Title: Reviewing Japanese Dream Culture and Its History: Where Ancient, Medieval and Modern Times Meet
Abstract:‘Dream’ is an important keyword in the study of cultural history. Dreams relate profoundly to various cultural phenomena, so that the aspects of this relationship are broad and diverse. Japanese dream...‘Dream’ is an important keyword in the study of cultural history. Dreams relate profoundly to various cultural phenomena, so that the aspects of this relationship are broad and diverse. Japanese dreams are also represented visually in many different cultural contexts, in various styles and media, and their representation changes according to social and historical situations. In particular, pictorialization of dreams offers interesting possibilities. For example, the ‘speech balloon’ (or bubble) is a popular device for depicting speech acts in picture books and manga, and a significant symbolic image in contemporary culture such as LINE messages in Japan. Historically, however, speech balloons also seem to have a close relationship with the visualization of dreams. In this paper, I would like to trace and review the Japanese dream culture and its history, to consider where or how ancient, medieval and modern times encounter in the history of East Asian cultural representation.Read More