[An edited version of this lecture is available in the IHJ Bulletin, Vol.29, No.2, 2009.]
- Speaker: Christine R. Yano, Professor, University of Hawaii
- Moderator: Masayuki Tadokoro, Professor, Keio University
- Date & Time: Monday, June 1, 2009, 7:00 pm
- Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free
In the late 2000s, Cool Japan has become not only a culture industry force, but also a governmental concern. This presentation takes a critical look at one aspect of Japan’s “cool” moment–what she calls “pink globalization” or cute culture in its transnational consumption. Focusing on Hello Kitty as an iconic site of pink globalization, Prof. Yano examines numerous global appropriations of the product and the range of meanings given to it, thereby highlighting the practices, hierarchies, and meanings of the highly commodified “contact zone” of Japanese goods outside of Japan.
Christine R. Yano
With a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii, Prof. Christine R. Yano is a noted scholar who specializes in popular culture and national identity in Japan. Her books include Tears of Longing (Harvard University Press, 2002), Crowning the Nice Girl (University of Hawaii Press, 2006), and Airborne Dreams (Duke University Press, forthcoming). She is currently working on a book manuscript on Japanese cute culture, as well as conducting ongoing research on Pan American World Airways in postwar Japan.