5PM
Speaker:
Tom Lee, Puppet Artist and Director of AKUTAGAWA
Mr. Lee is an Asian American designer, director and puppet artist who has performed on
Broadway in War Horse, at the Metropolitan Opera in Madama Butterfly, in addition to creating
critically acclaimed original work fusing technology and contemporary puppetry techniques.
Discussant:
Joshua Rogers, Assistant Professor of Japanese Literature at Queens College, CUNY
Joshua Rogers is an assistant professor of Japanese Literature at Queens College, City University
of New York. An alumnus of Columbia University, Joshua currently researches the intersection
of literature, science, and religion in early twentieth-century Japan. Joshua’s first manuscript,
titled Secularity and Enchantment in Prewar Japanese Literature, will argue that many authors,
including Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, shaped their theories of fiction around an “enchanted”
metaphysics, defined by skepticism of both scientific materialism and organized religion.
Organizers (Benkyōkai)
Kim Martinez (kem2238@columbia.edu)
Xiaoke Yang (xy2504@columbia.edu)
Co-sponsor
Columbia Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Promotional Material Design
Kim Martinez and Xiaoke Yang (poster)
Xiaoke Yang (social media banner)
Photo Credit
Richard Termine
Video Credit
Courtesy of Japan Society
