1- Keynote Speaker

Dr. Christian Tagsold, Institute for Modern Japanese Studies, University of Düsseldorf, Germany 

Akiralympics – Re-examining Tokyo 1940, 1964, and 2020/21

The opening ceremony of the 2020/21 Olympics showcased traditional Japanese cultural assets but also many instances of “Cool Japan.” I will follow up on the latter but offer a different interpretation of aligning culture and sports through the Olympics. In 1982 the Young Magazine published the first installment of Akira. The manga unfolded a dark story about future Olympics in 2020 after a mysterious blast had destroyed Tokyo three decades earlier. Back in the early 1980s, Akira was one of the first popular texts to challenge the legacy of the 1964 games and their promise of a bright future for Japan.

The manga did not pose these questions by chance. In 1981, Nagoya’s bid for the 1988 Olympics had lost out to Seoul, while significant public protests had opposed these plans. Enthusiasm for the games had cooled down considerably, and many citizens did not see why Japan should bring back the Olympics. By reading the Olympic history of Japan through Akira, I will connect Olympic moments of 1940, 1964, 1981/88, and 2020/21 to ask questions about legacy, sport as a symbol for progress, peace, and Japan’s entanglement into the history of (post-)modern sports mega-events.