Mirai. Estudios Japoneses [未来.日本研究紀要 (Mirai Nihon Kenkyū Kiyō)] (ISSN-e 2531-145X) is a journal from Complutense University of Madrid produced in collaboration with the Asociación de Estudios Japoneses en España (Spanish Association of Japanese Studies) that originates with an international inclination within the Ibero American context, being certain that the approaches and perspectives developed from this background will serve to complement the tradition of works produced by the Angloamerican school. In addition, the journal hopes to provide a location for the Spanish speaking scientific community to share its developments, wishing that it may serve to constitute a vehicle that will enable the creation of a network of relations through the exchange of research in a language with millions of users. In tis way, the journal intends to gather and in this way give more visibility to current investigations on Japanese Studies, which up to this day remain dispersed frequently . This type of publications will promote the development of new studies, as well as new perspectives and approaches.
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Mirai. Estudios Japoneses is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
Iacobelli Delpiano, Pedro. De cara a Asia: pautas en la relación chilena con el Japón y China, 1880-1940. Santiago de Chile: Centro de Investigaciones Diego Barros Arana, 2024. 160 pp. ISBN 9789562446006
Pedro Iacobelli's work seeks to visualize the modes of knowledge, narratives and perspectives that existed about Asia, in particular the case of Japan and China in Chile at the end of the nineteenth century and that prevailed until the twentieth century. Narratives that were building the understanding of the other (especially Japan and China) from the ignorance, exoticism and orientalism embodied in the chronicles of Chilean travelers, impressions of businessmen, diplomats and the Chilean press.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mirai. Estudios Japoneses
Triplett, K., Orii Y. y Jollife, P. (eds.), Japan in the Early Modern World: Religion, Translation, and Transnational Relations, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1st ed., J. B. Metzler’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung & Carl Ernst Poeschel GmbH, 2025. Online Open Access. ISBN: 3-662-70424-2. 298 pp.
The following review will focus on the book Japan in the Early Modern World: Religion, Translation, and Transnational Relations, edited by Katja Triplett, Yoshimi Orii and Pia Jolliffe (2025). Through a series of distinct, yet interconnected and outstanding chapters, the contributors offer a new historiographical perspective on the interconnections between Europeans and the Japanese in the Early Modern period. The research is underpinned by the dynamic cultural synthesis that developed between Jesuits, Japanese and European intermediaries through a continuous process of exchange, translation and materialisation – particularly in books – of social, artistic, political, religious, historical, anthropological and linguistic elements, among others. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of religion, primarily Christianity, as a pillar, mediator and unifying force in these interactions between different, sometimes conflicting, parties. Nevertheless, this does not imply that objectivity was paramount in these material and immaterial translations, each of which differed from the others in purpose and form.
Japón a escena: traducción y pensamiento teatral en diálogo
Rodríguez del Alisal, Mariló y Javier Vives Rego. Japón a escena. Teatro nō y kabuki. Gijón: Satori Ediciones, 2026. 192 pp. ISBN: 978-84-10404-28-1 This review examines Japón a escena. Teatro nō y kabuki as a work that transcends mere theatrical translation to become a space for cultural and critical mediation. Particular attention is given to the translations by Mariló Rodríguez del Alisal and to the contextualizing work of Javier Vives, whose contribution enables readers to understand the historical, performative, and symbolic dimensions of nō and kabuki theatre. The volume successfully balances translation, commentary, and hermeneutic reflection, establishing itself as a significant contribution to Japanese and theatre studies in the Spanish-speaking world.
Presentación de la Colección Pasamar-Onila en Madrid: «Bellezas del mundo flotante. Bijin-ga en la edad de oro del ukiyo-e»
The exhibition «Beauties of the Floating World: Bijin-ga in the Golden Age of Ukiyo-e. The Pasamar-Onila Collection» held at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, offers the public the opportunity to engage with an outstanding selection of Japanese prints from an important Zaragoza-based collection, presented for the first time in Madrid. The exhibition provides a comprehensive survey of prints within the genre of images of beautiful women (bijin-ga), alongside other female-centered themes, spanning a chronological arc from the emergence of full-color woodblock printing (nishiki-e)—notably associated with Suzuki Harunobu—to the late Edo period, culminating in works by Utagawa Kunisada.
Nota necrológica sobre Hidehito Higashitani (1939-2026)
The paradox of Mr. DOB or the phenomenon of impersonation through the syncretism of kitsch and otaku imagery
In Mr. DOB, a character from Murakami's work 727, classical and contemporary artistic influences are combined with more popular ones. It is a world of pastiche where traditional elements are paradoxically combined with more commercial forms, demonstrating how the weight of memory has become a resource for contemporary Japanese art. Taking the character in this work as an example, in this article we will analyse how this neo-Asian aesthetic incorporates conscious self-Japanisation as a creative foundation in the context of the politics of so-called soft power. A strategic hybridism that, playing with the tradition to which it belongs, explains how the survival of certain traditions in the hidden system of Japanese ideas has favoured the replacement of old idols with new cultural archetypes from pop, anime and manga.
Romero Leo, Jaime. Neo-Japonism: Reflections on the Rise and Consolidation of Japanese Popular Culture.
This review examines Neojaponismo: Reflections on the Rise and Consolidation of Japanese Popular Culture (2023) by Jaime Romero Leo. It analyzes the emergence and rise of Japanese popular culture, subjecting the term neojaponismo—used to describe today’s fascination with cultural products from contemporary Japan—to theoretical scrutiny. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that brings together philosophy, history, art, and media, Neojaponismo offers a critical genealogy that dismantles the false continuity between nineteenth-century Japonisme and contemporary neojaponism, while also examining intellectual debates surrounding otaku culture and the cultural diplomacy of Cool Japan. In sum, Neojaponismo is not only a book about popular culture but also a necessary contribution to reflecting on “Japaneseness,” the exoticization of the East, and Japanese historical amnesia from that perspective.
Moreno Redondo, María Nieves. Narradores del silencio. La figura de los benshi en el cine japonés de los orígenes, Zaragoza, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, 2024, 353 pp. ISBN 978-84-1340-709-8
This study examines the history, roles, and functions of the benshi, or narrator of Japanese silent films, over several decades. It explores the influence of this figure on both film production and style, as well as on audience reception. The benshi stands out in world cinema as a unique phenomenon and plays a prominent role in the debate surrounding the modernization and opening of Japanese cinema to the West; he plays a decisive leading role in the cinematic spectacle—even attaining star status—as cinema merges with live theater. However, there are sectors that view the benshi as an obstacle to that modernization and to the very development of cinematic language, which must be autonomous from the interpretations of these commentators.
Ryukichi Terao y Ednodio Quintero (traducción), Ednodio Quintero (traducción y prólogo) Cuentos herejes, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Pre-Textos Narrativa Clásicos, Valencia, junio, 2025, 263p. ISBN: 978-84-10309-62-3
Cuentos herejes (‘Heretical Tales’) is a collection of fourteen stories by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke that focus primarily on the arrival and persecution of Christianity in Japan during the 16th and 17th centuries. The stories depict the clash between a foreign religion and Japanese culture, exploring ideological conflicts, local reinterpretations and episodes of martyrdom. This edition, translated by Ryūkichi Terao and Ednodio Quintero, is notable for its clear and fluid style, making it an enjoyable read. The stories combine social exclusion, depictions of saints, fantastical elements and narratives in which Christianity serves as a historical backdrop. Overall, Cuentos herejes is a valuable and engaging collection that introduces readers to a unique facet of Akutagawa’s work.
The construction of Japan's image. An approach to the spaces for memory in its peace culture and in bosai culture
Japan has incorporated into its cultural heritage museums, monuments, and memorials whose purpose is to preserve memories, teach, and warn about the dangers of natural and human-made disasters. Suffering the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II has created a collective consciousness with a clear focus on peace culture. Furthermore, due to its geographical location, the survival of the Japanese people from time immemorial has depended on their ability to prepare for natural disasters, learn from these painful experiences, and transmit this knowledge from generation to generation. This has generated a unique disaster risk prevention culture known as bosai culture. Through exploratory qualitative research based on unstructured observation, this article analyzes Japan's transmission of disaster memories through its cultural heritage. To do so, it explores the purpose of various monuments, museums, and memorials related to World War II and socio-natural disasters. The article concluded that, while disasters cause physical devastation and psychological trauma, they also create spaces for reflection and renewal.
Perceptions of Sex and Gender among Teacher Education Students in Mexico and Japan: A Comparative Study
This study analyzes perceptions of sex and gender among teacher training students in Mexico and Japan, aiming to identify attitudinal differences and similarities between both samples. A cross-sectional comparative quantitative design was employed with a non-probabilistic sample of 188 participants (94 per country) from public pedagogical institutions. The instrument, structured on a five-point Likert scale, was validated through expert review and test-retest procedures, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .754. As the data did not meet normality assumptions, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used for hypothesis testing. Results indicate statistically significant differences in seven of the ten analyzed items, as well as similarities in three of them. Notably, strong support for women’s autonomy in education and employment was observed in both samples, with higher levels of agreement among Mexican participants. Findings reveal complex attitudinal configurations in which egalitarian positions coexist with traditional representations. The study concludes that gender perceptions in teacher education cannot be reduced to simple dichotomous explanations but rather reflect situated and dynamic processes.
The influence of the Japanese in Portugal during the last third of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century: social and artistic contexts
With the aim of enriching the study of the discovery of Japan and Japanese art in the Iberian Peninsula, this article presents a first analysis of what happened in Portugal. In it, we have examined the influence that the Japanese country exerted in this territory during the last third of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, an event that took place thanks to a series of milestones and personalities who treasured several collections and works from the Land of the Rising Sun or who, at least, demonstrated its influence. In the awakening of this first rediscovery of the exotic, and specifically of the Japanese, we must appreciate the figures of intellectuals, artists, collectors, politicians or writers, such as Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Camilo Pessanha, João Marcelino Arroyo, Pedro Eugénio Dupiás, Wenceslau de Moraes or Raphael Bordalo Pinheiro, among others. All of them showed, to a greater or lesser extent, a predilection for Japan and its aesthetic traditions.
From Transylvania to Tokyo: the transculturation of gothic and its representation in manga and anime
Japanese culture, where tradition, history, and culture have given rise to aesthetic and narrative characteristics that have forged a narrative and audiovisual style unique to the region. However, despite the importance of these elements within the medium, it has been greatly influenced by international artistic expressions, giving rise to a vast variety of works that unite manga and anime with other regions of the world. One of the main sources of inspiration taken outside the islands' borders is Western literature and aesthetics, one of the most relevant being Gothic narrative. Born in England in the 18th century, it became especially relevant from the 19th century onwards thanks to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. This movement has spawned great works while simultaneously creating a world of characters, narratives, aesthetics, and tropes that have permeated the collective imagination, giving rise to the creation of Gothic as a genre within audiovisual media. In this study, we will focus on the gothic as a transcultural narrative that has permeated manga and anime, the quintessential medium of transtextuality. Through several examples, we will highlight how a narrative is constructed in which the gothic is intertwined, giving rise to a rich and complex narrative heritage.
Terunobu Fujimori: Towards a Sensory Architecture. From Tea Houses to the Vatican Chapel
This paper examines the Chapel of the Cross (also referred to as the Vatican Chapel), a s design by Terunobu Fujimori commissioned for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. This work challenges the boundaries between liturgical artefact, architectural object, and contemplative space. Adopting a phenomenological perspective, the study analyses this non-consecrated chapel to explore how Fujimori translates his distinctive approach into a Christian context. Fujimori’s practice is characterised by the incorporation of archaic components – with particular reference to the Jōmon period-, the preference for natural materials, and an emphasis on sensory and bodily experience. The study provides a comprehensive overview of the architect’s experimental trajectory and the Biennale’s exhibition context, examining its continuity with the individual spirituality of his tea houses. This inquiry contributes discourse on new forms and experiences of the sacred in architecture.
Fukuzawa Yukichi, female education and the reception of Western culture: Translation and commentary of “Reply to a certain gentleman on the subject of female education” and “A theory of female obesity” (1879)
Educator and thinker Fukuzawa Yukichi was arguably the most influential intellectual of the entire Meiji era, yet it is only in recent decades that his ideas on female education and women’s rights have begun to receive sustained attention, both inside and outside Japan. In this article, we present a Spanish translation of two short essays from 1879: “Reply to a certain gentleman on the subject of female education”, in which he argued that young women should prioritize an education suited to the customs and needs of Japanese culture, and “A theory of female obesity”, in which he resorted to scientific arguments in order to express his concern about possible changes in women’s dietary habits. In both texts, Fukuzawa appears to place great emphasis on women’s roles as wives and mothers; from this premise he derives his views on what their education should be —an approach that seems to sit uneasily with his better-known egalitarianism and his defense of women’s rights. In our commentary on the translations, we analyze their historical and ideological context and contrast them with other works by the author, in order to better understand his thought during the enlightened decade of the 1870s, before more fully established feminist voices emerged in the sociopolitical sphere. We will see how the apparent inconsistency in his views on women stems from the difficulty of maintaining a balance between the idealism he often championed and the realism he felt compelled to adopt in response to the changing sociocultural context of the time.
Regionalization of Defense in Comparative Perspective: Legal Analysis of the Cases of Japan and Spain
This article aims to present a comparative study on the regionalization of defense policy in Japan and Spain from a legal perspective. Although both states constitutionally assign defense to the central government, they differ significantly in their political structures: Japan follows a centralized unitary model, while Spain combines this unity with a high degree of decentralization through the extensive powers granted to its Autonomous Communities. The article examines the constitutional and legal frameworks governing defense in each country, as well as the impact of regional autonomy (or its absence) on the formulation and implementation of defense policies, taking into account geopolitical factors such as Spain’s membership in NATO and the pacifist constraints imposed by Japan’s Constitution. The aim is to offer a comparative view of how two distinct political models balance national defense with regional governance.
THE REPRESENTATION OF YÔKAI IN MANGA PUBLISHED IN SPAIN: ORIGINS AND VISUAL CONTINUITY UP TO THE PRESENT DAY
This research seeks to reveal and valorize the abundance and variety of Japanese supernatural imagery (yōkai) reaching Spain through manga. The research is divided into three parts. The first provides an explicit and comprehensive definition of what yōkai are. The second examines manga as a vehicle for disseminating Japanese culture, presenting the works selected for this research. The third constitutes the most significant section: an illustrated alphabetical catalog comprising the various yōkai identified in the selected manga. The information contained follows the conventions of an illustrated bestiary, whereby the visual references span from works dating to the Edo period through to contemporary manga, thereby demonstrating the visual continuity inherent in monster representations across time.
El lugar de la caligrafía: tiempo y escritura en la obra de Morita Shiryū (1948-1992) Tesis doctoral. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2025. 674 pp.
Copyright (c) 2025 Mirai. Estudios Japoneses
López del Río, Alberto. Naturalezas construidas en la arquitectura japonesa contemporánea. Sevilla: Editorial Universidad de Sevilla, 2025. 207pp. ISBN: 978-84-472-2784-6
Texto de Arthur Binard. Fotografía de Tadashi Okakura. Traducción de Kazumi Uno. La Espera. Pontevedra, Kalandraka Editora, 2025, 36 págs. ISBN: 978-8413433714
Translation of the book by American poet Arthur Binard, created in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Written in the form of a children’s picture book, the author gives voice to the objects once belonging to the victims. Through their silent testimonies, they gently reveal how the routine of their days was shattered and how they were drawn towards their death. As a writing devoted to peace, this book stands as a message to future generations.
Kawamura Yayoi & Cabañas, Pilar. Trazo y color. Esencias de la pintura japonesa, Gijón, Satori, 2024. 424 págs.
Satori Ediciones publishes this handbook on the history of Japanese painting in Spanish, written by professors Yayoi Kawamura (University of Oviedo) and Pilar Cabañas (Complutense University of Madrid) both with a long career on the study of Japanese art in Spain. The work offers a comprehensive overview of the masterpieces in the history of Japanese painting, accompanied by detailed commentary on the techniques used in their creation, the artists and schools behind their production, as well as an informative selection of classifications of the various styles that span Japan’s long artistic history. The edition, rich in full-color illustrations and explanatory graphics, makes this volume a cornerstone for the future teaching of the History of Japanese Art in Spanish.
Antonio Santos. Jardines de piedra. Hiroshi Teshigahara. Cine, Roca y Bambú, Sangrila Ediciones Trayectos 30, Valencia, Septiembre, 2004, 567 pp.
Cristina Nualart y Dámaso Ferreiro (eds.). Des-orden binario en Asia: Géneros y sexualidades en la historia de Asia Oriental. Granada: Editorial Comares, 2024. 233 págs. ISBN: 978-84-1369-872-4
Des-orden binario en Asia: Géneros y sexualidades en la historia de Asia Oriental reúne once textos con perspectiva de género y feminista-queer que abarcan disciplinas como la Historia, la Sociología, la Antropología, o la Lingüística en distintos periodos históricos y con distinto foco geográfico dentro de la región. Los once capítulos se organizan en tres partes: una primera parte dedicada a la cuestión del acceso a la libertad por parte de mujeres y personas no heterosexuales, una segunda parte centrada en la realidad de la mujer, y una tercera parte dedicada a los mecanismos de control que producen y sostienen la discriminación por motivo de género o de orientación sexual.
Los postreros aleteos de Fernando Rodríguez-Izquierdo Gavala
Fernando Rodríguez-Izquierdo y Gavala (Seville, 1937 – Seville, January 8, 2025), who earned a degree in Japanese Language and Culture from Sophia University in Tokyo, held a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and Letters, as well as in Hispanic Philology and Classical Philology, and a PhD from the University of Seville. He was one of the most important pioneers of Japanese studies in Spain. He lived in Japan for three and a half years and, after returning to Spain, worked as a Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Philology at the University of Seville (1975–2006). His doctoral thesis, The Japanese Haiku, marked the beginning of an extensive body of research on this subject, about which he published numerous works and gave countless lectures, presentations, and papers. He was the foremost haiku specialist in the Spanish-speaking world and its greatest promoter. In addition, he gifted us with outstanding translations, not only of haikus but also of numerous significant works by exceptional authors of both classical and contemporary Japanese literature.
Federico Lanzaco Salafranca, la pasión por Japón
Federico Lanzaco Salafranca (Barcelona, 1929 – Madrid, 2025) was a Professor and Chartered Business Manager from the Barcelona School of Commerce. He held a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Comillas, a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Loyola University (Chicago), and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He furthered his studies at the Jesuit Centre for Japanese Studies in Tokyo and in various Linguistics, Japanese Language, and Oriental Cultures departments at several European and North American universities. During the more than nine years he lived in Japan, he devoted himself fully to its study and research and worked as a professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. After this intensive experience, he returned to Spain and entered the business world, working for over thirty years at the Spanish-Japanese company Acerinox, where he served as Deputy to the President. Throughout this period and until his retirement, he maintained an intense dedication to the study and dissemination of Japanese culture. His works are true bibliographic treasures in the field of studies on Japanese thought, religion, aesthetics and spirituality. A passionate and enthusiastic man, he was one of Spain’s most important Japanologists.
Ranpo and Maruo, mirrori mages of eroguro
This article presents Edogawa Ranpo and Maruo Suehiro as mirror images of the same stylistic and thematic paradigms within their respective media. It will argue that, since the 1980s, Maruo has shaped canonical eroguro manga, that is, a transposition of the identifying features of the original eroguro to the medium of manga, and that, as a result, he is the artist who best reproduces the spirit of this artistic movement in his manga adaptations of Edogawa Ranpo's work. To this end, we will analyse the main characteristics of the movement, of which Ranpo is the leading representative, as well as the political and social situations, references and conceptual assumptions that gave rise to this important artistic trend. We will analyse the extent to which these features are also present in Maruo's imagination. Finally, a comparison will be made between the different manga adaptations of Ranpo's work, in order to determine whether Maruo is indeed the ideal translation of the spirit of the original eroguro into manga.
Rodao, Florentino. Las imágenes dominantes: cinco siglos de percepciones mutuas entre España y Japón. Coria del Río: Coria Gráfica S. L., 2024. X Págs. ISBN 8409617897, 9788409617890
Fukase Masahisa: del trauma a la escena fantasmática en Ravens
This paper examines Fukase Masahisa’s series Ravens (1975–1986) as a key work in contemporary Japanese photography, where the image becomes a vehicle for processing loss and melancholy. The study analyses how the author’s trajectory, marked by traumatic personal experiences, translates into an aesthetic that combines the documentary with the symbolic. Drawing on primary sources—photobooks, archives, and interviews—and a theoretical framework that incorporates the notion of a «phantasmatic scene» alongside concepts of trauma and memory, it argues that Ravens transcends the autobiographical to construct a universal visual narrative about human fragility. The article offers a critical reading that situates the work in dialogue with the Japanese aesthetic tradition and with contemporary debates on subjectivity, representation, and spectrality.
Palaeolithic and the Transition to the Neolithic in East Asia: Research and teaching issues of the Asian Prehistoric Archaeology
This paper highlights some general aspects of archaeological research in East Asia (China, Korea and Japan), such as the differences between the interpretation of Prehistory (focussing, in this case, on Palaeolithic and the transition to the Neolithic) in these countries, as well as national agendas and historiography. The issues of Eurocentric visions when applied to Asian archaeological data, as well as research issues for further academic works, are also highlighted. The analysis undertaken provides insights on subjects related to the ancient history of East Asia, both for teachers and students.
Entre la transgresión y la perversión: la imagen de Japón en la prensa española a través de El imperio de los sentidos de Ōshima Nagisa
This article analyzes film reviews of the work of Japanese director Ōshima Nagisa, published in the Spanish daily press between 1969 and the early 2010s. Its main objective is to examine the image or images of Japan conveyed to the Spanish public through critical discourse. In doing so, it examines how Ōshima’s films —marked by transgression, violence, eroticism, and social critique— were interpreted by Spanish journalists, and how these interpretations helped shape a collective vision of Japan, often echoing the perceptions constructed by 19th-century Western travelers. Through an in-depth study of these reviews, the article emphasizes the value of cinema —and, crucially, its reception— as a source for cultural analysis, offering insights not only into the society that produces the films, but also into those who consume and interpret them.