Japan Foundation- Kingdom of Characters

A free exhibition will be on in Sydney at the Chifley Plaza from the 6th April to the 25th May. Aptly named the Kingdom of Characters it entails the Japanese characters that became global phenomenons since the 1950s. Tell your friends about it because I really believe it would be quite a fantastic exhibition.

Im surprised DragonBall isn't in these pictures but I'm pretty sure that it would be there. Perhaps I might go twice once after I get my DSLR (Canon EOS 600D) and twice to listen to Dr Craig Norris' lecture on the 24th May.

Dr Craig Norris

Craig Norris is a lecturer in the Journalism, Media and Communications program at the University of Tasmania. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Western Sydney in 2004, and studied at Tokyo University from 1999-2001 on a Monbusho research scholarship. His doctoral thesis examined the spread of Japanese manga and anime through Western fandom. His current research interests are in transmedia content and fan cultures. He has published in the area of global media and the dissemination of Japanese popular-culture goods.


Cult Media Pilgramages to Japan's Kingdom of Characters.


Japanese cities crave the attention that comes from being home to a popular culture icon like Godzilla, Ultraman, Astro Boy or Hello Kitty. Western fan pilgrimages to Japanese locations associated with these cult media texts have been variously construed as fads or underground activities. More recently there has been a trend to consider cult media tourism as increasingly incorporated into commercial and state tourism branding and promotion strategies. This talk outlines how fans and industry ‘play’ with Japanese popular culture to experiment with various surroundings and location and will discuss examples such as fans travelling to locations made famous through live-action shows such as Godzilla or Ultraman, video-games like Yakuza, and manga and anime like Lucky Star.



Resources were derived from Japan Foundation, Sydney