Recent publication: Spuk der Frauenseele. Weibliche Geister im japanischen Film und ihre kulturhistorischen Ursprünge [Female ghosts in Japanese cinema and their origins in Japanese traditional arts and folk beliefs]

Abstract: 

Yūrei, a term denoting ghosts such as Sadako in Nakata Hideo’s film “Ringu,” can be traced back to restless souls in Nō theatre, horrific creatures that populated the Kabuki stages of the Edo period (1603–1868) and the works of ukiyo-e masters such as Hokusai or Yoshitoshi. Literary personifications of female ghosts appeared as early as in the Heian period (794–1185), for example, in Genji Monogatari and Konjaku Monogatarishū. One of Elisabeth Scherer’s research objectives is to find out what these representations of female yūrei and their modifications throughout cultural history reveal about Japanese society.