Speaker: Catherine Ryu, Associate Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture, Michigan State University

This lecture explores the intersection between waka (Japanese court poetry) and one of the most popular contemporary anime, Chihayafuru (2011). Together with the original manga series by Yuki Suetsugu, this anime has generated a new boom in utagaruta, a traditional Japanese card game based on Hyakunin isshu (Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, the 1230s), which was compiled by Fujiwara Teika, a celebrated courtier poet. This lecture will elucidate in particular the significance of the color red in Suetsugu’s innovative construction of a voice for shôjo (少女, “girl”) heroines—a new voice that matures through the poetic language of love.

Catherine Ryu is associate professor of Japanese Literature and Culture at Michigan State University. Her teaching and research areas include classical Japanese, gender studies, and game studies. She is also the inventor of Cube2Cube (C2C), a visualization platform, which she uses to teach classical Japanese grammar.