Japanese Blood in the Heart of the Gothic: An Anthology of Gothic Stories from the Japanese Diaspora

Abstract

Japanese Blood in the Heart of the Gothic is a fictional anthology of Gothic short stories from across the Japanese diaspora. Though the authors are fictional, they represent real Japanese communities outside of Japan and the real sense of otherness that comes from settling in a new homeland. The authors and their stories vary in historical time period, subject and style; but, the Gothic and its destabilizing uncanniness run through them all. This anthology is a layered cake of a project. It’s a collection of creepy stories. It’s an experiment in defining mixed-race Japanese American story-telling. It’s a statement on belonging. It’s a love letter to a community. This project is in its first stage. The second stage will include authors and stories from South America as well as repatriated authors who write as outsiders in Japan.