[S2E20] ⛩️ Global Shinto with Kaitlyn Ugoretz

This week we are joined by Kaitlyn Ugoretz, anthropologist of religion and a PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss the global appeal of Shinto in the digital era. Kaitlyn introduces us to online Shinto communities as old as the internet itself, as well as the many international faces of Shinto, from official shrines in the USA to localised rituals and Marie Kondo’s brand of spiritualism.

[S2E18] ⚔️ Samurai in Cinema with Dr Jonathan Wroot

his week we are joined by Dr Jonathan Wroot, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Greenwich, to discuss Samurai in Cinema. Oliver and Jonathan take a look at the many faces of samurai in Japanese cinema and their global influence on film producers. Jonathan also focusses on Zatoichi, the lone blind swordsman that has graced film and TV in Japan and elsewhere for over 50 years.

[S2E4] 📸 Contents Tourism with Dr Philip Seaton

This week we are joined by Dr Philip Seaton, professor in the Institute of Japan Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, to discuss “Contents Tourism”, travel behaviour motivated by narratives, characters and locations from pop culture.

[S2E3] 🔞 Studying Pornography with Maiko Kodaka

This week we are joined by Maiko Kodaka, PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, to discuss studying pornography, the challenges that come with researching such a contentious subject and the insights we can gain from it.

Cardiff-Japanese Lecture Series: An insight into the mechanism of the roles of antiheros in manga and anime under the context of Japanese society

Cardiff University is holding their first event in the Cardiff-Japanese Lecture Series with Fumio Obata (University of Gloucestershire) which explores sociocultural aspects of Japanese language learning.