Yokai Talk 3: Researcher Fiona McConnell

Image: Kappa and Kawauso in Gazu Hyakki Yagyo v.1 (1712) Courtesy of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/gazuhyakkiyagyo1tori

Yokai Talk 3: Fiona McConnell - Creating Yokai Culture: Toriyama Sekien Night Procession of One Hundred Demons

How did an 18th century Japanese encyclopedia transform scary Yokai spirits into fun figures that captured the globe?

Toriyama Sekien’s influential encyclopedia Night Procession of One Hundred Demons (Gazu Hyakki Yagyo) is one of the highlights of Yokai Parade Exhibition at Central City Library in October 2022.

Live streaming from Melbourne, Australia, art history researcher Fiona McConnell explores how and why this book made such a significant impact.

Introducing examples from past and present, Fiona will discuss the Yokai tradition of storytelling and its artistic portrayal. She also explains the background context of this book as an agent of cultural change.

About the speaker:

Fiona McConnell is studying for a Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Classical Languages (Latin) from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Arts from the University of Melbourne. From her specialisation in medieval manuscripts, she brings an unusual perspective to exploring Japanese Art.

Fiona presented her Yokai research at the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand (BSANZ) Annual Conference in 2020. The University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts awarded her the Eugenie La Gerche Scholarship and Ursula Hoff Scholarship to support her studies.

Booking:
To attend in person, booking via Eventfinda is recommended.

To attend via Zoom, please register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkduurrDouE9P-tvejgPlKYcp6cdEnNVDH
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

Enjoy this exhibition in Central City Library before and after the talk!
‘Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan’ exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland and the Japan Foundation from 29 September to 06 November 2022. Free entry.