Welcome to Saturday University, a monthly lecture series featuring experts from around the world. Gain new insights on Asia throughout time as our visiting scholars, authors, artists, and thought leaders delve into new themes each season.
Mexican “Muralismo” in Contemporary Japanese Arts and Literature
Matías Chiappe-Ippolito
Thousands of people pass by the famous mural Asu no shinwa (The Myth of Tomorrow) in Tokyo’s Shibuya Station every day, though few are aware of the work’s important cultural connections between Japan and Mexico. Artist and writer Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) was commissioned by a Mexican businessman after a trip to Japan. The mural was painted and temporarily installed in a hotel in Mexico City, though it was later lost for many years. The fascinating story of the mural brings to light the influence of Mexican muralismo, an artistic movement of large artworks that flourished during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), on Japanese creators such as Taro, Kitagawa Tamiji, Tomiyama Taeko, and Oe Kenzaburo.
Matias Chiappe Ippolito (b.1984) is Research Professor of Japanese Literature at the Center for Asian and African Studies (CEAA) at El Colegio de México. He was also a Lecturer and Researcher at the Faculty of Letters of Waseda University in Tokyo, where he completed his PhD with a dissertation on the relationship between Japanese and Latin American literature. He holds a Master’s in Japanese Studies from El Colegio de México and his undergraduate was on Comparative Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He has translated several Japanese authors into Spanish, including Hojo Tamio (La primera noche de vida, Editorial También el Caracol, 2024), Ango Sakaguchi (Ango Sakaguchi, farsas y ensayos, Editorial Evaristo, 2023), Osamu Dazai (Flores de la bufonería, Editorial También el Caracol,
2023), and Hagiwara Sakutaro (Gato azul, Editorial Noctámbula, 2021).
Tickets
$15
$10 SAM members & students with ID
Tickets include gallery access
Admission to the galleries is provided with the purchase of a Saturday University ticket. General admission tickets are $15, $10 for members, and $10 for students with ID.