Japanese Robot Culture
Journal Data
| Type | SOURCE_BOOK |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (GB) |
| ISBN-13 | 9781137525277 |
| Open Library | OL20687062W |
| Total publications | 10 |
| Coverage period | 2016 - 2017 |
| Language | EN |
| Cited by | 11 |
| Impact factor | 0.5 |
| h-index | 1 |
| i10-index | 1 |
Japanese Robot Culture examines social robots in Japan, those in public, domestic, and artistic contexts. Unlike other studies, this book sees the robot in relation to Japanese popular culture, and ar
The Anthropomorphic Robot and Artistic Expression
Extending an investigation of the affective mise en scène constructed for mimetic robots, this chapter examines what I discuss as liminal aspects of robot performances in art productions. This chapter examines collaborative theatre experiments by Hiroshi Ishiguro and Oriza Hirata, and Ishiguro’s android performance. These works are contrasted with artist Kenji Yanobe’s installation work of a fire-breathing, gigantic robot doll presented in a visu…
Robots, Space, and Place
This chapter discusses varied forms of fighting humanoid performance in popular entertainment. Though designed for different audiences (Japanese robot fans and foreign tourists in the case of the Robot Restaurant), this chapter exposes how these popularised productions embody fantastical narratives to do with the image of a futuristic but wacky ‘techno-Japan’. The robots in this particular prismatic reflection of the popular understanding of the …
Competition Robots: Empathy and Identification
Extending discussion of hobbyist participation in robot culture in Japan, this chapter looks into humanoid competitions. These competitions are organised events for purpose-built, small-scale hobby robots: they sprint, play soccer, or fight each other. Focusing on the fighting robot format, this chapter discusses these robots as important intermediaries, facilitating a reflexive anthropomorphism in which participants project themselves into their…
Epilogue: Staging a Robot Nation
The book’s epilogue examines the theme of the robot in relation to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The robot as a symbol of Japan’s futurist ideology takes centre stage again, in the context of another national event (as matsuri ) that seeks to represent Japan through the figure of the robot. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Futuristic Spectacle: Robot Performances at Expos
This chapter brings a critical perspective to government and corporate robot spectacles for the public. This chapter examines the nationalistic and promotional narratives in demonstration performances of robots presented as entertainment at large international events held in Japan since the 1970s. I highlight the rhetoric of robots as emblems of futurity that pervades these spectacularised robot events, which feature fantasies of future human-rob…
Robots that ‘Care’
Taking ideas of the theatrical encounter in the Japanese context into situations of close physical proximity, this chapter critically examines the assumptions that have guided the development of robots designed to interact with the elderly. The use of the ‘social’ robot for aged care is highly calculated, designed so that users will adapt to and align themselves with the robots in the context of games and prompted conversations that facilitate th…
Introduction: The Japanese Robot and Performance
The introductory chapter provides background to the themes this book addresses. It locates the robot in Japanese history, and sees it as a figure that uniquely reflects and, in turn, shapes the Japanese approach to modernity and technology and thus its envisioning of the future. The chapter clarifies that the robot’s social resonance can only be adequately approached through concepts in theatre and performance studies, rather than in terms of the…
Robotics and Representation
In this chapter, I examine writings by Japanese roboticists and cultural theorists who discuss anthropomorphic bipedal robots in Japan. In their writings, they highlight how representations of the humanoid robot in popular culture—manga/anime—have contributed to their stated rationales for robot development in its early phases. I also discuss how the image of the robot in manga/anime lends a particular presence to anthropomorphic robot prototypes…
Hatsune Miku, Virtual Machine-Woman
This chapter discusses a popular Pygmalion fantasy in the Japanese context, that is, the creation of an ideal woman, by examining the virtual singing performance of Hatsune Miku. Hatsune Miku is software that combines synthesised singing with an illustrated girl character. For its male fans, Hatsune Miku embodies the metonymical aural and visual signs of femininity. Fans within the otaku subculture manipulate and control the figure and its output…
Japanese Robot Culture: Performance, Imagination, and Modernity
Japanese Robot Culture examines social robots in Japan, those in public, domestic, and artistic contexts. Unlike other studies, this book sees the robot in relation to Japanese popular culture, and ar
Japanese Robot Culture: Performance, Imagination, and Modernity
Japanese Robot Culture examines social robots in Japan, those in public, domestic, and artistic contexts. Unlike other studies, this book sees the robot in relation to Japanese popular culture, and ar
Japanese Robot Culture: Performance, Imagination, and Modernity
Japanese Robot Culture examines social robots in Japan, those in public, domestic, and artistic contexts. Unlike other studies, this book sees the robot in relation to Japanese popular culture, and ar
The Anthropomorphic Robot and Artistic Expression
Extending an investigation of the affective mise en scène constructed for mimetic robots, this chapter examines what I discuss as liminal aspects of robot performances in art productions. This chapter examines collaborative theatre experiments by Hiroshi Ishiguro and Oriza Hirata, and Ishiguro’s android performance. These works are contrasted with artist Kenji Yanobe’s installation work of a fire-breathing, gigantic robot doll presented in a visu…
Robots, Space, and Place
This chapter discusses varied forms of fighting humanoid performance in popular entertainment. Though designed for different audiences (Japanese robot fans and foreign tourists in the case of the Robot Restaurant), this chapter exposes how these popularised productions embody fantastical narratives to do with the image of a futuristic but wacky ‘techno-Japan’. The robots in this particular prismatic reflection of the popular understanding of the …
Competition Robots: Empathy and Identification
Extending discussion of hobbyist participation in robot culture in Japan, this chapter looks into humanoid competitions. These competitions are organised events for purpose-built, small-scale hobby robots: they sprint, play soccer, or fight each other. Focusing on the fighting robot format, this chapter discusses these robots as important intermediaries, facilitating a reflexive anthropomorphism in which participants project themselves into their…
Epilogue: Staging a Robot Nation
The book’s epilogue examines the theme of the robot in relation to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The robot as a symbol of Japan’s futurist ideology takes centre stage again, in the context of another national event (as matsuri ) that seeks to represent Japan through the figure of the robot. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Futuristic Spectacle: Robot Performances at Expos
This chapter brings a critical perspective to government and corporate robot spectacles for the public. This chapter examines the nationalistic and promotional narratives in demonstration performances of robots presented as entertainment at large international events held in Japan since the 1970s. I highlight the rhetoric of robots as emblems of futurity that pervades these spectacularised robot events, which feature fantasies of future human-rob…
Robots that ‘Care’
Taking ideas of the theatrical encounter in the Japanese context into situations of close physical proximity, this chapter critically examines the assumptions that have guided the development of robots designed to interact with the elderly. The use of the ‘social’ robot for aged care is highly calculated, designed so that users will adapt to and align themselves with the robots in the context of games and prompted conversations that facilitate th…
Introduction: The Japanese Robot and Performance
The introductory chapter provides background to the themes this book addresses. It locates the robot in Japanese history, and sees it as a figure that uniquely reflects and, in turn, shapes the Japanese approach to modernity and technology and thus its envisioning of the future. The chapter clarifies that the robot’s social resonance can only be adequately approached through concepts in theatre and performance studies, rather than in terms of the…
Robotics and Representation
In this chapter, I examine writings by Japanese roboticists and cultural theorists who discuss anthropomorphic bipedal robots in Japan. In their writings, they highlight how representations of the humanoid robot in popular culture—manga/anime—have contributed to their stated rationales for robot development in its early phases. I also discuss how the image of the robot in manga/anime lends a particular presence to anthropomorphic robot prototypes…
Hatsune Miku, Virtual Machine-Woman
This chapter discusses a popular Pygmalion fantasy in the Japanese context, that is, the creation of an ideal woman, by examining the virtual singing performance of Hatsune Miku. Hatsune Miku is software that combines synthesised singing with an illustrated girl character. For its male fans, Hatsune Miku embodies the metonymical aural and visual signs of femininity. Fans within the otaku subculture manipulate and control the figure and its output…