Grant K. Goodman "100th Birthday" Distinguished Lecture

Mascots, Cryptids, & UFOs: Civic Monsters in Contemporary Japan

Thursday, October 10th  | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Malott Room, Kansas Union

Free & Open to the public; Refreshments provided

ABOUT THE TALK

Why are cute and creepy mascots so ubiquitous among Japan’s cities and regions? Is there a Japanese Bigfoot? Have extraterrestrials ever landed in Japan? This lecture traces the history of Japanese mascots, cryptids, and UFOs, exploring how invented, imagined, and unexplained creatures have been deployed in tourism campaigns, the creation of regional identity, and local commercial boosterism. These “civic monsters” grew from Japan’s rich and distinctive monster culture of folkloric yōkai and cinematic kaijū but are also deeply woven into global circuitries of politics, capitalism, media, and play.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Bill Tsutsui has served as Chancellor and Professor of History at Ottawa University since 2021, after more than 30 years teaching modern Japanese history and holding a variety of administrative positions at the University of Kansas, Southern Methodist University, Hendrix College, and Harvard University. Among the eight books he has written or edited are “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters” (called a “cult classic” by the New York Times) and “Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization." He continues to speak, write, and teach on the Godzilla movies, monster culture in Japan, and the environmental history of Japan and the Pacific Ocean.

ABOUT GRANT GOODMAN

Grant K. Goodman grew up in Ohio and attended Princeton University for his undergraduate degree. World War II started as he finished his freshman year, and, having an interest in Asian Studies, Goodman signed up for the U.S. Army Intensive Japanese Language School for Military Intelligence at the University of Michigan. During the war, he interrogated Japanese prisoners and translated Japanese documents, including the Japanese surrender terms sentto General MacArthur.

Goodman returned to finish his B.A. at Princeton and received M.A. and PhD degrees in Far Eastern Studies and Japanese History, respectively, from the University of Michigan. He held several teaching positions at universities before becoming a professor of History at the University of Kansas in 1962. He later became co-director of the East Asian Center with Professor Felix Moos. Goodman continued to publish and present at conferences during his time at KU. His life's works total nine books, over 45 articles, and editor of eight books.

Goodman retired from KU in 1989 but remained involved with the KU School of Music, KU Hall Center for the Humanities, Endacott Society at the KU Alumni Center, and the English Alternative Theatre until his death in 2014. In 1990, he funded the establishment of the Grant Goodman Prize, awarded annually by the Association of Asian Studies to someone who demonstrates outstanding contributions to Philippines historical studies. The KU Center for East Asian Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Science,s and the Hall Center for the Humanities continue to honor him through the annual Grant K. Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies, which was started in 2002.

SPONSORED BY KU Center for East Asian Studies with the generous donation of Professor Emeritus of English, Paul Lim.