Japan is imagined routinely in American discourse as a supernatural entity. Gothic tales from these two cultures have been exchanged, consumed, and adapted. Here, Blouin examines a prevalent tendency within the United States-Japan cultural relationship to project anxiety outward only to find shadowy outlines of the self abroad. In American discourse, Japan is routinely imagined as a supernatural entity. Gothic tales
from these cultures are exchanged, adapted, and consumed. By analyzing this phenomenon, in texts ranging from those of Lafcadio Hearn to the films of Shimizu Takashi, Blouin explores the relationship between the two countries as well as the layers of complexity that accompany constructions of foreignness. Specifically, in response to the rise of a "Global Gothic," Blouin interprets these unsettling works to be evidence of a "cosmopolitan Gothic," one that refuses satisfactory enclosure and advocates a turn inward to re-invigorate dialogues upon the world stageReview: "Blouin's transnational approach is an especially novel, and timely, one; certainly, it is the next stage in Asian Gothic Studies and Blouin engages with (and in many ways, spearheads) its discourse. Blouin's research, coupled with his relatively untrodden line of inquiry, makes this a valuable supplementary work in graduate seminars and for upper-division undergraduate courses." - John Edgar Browning, Arthur A. Schomburg Fellow, Department of Transnational Studies, University at Buffalo, SUNY, USA and co-editor of Speaking of Monsters: A Teratological Anthology and The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker Read more...
