Etsuko Ichihara, Artist

In this episode, we spend the day with Etsuko Ichihara, media artist and self-proclaimed “fantasy director”. Ichihara has worked on various projects combining Japanese tradition to modern technologies to create unique interactive experiences. Our first stop will be in the Kawashima shopping street, where Ichihara handled art direction for a local festival, curating and showcasing some of her original works, such as her unconventional “Sexual Harassment Interface”. We will then follow her to the Akasaka Hikawa shrine, where we will hear more about her “Digital Shaman Project”, a project that combines humanoid robots to the mourning process, which was heavily influenced by Buddhism and her personal experience. Ichihara also takes her inspiration from Japanese traditional folklore; she will tell us more about her “Namahage in Tokyo” project, which unleashes a Japanese traditional creature in the streets of Tokyo.