Co-founder of AltJapan Co., Ltd. I’m a Tokyo based photographer and author of Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. | 着物着付け師範
Mar 18, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
I want to talk about this AI imagery. I'm certified as a kimono consultant in Japan, and this triggered me in all sorts of ways. Let me tell you about some of them. It might look beautiful on the surface, but a lot of strangeness is at play. (1/6
First issue is shape of the kimono. Kimono are made from single rolls of cloth. No matter how complex the dye or weave, you can see it was made from a single bolt. Not this AI one. It looks like it was made from waste fabric. But expensive-looking waste, so it's kinda eerie. (2/6
Mar 20, 2022 • 12 tweets • 6 min read
Nice to see Japanese folklore get so much attention, but one thing drives me nuts about the coverage: the translations. Sessho-seki is “Life-taking Stone,” not killing. And a ninetailed fox is not a "demon." She's a yokai. Here's why that's important (1/12 nytimes.com/2022/03/18/wor…
Might sound like splitting hairs, but nuance is important. "Demon” is deeply linked to Judeo-Christian good-vs-evil, heaven-vs-hell worldview. Demons are evil. But yokai aren’t from hell. Nor are they necessarily bad. What they are, is personifications of natural forces. (2/12
