NAMAHAGE IN TOKYO

Etsuko Ichihara + ISID Open Innovation Lab

Who in your life needs a visit from the Namahage?

In Japanese folklore, the ‘Namahage’ is an ogre-like demon who threatens villagers. In northeast Japan, men dress up as the Namahage, as part of their year-end rituals, frightening lazy and badly-behaved children. This ritual is believed to instil a sense of awareness and responsibility in young children. Namahage in Tokyo tells a fresh story of how the Namahage might exist in Japan’s modern capital city. Instead of a monster, the Namahage is now a futuristic being who brings about peace by enforcing surveillance over the city, punishing adults who misbehave on social media, visiting them at night and hacking into their minds.

What other folklore needs a contemporary remix?

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Etsuko Ichihara is a media artist and fantasy inventor creating artworks that offer a unique interpretation of Japanese culture, customs and beliefs through technology-based approaches. Her work has been shown at Japan Media Arts Festival in Tokyo, the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum, the Japan Creative Centre in Singapore, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Ars Electronica in Austria amongst many other places. This work was created in collaboration with the ISID Open Innovation Lab.

Installation photography: Matthew Stanton