Monday, October 19, 2009

Yokai spirits by Hokusai and Shigeru Mizuki invade San Francisco's New People Theater

by Chris MaGee

Slowly but slowly I am making concrete plans to head down to San Francisco for the sole purpose of checking out the New People Theater and Cultural Center in the city's Japantown. Ever since Viz Pictures opened the facility in August they've been hosting some great events and in the lead up to Halloween things don't seem to be changing. Starting this Friday and running until November 6th the lobby of the New People Theater will be hosting an exhibit they're calling "Yokai University San Francisco Campus" that will bring together ghoulish artwork both old and new.

Taking care of the old are ukiyo-e prints of creepy yokai spirits by Edo-era master printmaker Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), and the new is represented by the most famed modern chronicler of everything that goes bump in the Japanese night, "GeGeGe no Kitaro" creator Shigeru Mizuki. To help visitors get a better grasp on the exotic looking yokai on display New People will hold a lecture by author Matt Alt on Halloween Day at 1:00 PM who co-authored the first English-language guide to yokai, "Yōkai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide" with his wife Hiroko Yoda.

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area then make sure to check out this great exhibit! Thanks to Anime News Network for the word on this.

No comments: