Japanese Robot Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

   PDF

2. Introduction: The Japanese Robot and Performance

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 1-36

3. Robotics and Representation

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 37-60

4. Futuristic Spectacle: Robot Performances at Expos

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 61-88

5. The Anthropomorphic Robot and Artistic Expression

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 89-115

6. Robots, Space, and Place

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 117-138

7. Hatsune Miku, Virtual Machine-Woman

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 139-166

8. Competition Robots: Empathy and Identification

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 167-189

9. Robots that ‘Care’

   • Yuji Sone

   Pages 191-216

10. Epilogue: Staging a Robot Nation

    • Yuji Sone

    Pages 217-224

11. Back Matter

    Pages 225-265

    PDF

Japanese Robot Culture examines social robots in Japan, those in public, domestic, and artistic contexts. Unlike other studies, this book sees the robot in relation to Japanese popular culture, and argues that the Japanese ‘affinity’ for robots is the outcome of a complex loop of representation and social expectation in the context of Japan’s continuing struggle with modernity. Considering Japanese robot culture from the critical perspectives afforded by theatre and performance studies, this book is concerned with representations of robots and their inclusion in social and cultural contexts, which science and engineering studies do not address. The robot as a performing object generates meaning in staged events and situations that make sense for its Japanese observers and participants. This book examines how specific modes of encounter with robots in carefully constructed mises en scène can trigger reflexive, culturally specific, and often ideologically-inflected responses. 

• Robot restaurants
• Hiroshi Ishiguro
• Robot culture in Japanese studies
• Social robotics in Japan
• Japanese Robotics and Popular Culture
• Robotics, Performance and Competitions
• Nationalism and robotics in Japan

“As robots are predicted to replace human labour in many jobs in the future, this book forms a valuable function in its in-depth exploration of the complex relationships between ‘real’ humans and artificial humans. Japanese Robot Culture caters to the increasing scholarly interest in robot technology and performance, and is a substantial introduction to the field.” (David O’Donnell, Australasian Drama Studies, Vol. 70, 2017)

“Australian scholar Yuji Sone … attempts a cultural study of robots in Japan, specifically “performing robots” as opposed to robots as servants or functional machines. He takes readers through the history of Japan’s relationship with robots  ...  cutting to the heart of specific examples of “Japanese” robot culture. His book is welcome and timely, not least because robots will undoubtedly figure into the ways that Tokyo promotes itself to the world during the 2020 Olympics.” (William Andrews, The Japan Times, February 11, 2017)

• Macquarie University , Sydney, Australia

  Yuji Sone

Dr Yuji Sone is a lecturer in the Department of Media, Music, Communication, and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University in Australia. He teaches theatre and performance studies courses with an emphasis on praxis in relation to cultural studies and media studies; he is also a performer and dramaturge.

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