[KineJapan] 5th May 7pm (BST) - Online Talk - Zatoichi: Reality or Fantasy? Creating the Hero of the Blind Swordsman

Tue Apr 26 10:26:19 EDT 2022

Sorry, I forgot to add the link to book tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-or-fantasy-creating-the-hero-of-the-blind-swordsman-tickets-320539461157

The Creeping Garden<http://www.creepinggarden.com/> - A Real-Life Science-Fiction Story about Slime Moulds and the People Who Work With them, directed by Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp.
Available now on Dual-Format Blu-ray/DVD from Arrow Films<https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/the-creeping-garden-dual-format/FCD1435>.
The book, The Creeping Garden: Irrational Encounters with Plasmodial Slime Moulds is out now from Alchimia Publishing<http://www.alchimiapublishing.com/creeping-garden/>.
"A surprising investigation of perception, thought and life itself", Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/movies/review-the-creeping-garden-on-the-wonders-of-the-slime-mold.html>.
"An out-of-left-field nerdy delight", John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter<https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/creeping-garden-fantasia-review-724416>.
"Strange, eccentric, diverting", Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian<https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/09/creeping-garden-review-slime-mould-film>.

________________________________
From: KineJapan <kinejapan-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Jasper Sharp via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Sent: 26 April 2022 11:34
To: KineJapan at mailman.yale.edu <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Cc: Jasper Sharp <jasper_sharp at hotmail.com>
Subject: [KineJapan] 5th May 7pm (BST) - Online Talk - Zatoichi: Reality or Fantasy? Creating the Hero of the Blind Swordsman

Dear All

With apologies for cross-posting.

Please find below details for this online book launch event, taking place on Zoom, on 5th May at 7pm, UK time, although accessible to anyone anywhere around the globe if they wish to sign up for it, not just the UK

This talk will also be recorded by the Japan Foundation, and provided on YouTube afterwards.

All the best

Jasper

You are receiving this email as you have subscribed to information about film or literature related events.

<https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-or-fantasy-creating-the-hero-of-the-blind-swordsman-tickets-320539461157>[cid:18065a415355b16b21]<https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-or-fantasy-creating-the-hero-of-the-blind-swordsman-tickets-320539461157><https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-or-fantasy-creating-the-hero-of-the-blind-swordsman-tickets-320539461157>

Date: Thursday, 5 May 2022, 7:00pm (BST)

Online Event hosted on Zoom

Zatoichi is regarded as one of the most influential characters from Japanese jidai-geki (period films). The first film out of 29 Japanese titles was directed by MISUMI Kenji and released in 1962. The series gained so much popularity that it was later remade in the USA. Despite being blind, Zatoichi is an accomplished sword fighter who beats many villains, and is inspiring enough to capture the hearts of even contemporary film makers such as KITANO Takeshi and MIIKE Takashi. Although adapted from literature and supposedly modelled on a real person, the film’s version of the character is far from the original influences. It was certainly the popularity of the films that pushed Zatoichi into the limelight. How was this blind hero invented and what factored into his success?

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first film of Zatoichi, in this online talk Dr Jonathan Wroot, who published The Paths of Zatoichi, will introduce his latest book explaining the process of the characterisation of the famous blind swordsman, while referring to his impact on history and the cultural context. Together with Dr Dolores Martinez and Dr Jasper Sharp, the talk will also explore the representation of Zatoichi as a hero who is blind and why such a character is frequently portrayed within jidai-geki films and TV shows; while also considering the other examples of blind people in Japanese film and culture.

Speakers

[cid:18065a415356917eb2]Dr Jonathan Wroot<https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/las/jonathan-wroot> is Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Film Studies at the University of Greenwich. He has previously published research on home media formats and Asian cinema distribution. He co-edited a collection entitled New Blood: Framing 21st Century Horror, for UWP, in 2021, in addition to his monograph on the Zatoichi film and TV franchise. Some of this research will be appearing in the forthcoming edited collection, Women in East Asian Cinema. He has contributed to the podcast series Beyond Japan and Second Features, as well as the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2022<https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/>.

Dolores P. Martinez is Emeritus Reader in Anthropology at SOAS, University of London and a Research Affiliate at ISCA, University of Oxford. She has written on maritime anthropology, tourism, religion, gender, film, and popular culture in Japan, as well as on women’s football in the USA, documentaries, and humour in science fiction films. Her publications include Identity and Ritual in a Japanese Diving Village; Remaking Kurosawa; editor of The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture; and co-editor, Assembling Japan and Persistently Postwar.

Dr Jasper Sharp is an author, filmmaker and curator known for his work on Japanese cinema and the co-founder of the film website Midnight Eye<http://www.midnighteye.com/>. His books include The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (2004), joint-written with Tom Mes, Behind the Pink Curtain (2008) and The Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema (2011). His work has appeared in publications including Sight & Sound, The Guardian, The Japan Times, and Film International, and on numerous home video releases. Between 2010 and 2014 he was the director of Zipangu Fest, a London-based festival dedicated to showcasing Japanese independent cinema, and was the Artistic Director of the Asia House Film Festival between 2014 and 2016. He is the co-director with Tim Grabham of The Creeping Garden<http://www.creepinggarden.com/> (2014), an award-winning documentary about plasmodial slime moulds, and currently works as a disc producer for Arrow Films.

This online event is free to attend but registration is essential. To reserve your space,

please book your ticket here<https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-or-fantasy-creating-the-hero-of-the-blind-swordsman-tickets-320539461157>.

The Paths of Zatoichi
The Global Influence of the Blind Swordsman

By Dr Jonathan Wroot

is available for purchase here<https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793601216/>.

Please use code LXFANDF30 for 30% off when ordering.

*For individual use only and may not be combined with other offers and discounts

Event in collaboration with:

[cid:18065a415357745b43]

[A close up of a logo  Description automatically generated]<https://twitter.com/jpflondon>         @jpflondon

[A close up of a sign  Description automatically generated]<https://www.instagram.com/jpflondon/?hl=en>          @jpflondon

[A picture containing object, clock  Description automatically generated]<https://en-gb.facebook.com/JapanFoundationLondon/>       @japanfoundationlondon

The Japan Foundation, London 101-111 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA  www.jpf.org.uk<http://www.jpf.org.uk>

If you wish to remove your name from this mailing list, please send a blank email
with the subject 'Unsubscribe' to info at jpf.org.uk<mailto:info at jpf.org.uk>

University of Greenwich, a charity and company limited by guarantee, registered in England (reg no. 986729). Registered Office: Old Royal Naval College, Park Row, Greenwich SE10 9LS.

--

The Creeping Garden<http://www.creepinggarden.com/> - A Real-Life Science-Fiction Story about Slime Moulds and the People Who Work With them, directed by Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp.

Available now on Dual-Format Blu-ray/DVD from Arrow Films<https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/the-creeping-garden-dual-format/FCD1435>.
The book, The Creeping Garden: Irrational Encounters with Plasmodial Slime Moulds is out now from Alchimia Publishing<http://www.alchimiapublishing.com/creeping-garden/>.
"A surprising investigation of perception, thought and life itself", Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/movies/review-the-creeping-garden-on-the-wonders-of-the-slime-mold.html>.
"An out-of-left-field nerdy delight", John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter<https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/creeping-garden-fantasia-review-724416>.
"Strange, eccentric, diverting", Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian<https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/09/creeping-garden-review-slime-mould-film>.

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