Celebrate Halloween with Japanese monsters and ghosts

October 26, 9:35 AMSF Ethnic Communities ExaminerMiki Garcia

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New People, a firm that specialized in J-pop culture, is organizing a spooky exhibit of Japanese demons, monsters and other creepy creatures at Yokai University from October 23 to November 6 in San Francisco Japantown. Admission is free. To complement the event, VIZ Cinema is hosting a special premiere of the yokai combat action-comedy film Battle League Horumo. Yokai refers to a class of preternatural creatures from Japanese folklore that range from the evil Oni (ogre) to the mischievous Kitsune (fox) or Yuki-onna (snow woman). All possess some sort of spiritual or supernatural powers and are feared. For more information, trailers and screening times, visit http://www.vizcinema.com.

“The Halloween season and the beginning of fall is the perfect time to introduce New People visitors to a taste of what has been scaring, haunting and tricking people in Japan for centuries,” says Seiji Horibuchi, Founder of New People and President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Everyone is familiar with monsters like Godzilla, but Yokai University and our theatrical presentation of Battle League Horumo offer even seasoned fans a crash course in all kinds of new creepy creatures and spirits.”

As part of the two week celebration, New People invites the public to an informative free yokai lecture by Tokyo-based writer Matt Alt, who with co-author Hiroko Yoda, chronicled Japan’s long love affair with monsters and spirits in their book Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. The book, published by Kodansha International, is the first-ever English language yokai guidebook. Matt Alt gives history and insights on its culture on Saturday, October 31 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at VIZ Cinema. His book and a special collection of yokai themed products will be available for purchase.

VIZ Cinema, the America’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime, is located inside New People, in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown. The spacious 143-seat subterranean theatre features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.
www.NewPeopleWorld.com.