How can contemporary Japan be seen in different contexts in Italy, from literature to pop culture, to art, architecture, design and food, from the 1980s through to the present day? The international conference “Lost in Translation? Japan in Italian Cultural Life” aims to answer that question. Organised by Ca’ Foscari’s Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies and Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, the conference will be held from October 13th-15th in honour of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan.
The dynamics of “cultural tradition” will be investigated through a comparative and multidisciplinary approach, highlighting its manifestation as the creation of new and original forms, signifiers and hybridisms, rather than a process of reproduction of the original model. This contemporary trans-cultural flux will be discussed by experts and scholars from both cultural settings, and from the various disciplines considered.
The conference will look into the forms and ways in which Japanese culture is conveyed in Italy in differing cultural areas. The Rector of Ca’ Foscari will be present along with the Japanese Ambassador and various well-known figures in the media and in literature such as animator Yusaki Fusako, composer Umebayashi, cartoonist Igort and writer Shimada.
PROGRAMME:
Thursday October 13th:
14.00: Opening Ceremony and Institutional Speeches
Michele BUGLIESI (Rector of Ca’ Foscari University)
Anna CARDINALETTI (Head of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies)
Luigi PERISSINOTTO (Head of the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage)
14.30-16.30: Contestualising the Issue
Chair: Hidenobu JINNAI
Kazuyoshi UMEMOTO (Ambassador of Japan in Italy) Opportunities and Challenges in Cultural Exchanges Between Japan and Italy
Vincenzo PETRONE (Former Ambassador of Italy in Japan) Cultural and Political Relationships Between Italy and Japan Since the 1980s
Rosa CAROLI (Ca’ Foscari University) ‘Japan Boom’ in Italy. An Historical Background
Kiyomitsu YUI (Kobe University) Glocalization by What Means? Lost and Found in Translation in Case of Pop Culture and Visuality
16.30-17.00 Coffee break
17.00-19.00: Circulating Made-in-Japan Culture: Publishing, Commercial Industries, Media and Events
Chair: Norimasa MORITA
Hiroto KOBAYASHI (Director of Jetro, Milan) “Cool Japan”. Discover the Japanese Culinary Culture
Kiyofumi NAKAJIMA (Ghibli Museum) Italy in Studio Ghibli Films
Laura DIMITRIO (University of Bologna) The New Japonisme in Italian Fashion
Annalena DE BORTOLI (Associazione Italiana Ristoratori Giapponesi) Japanese Restaurants in Italy: Cultural and Fashionable Food Tales
Friday October 14th:
10.00-12.00: Strategies of Translation
Chair: Masahiko SHIMADA
Francesco VITUCCI (University of Bologna) Cross-cultural Osmosis in AVT: Diageneric Variation and Gayspeak Translation in Japanese - Italian Subtitles
Paola SCROLAVEZZA (University of Bologna) Localizing Global Desires. The Japanese Light Novel Market in Italy
Eugenio DE ANGELIS (Ca’ Foscari University) Man-powered Plane Terayama. The Intermedial Voyage of Terayama Shuji in Italy
Aldo TOLLINI (Ca’ Foscari University) Translating Classic Japanese Texts Today: Limits and Problems
12.00-13.30 Lunch
13.30-15.30: Made-in-Japan Culture in Italy
Chair: Rosa CAROLI
Naomi TAKASU (Director of The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome) Japan as an Italian Landscape. The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome in the Context of History, Culture and Topography
Leone SPITA (Architect, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’) Shrinking City. Shrinking Architecture
Junko TERAO (Asian Editor of Internazionale) Japan in the Italian Media. A History of Fascination and Stereotypes
Marta BOSCOLO MARCHI (Director of the Oriental Art Museum in Venice) Japan in Venice. The Influence of the Bourbon Collection on Venetian Culture Before and After the First World War
15.30-16.00 Coffee break
16.00-18.30: (Ab)originalization in Cultural Flows
Chair: Roberta NOVIELLI
IGORT alias Igor TUVERI (Cartoonist) Japanese Notebooks
Shigeru UMEBAYASHI (Composer) Music Floating Throughout Cultures
Fusako YUSAKI (Artist and stop-motion animator) From Earth to Earth
(to follow: short movies by the authors)
Saturday October 15th:
10-00-12.00: ‘Lost in Translation?’
Chair: Kiyomitsu YUI
Roberta NOVIELLI (Ca’ Foscari University) From Kurosawa Akira to Sergio Leone: How Japanese Action Movies Influenced Italian Cinema
Norimasa MORITA (Waseda University) Born Translated: World Literature Before Japanese Literature
Masahiko SHIMADA (Hosei University) SF Basis Speculation about Japanese and Italian Way of Life After the Technological Singularity
Hidenobu JINNAI (Hosei University) Japanese Cultural Impact on Italy After the 80s in the Field of Architecture and Urban Phenomena
12.00-13.00: Closing Remarks
Thanks go to the Toshiba International Foundation for the generous contribution for the conference’s organisation.
The event is one of the official celebrations of the 150th anniversary of relations between Japan and Italy.
The image used in the conference’s publicity materials was kindly granted for use by Yusaki Fusako from her animated work, Polis.
