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Symposium: The Otherworld in Matsuri!

A symposium in conjunction with the exhibition Matsuri! Japanese Festival Arts at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History

Saturday, January 25, 2003
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
UCLA Fowler Museum
Harry and Yvonne Lenart Auditorium
A-Level
Los Angeles, CA 90095

In conjunction with the exhibition Matsuri! Japanese Festival Arts at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, the symposium Otherworld in Matsuri! will examine notions of the "otherworld" in matsuri - from portrayals of spirits to perceptions of the outside world in the visual and performing arts.  A range of specialists will discuss elements of matsuri that are meant to awaken and astonish the deities, and to ensure their benevolence for the coming period.  Imported ideas, images and objects, as well, take on otherworldly meanings during matsuri.

Presenters:

• Gloria G. Gonick
  Visiting Curator
  "Astonishing the Deities! Japanese Festival Arts
• Herbert Plutschow
  Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, UCLA
  "Japanese Ritual and Culture"
• Ronald A. Morse
  Paul I. Terasaki Chair of Japanese Studies, UCLA
  "The Otherworld and Thisworld in Matsuri: A Folklore Perspective
• Meher McArthur
  Curator of East Asian Art, Pacific Asia Museum
  "Laughing at the Gods: Humorous Depictions of Otherworldly Beings in Japanese Popular Art"

Reception and gallery walkthrough to follow in the Elizabeth and W. Thomas David Courtyard.

The symposium is sponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies and made possible by additional support from the Nikkei Bruin Committee.

Cost: Free

Special Instructions

Program is subject to change. For information, please call (310) 825-8655.

For more information please contact

UCLA Fowler Museum Tel: (310) 825-8655
www.fmch.ucla.edu/index.htm

Sponsor(s): Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies, Nikkei Bruin Committee