THE ZOMBIE in JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE Adaptation of the Haitian Archetype in the Land of the Rising Sun
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THE ZOMBIE IN JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE Adaptation of the Haitian Archetype in the Land of the Rising Sun Adiletta Sara 5615A001-5 June 1, 2016 A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies Waseda University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 1 Abstract This thesis aims to offer an overview on the archetype of the zombie, and on the way in which this figure has been absorbed by Japanese popular culture. Starting from the origins of the zombie myth – which are retraceable inside the Voodoo cult, a religion belonging to the syncretic Haitian traditions – the analysis will highlight the evolutionary path of this creature in the American as well as in the international media scenario. From the early 1930s, the zombie has been progressively incorporated into the literature and cinematographic productions of the New Continent, reaching full notoriety in 1968, with the beginning of George Romero’s cinematography. The coming of the new millennium brought to the fore this monstrous figure for the second time, manifesting repercussions and influences in the international media industry, and generating a pervasive phenomenon known as “Zombie Renaissance”: the zombies are nowadays protagonists of a wide range of media, which includes comics, videogames, films, literature and television series. The zombies received a positive evaluation also from Japanese popular culture, in which the living dead often appear in manga and anime. In order to illustrate some characteristics of Japanese zombies, the investigation will focus on a specific work: the manga I Am a Hero, created by Kengo Hanazawa and first published in 2009. Hanazawa’s manga is successful in combining salient aspects of Japanese popular culture with characteristic elements of American traditions related to the image of the living dead. Besides the analysis of the media productions, the research further explores religious, cultural and sociological aspects of the zombie, in order to provide additional information about the Caribbean myth and about its flourishing in the global context. Therefore, after introducing the basic notions about the zombie myth and its origins, the investigation will focus on the comparative analysis between Voodoo and Shinto, which share some common features: both doctrines are characterized by an animist matrix, and they both worship holy creatures, Japanese kami and Voodoo loas. In addition to the religious examination, the research will be oriented to the study of the mythological creatures – which include a wide range of monsters, demons and ghost – typical of Japanese culture. The exploration of this category could help to confirm or to confute the existence of possible mythological figures which share similarities with the myth of the zombie. A further section of the thesis will be dedicated to the post-apocalyptic productions released in the American as well as in the Japanese media scenario, with the intent to understand how the most dramatic events – such as the 9/11 attack in the United States, and the Aum Shinrikyo attack, conducted in 1995 in Tokyo – have affected and influenced the popular culture of these two countries. Post-apocalyptic themes have been a constant in Japanese popular culture since the 1970s, as demonstrated by popular manga and anime such as: Uchū Senkan Yamato (also known as Space Battleship Yamato, Leiji Matsumoto, 1974 - 1975), Kaze no Tani Naushika (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki, 1982 - 1994) and Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1982 - 1990). It is probable that the geological configuration of Japanese territory – which is characterized by intensive seismic and volcanic activities – could further contribute to increase the attention that Japanese media productions dedicate to catastrophic and apocalyptic themes. The thesis will further offer a brief panoramic on the main zombie cinematography that characterizes the American media industry, with the intent to retrace a progressive development of the living dead in this context. Consequently, the study will provide a comparative analysis between the general American ideal of the zombie, and the image of the living dead presented in Hanazawa’s manga I Am a Hero, highlighting similarities and contrasts between American and Japanese productions, and trying to define a prototype for Japanese zombies. Finally, the research will focus on the sociological meaning of the zombie in post- human society: according to Peter Dendle, the zombie expresses the social anxiety of people who cannot find protection under government institutions. Specifically, the sociological meaning of the Japanese living dead will be further explicated through the analysis of the manga I Am a Hero, which includes relevant social issues of this country, such as: the social exclusion and the hikikomori phenomenon; the alienation and the disinterest for life; the high rate of suicides in Japan; the relationship with technology, and the virtual life offered by the Internet. In conclusion, this study aims to analyse the meaning of the zombie in the twenty- first century, as this figure represents an effective metaphor for our society, oppressed by unreachable social standards (in the workplace as well as in the school system) and by the new threats – such as chemical and bacteriological weapons, and the technological surveillance exercised by political powers as well as by the media – that afflict our controversial historical period. Although the living dead seems to be unknown in the ancient folkloristic and cultural traditions of the Japanese archipelago, this figure seems to be an effective metaphor for Japanese society: through the analysis of Hanazawa’s manga, the study aspires to conjecture on possible meanings and messages promoted by the figure of the zombie in the contemporary era, trying to identify the main reasons that have facilitated the transplanting of this figure in Japan. Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………..………....5 Chapter I: The Myth of the Zombie between Folklore and Popular Culture……..13 1.1 Back to the Origins: Haitian Voodoo and the Myth of the Zombie........13 1.2 The Term Voodoo………………………………………………………….14 1.3 Introducing Zombies in Haitian Culture………………………………...16 1.4 The Pantheon of Loa……………………………………..………………..18 1.5 The Ritual of Possession…………………………………………………..20 1.6 From Local Folk to the Media: The Escalation of the Zombie in American Popular Culture……………………………………………………21 1.7 A Brief Overview on Zombie Cinematography………………………….23 1.8 The New Rise of the Living Dead in the Global Scenario………………26 1.9 The Zombie in Japanese Popular Culture……………………………….27 Chapter II: Shintō and Supernatural Creatures of Japanese Culture…………….30 2.1 An Introduction to Shintō………………………………………………...31 2.2 Shrines and Worshipping…………………………………………………32 2.3 The Kami Pantheon………………………………………………………..34 2.4 Social Aspects of Shintō…………………………………………………...35 2.5 A Comparison between Haitian Voodoo and Japanese Shintō…………36 2.6 Japanese Monsters: Yokai, Bakemono, and Other Horrific Creatures...38 2.7 Yokai and the Media……………………………………………………….41 2.8 Yokai vs Zombies…………………………………………………………..42 Chapter III: Japanese Post-Apocalyptic Scenario and Kengo Hanazawa’s Manga I Am a Hero……………………………………………………………………………...46 2 3.1 Aum Shinrikyo and New Religion in Japan……………………………...46 3.2 Terrorism and Apocalyptic Productions in the Land of the Rising Sun……………………………………………………………………………...51 3.3 Japanese Horror…………………………………………………………...52 3.4 Natural Disasters and Post-Apocalyptic in Japan………………………57 3.5 I Am a Hero: A Brief Overview on Kengo Hanazawa’s Manga………...59 3.6 The Main Characters of the Story………………………………………..62 3.7 The Zombies in I Am a Hero……………………………………………...65 3.8 A Transmedia Product: I Am a Hero Live-action………………………..69 3.9 The Evolution of the Zombie in the Cinematographic Medium………..71 Chapter IV: The Sociological Interpretation of the Zombie and its Meaning in the Land of the Rising Sun………………………………………………………………..74 4.1 Social Problems Emerging from Hanazawa’s Manga…………………..74 4.2 Japanese Society and the Relationship with Technology……………….78 4.3 New Religions in Manga………………………………………………..…84 4.4 The Italian Scenario in I Am a Hero…………………………………..….85 4.5 Final Overview on the Manga and the Meaning of the Zombie in I Am a Hero………………………………………………………………………..…...88 4.6 Social Implications of the Zombie and the Post-Human……………..…92 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………….....98 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….104 Web Sources………………………………………………………………………….110 Filmography………………………………………………………………………….113 Video Games………………………………………………………………………….116 3 Other Work Cited……………………………………………………………………117 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………...120 4 Introduction The main purpose of the thesis is to analyze the figure of the zombie in Japanese popular culture, focusing in particular on the prolific fields of manga and anime. Through this investigation, I wish to individuate the sociological meaning of the living dead in Japanese archipelago, highlighting analogies and divergences with the canonical representation of the zombie in the American media industry. In order to offer a thorough overview of this topic, the research will be articulated in different areas of study. Therefore, cultural, religious and sociological components will be the main fields implemented in the analysis. In order to show visible evidences for the relevance acquired by the figure of the zombie in popular culture, I will consider