LECTURE

Through the Fragrant Screen:
Genji’s World in Scent and Space

Wednesday June 4th, 2025
7PM-8:30PM (PDT)

@ Japan foundation, los angeles

(5700 wilshire blvd, ste 100, Los angeles CA 90036)

Free Admission

RSVP REQUIRED

In classical Japanese literature, the term oikaze (literally "tail wind") refers to the faint scent one encounters when passing by, or the fragrance wafting from a room. It captures the phenomenon of an aroma being carried by the flow of air to one’s sense of smell. Though once common, this term has fallen into disuse in modern Japan.

Drawing inspiration from this term, this lecture focuses on Chapter 25, titled Fireflies from the Tale of Genji. This chapter takes place in the fifth month of the lunar calendar—roughly aligning with the timing of this event—which coincides with Tango no Sekku (the seasonal festival of boys), a time of year rich in fragrance. In the Summer Quarter where the story unfolds, fragrant tachibana (citrus blossoms) bloom, shōbu (calamus) and yomogi (mugwort) are hung under the eaves, and kusudama (decorative herbal balls) are displayed to ward off evil. Fireflies begin to appear in the humid air of the early summer rains (samidare). It is in this sensuous and visually poetic atmosphere that Prince Hotaru Hyōbu-kyō falls in love with Princess Tamakazura. In this lecture, participants are invited to experience this beautiful chapter in three dimensions—through the sense of smell.

A scented spatial artwork by the artist, embodying the concept of oikaze, will be exhibited at The Esters Exhibition (opening on June 7) at Craft Contemporary. Visitors to this lecture may find their experience of the installation enriched.

Notes for Guests:
・A simple olfactory performance using a folding fan will be presented.
・Please refrain from wearing strong fragrances.

The idea for this program was designed based on the research paper written by the artist for Alabastron Journal published by IAO

Artist:

Photo by BELAIR LAB

Maki Ueda was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1974. Currently based in Okinawa, Japan. Olfactory artist Maki Ueda (JP/NL) focuses the spectator’s attention on her fragrant gestures by minimizing the influence of the other senses. Her current research explores olfaction in relation to space and movement resulting in strong, often universal, approaches. She focuses on the pure experience of a smell instead of a more contextual or narrative approach. In addition to her own creative work, she teaches courses on olfactory art all over the world since 2009. She is the winner of the Art and Olfaction Awards Sadakichi category for experimental use of scent in 2022.  She received the 2024 Commissioner’s Award for Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.

WEBSITE: www.ueda.nl
INSTAGRAM: @makiueda 

Moderator:

Michael Emmerich received a BA from Princeton University. After completing research in Japanese literature studies at Ritsumeikan University in Tokyo, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Columbia University. He was a member of East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies department at UC Santa Barbara before joining UCLA in 2013. In addition to his many publications in English and Japanese on early modern, modern, and contemporary Japanese literature, Emmerich is the author of more than a dozen book-length translations of works by Japanese writers.

This event is offered through a partnership with the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).