No.095 - The 40th NIHU Symposium “The Evolution of Human Fantasy: How Literature Co-creates the Global Community”

The 40th NIHU Symposium
“The Evolution of Human Fantasy: How Literature Co-creates the Global Community”

　The National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU) held its 40th symposium, entitled “The Evolution of Human Fantasy: How Literature Co-creates the Global Community,” on March 25, 2023, at the Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives in Kyoto. NIHU launched a new Global Area Studies Program in FY 2022, and the symposium was designed to showcase new concepts and perspectives that the program brings to the field of area studies.

　In all eras and cultures, people have fantasized. Fantasies are not always confined to the mind. Sometimes they see the light of day in the form of stories. Writers have shared their fantasy world with readers at home and abroad through their works.

　The first half of the symposium featured talks by two members of the National Museum of Ethnology teaching staff.
　First, Professor NISHIO Tetsuo, translator of the Thousand and One Nights into Japanese, discussed the relationship between man and nature in the desert environment—the setting of the Arabian Nights—for the people dwelling there. He described the tales and fantasies that have emerged therefrom and how they are to be understood.

Prof. NISHIO Tetsuo of the National Museum of Ethnology

　Next, Professor YAMANAKA Yuriko presented the findings of a joint research project on the “marvelous” in the monotheistic societies of Europe and the Middle East and the “uncanny” in the East Asian kanji cultural sphere, as exemplified by monsters and goblins. She also gave an account of a special exhibition held at the National Museum of Ethnology called Regnum Imaginarium: Realm of the Marvelous and Uncanny and its visit to Fukuoka.

Prof. YAMANAKA Yuriko of the National Museum of Ethnology

　The symposium’s second half, in form of a roundtable, explored the question, “Has fantasy helped humanity evolve?” Professor NISHIO presided over the discussion, which was joined by Professor YAMANAKA and author MORIMI Tomihiko. A wide range of topics was addressed, starting with the secret story behind the production of the graphic featured in the symposium poster. The relationship of artificial intelligence (AI) to literature and creative writing was discussed as well, and Mr. MORIMI talked about his own creative process.

Mr. MORIMI Tomihiko

The roundtable

Prof. YAMANAKA, Mr. MORIMI, and Prof. NISHIO from the left

　The symposium can be viewed on the NIHU YouTube channel.

Text: OHBA Go, Research Fellow, the Center for Innovative Research, the National Institutes for the Humanities