Arthurian Studies from (about) Japan: Perspectives & Projects

Organised by the International Arthurian Society – Japanese Branch
Saturday, 22nd March 2025, 12:00 PM GMT

Programme

12:00- Device Check & Introduction

12:10- Recent Trends in Arthurian Studies and Publishing in Japan

12:30- [Work in Progress Mid-Term Report] Knights Going Berserk?: The North, Arthur, and Japan Across Cultures and (Neo)Medievalism

Panelists:

• Minjie Su (University of Oslo)
• John Lance Griffith (National Taipei University of Technology)
• Hiroki Okamoto (Ritsumeikan University)
• Chiharu Hasegawa (Shigakkan University)

13:30- Closing Remarks & Future Initiatives

Important: This event will use two separate Google Meet links due to the 60-minute limit.

• First Half (12:00–13:00 GMT): https://meet.google.com/dwt-htpb-nnq
• Second Half (13:00–13:40 GMT): https://meet.google.com/cja-xevn-gut

Please rejoin using the second link after the first session and a short break.

PDF version here.

Summary:

The event began with opening remarks from Raluca Radulescu, outlining the event’s aim to foster international connections and initiatives. This was followed by Hiroki Okamoto, who provided an update on recent membership developments, publications, and research perspectives in the Japanese Branch.

The session commenced with Minjie Sue, who introduced the book under the title ‘A Berserkr in Shining Armour: Berserk Fury, Werewolf, and Mental Trauma in Kentaro Miura’s Manga Berserk’, focusing on the theme of ‘going berserk’. Sue provided a concise yet detailed summary of the chapter’s focus, highlighting how cultural motifs—berserkers, Arthurian knights, samurai, and baseball players—are dynamically reimagined and intertwined in a manga-inspired imaginative space.

Sue then explored the connections to chivalric aspects in manga, particularly the psychological trauma and ‘berserkness’ in Berserk, referencing Arthurian works such as Yvain.

John Lance Griffith’s talk, entitled ‘Fate’s Arthur and Lancelot: The Just Anger of Friends’, examined the depiction of Arthur and Lancelot in the Fate series, a Japanese game franchise that recreates Arthurian characters. The presentation also analysed themes of emotion, including anger, madness, and shame, all of which play a crucial role in salvation.

After a short break, Hiroki Okamoto presented ‘Arthurian Legends and Gawain’s Reception in Japan’, discussing the reception of Gawain, particularly the 1960s illustrations of literary works in Japan. The talk highlighted Gawain’s vengeful aspects and their connections to bushidō, the Japanese warrior code.

Chiharu Hasegawa then delivered ‘Chivalry, Bushidō and Baseball’, which delved into the 1970s manga Samurai Giants and its attempt to reinscribe bushidō into a Westernised baseball framework—an effort that ultimately fails.

The Q&A session included discussions on topics such as the relationship between emotion in Scandinavian sagas and Arthurian legends, Gawain’s family vengeance, and the significance of the protagonist’s death in Samurai Giants.

Overall, the event had 17 participants, with some exiting and re-entering, and concluded successfully with a high level of engagement. At first glance, Old Norse traditions, Japanese manga, and King Arthur may seem unrelated. However, through unpredictable and sometimes surreal cultural fusion, these identities evolve and merge, echoing the boundless reinvention that defines manga as a medium.