Projects for Fall 2023 Digital Sumo The superhuman feats of strength and skill performed by sumo wrestlers, both real and imagined, have captured the hearts and minds of the Japanese public for centuries from ancient texts to today. JapanLab is recruiting students to work on a digital project that takes you into the sumo ring. Sumo generated an amazing array of cultural productions. One example is sugoroku, a board game variant of Snakes and Ladders where players move around the board and land on spaces with striking depictions of Japanese history and culture. We will be producing a fully functional digital version of a sumo sugoroku. Censoring Japan To censor or not to censor, that is the question — and the game. When faced with morally or politically sensitive materials that come across your desk, what do you do? This project asks you to take the historical experience of a censor in Japan and to translate it into a video game or other interactive digital resource that will that bring these censored texts and censors to life. Playing Palace Politics The Tale of Genji, often called the first novel in the world, is a sprawling story of love, lust, grief, and ambition a thousand years ago. Orbiting around the shining prince Genji, a handsome playboy and charismatic politician, the tale also introduces hundreds of others, from furious emperors to diplomatic serving-women. The team will decide, together, how best to dramatize these less-familiar chapters and bring to life the world they depict with a visual novel, a subverted otome game, or another interactive story. Apply here
