Revisiting Mieko Kanai’s “Oh Tama!” in translation

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Submission by: Assoc. Prof. Tomoko Aoyama

Kanai, Mieko. Oh Tama: A Mejiro Novel. Translated by Tomoko Aoyama and Paul McCarthy. Stone Bridge Press, 2018.

Originally published by Kurodahan Press, Oh Tama! A Mejiro Novel has been revised and re-published by Stone Bridge Press. Translators Tomoko Aoyama and Paul McCarthy have noted that this novel is not just for those who are interested in Japanese studies or translated works but would appeal to cat lovers, literary comedy and satire fans, and those who love to revel in nostalgia for the 1980’s (which is enjoying a boom in pop-culture at the moment evident through the popularity of series such as Netflix’s Stranger Things). 

Dogs, Gods, and Monsters in two Contemporary Hakkenden Retellings

A girl hunter and a human-dog hybrid in Fuse: A Tale of a Girl with a Hunting Gun (dir. Miyaji Masayuki).

Submission by Dr. Lucy Fraser

Fraser, Lucy. “Dogs, Gods, and Monsters: The Animal-Human Connection in Bakin’s Hakkenden, Folktales and Legends, and Two Contemporary Retellings“. Japanese Studies. Vol. 38, iss. 1, 2018.

In this article, I delve into a fascinating tradition of legends and folktales from China, Japan, and other parts of Asia which tell of a human woman who must marry a dog or a dog-man (often after the girl’s parents jokingly promise her to the dog, and he takes them seriously).