Tsugumi Okabe
Asst Professor
Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
Department: Modern Languages & Comp Lit
Areas of expertise: Media adaptations of Sherlock Holmes in Japan, detective manga stories, Japanese and British mystery fiction, Japanese neo-Victorian detective stories/media
Email Address: tsugumi.okabe@baruch.cuny.edu
- Biography
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Hi there! I am a comparatist specializing in manga adaptations of classic detective stories in neo-Meiji and Japanese neo-Victorian works, such as those influenced by Edogawa Rampo and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Specifically, I examine the evolution of the youth detective trope and on interpretations of the role of youth throughout the history of modern Japan in the construction of the boy detective from the 1990s. My first monogrpah, Manga, Murder and Mystery: Investigating the Revival of the Boy Detective in Japan’s Lost Generation, which received the 2023 International Crime Fiction Association Book Prize, advances new insight in Japanese Studies and detective fiction criticism, as it explores children’s mystery stories appearing in Japanese manga tracing the literary figure of the boy detective over the course of Japan’s ‘lost decade’ (1990 – 2001) to explore broader social expectations of youth in contemporary Japan. Ultimately, my research goal is to expand the field of Japanese mystery fiction criticism beyond current scholarship’s focus on well-known, classic writers and beyond the focus of literature alone.
I also conduct research on cultural and media studies with a focus on gender and gaming, which branches off into two distinct streams: an analysis of how tropes and themes of classic detective stories are deployed in Japanese game content; and an exploration of the production and consumption side of games and, specifically women’s participation in the industry. To learn more about my research interests, publications and projects, visit my website
Education
Ph.D., Comparative Literature, University of Alberta Canada
Program Certificate, Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation Media-Content Research Project, 2-Week Summer Program, University of Tokyo Japan
A.M., English Language and Literature, Brock University Canada
A.M., Popular Culture, Communications & Film, Brock University Canada
B.A., English Language and Literature, Brock University Canada
Books
Okabe, T. (2023). Manga, Murder and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japan's Lost Generation. (p. 216). Bloomsbury Academic.
Journal Articles
Amano, K., Rockwell, G., & Okabe, T. (2021). Ethics and Gaming: A Content Analysis of Annual Reports of the Japanese Game Industry. Replaying Japan Journal, 3. 11-20.
Okabe, T., & Pelletier-Gagnon, J. (2019). Playing with Pain: The Politics of Asobigokoro in Enzai Falsely Accused. Journal of the Japanese Association for Digital Humanities , 4(1). 37-53.
(2019). Global Partners against Crime: Rewriting Sherlock Holmes and Watson in Japanese Video Games. Replaying Japan Journal, 1(1). 40-51.
(2018). Combating Youth Violence: The Emergence of Boy Sleuths in Japan’s Lost Decade. Mechademia Second Arc, 11(1). 92-112.
(2015). Jane Austen in Translation: On Sisterhood and Romance in Mochizuki Reiko’s Sense and Sensibility. Persuasions Online, 36(1).
(2015). The Game Freaks who Play with Bugs—in Praise of the Video Game Xevious . Kinephanos Revue d'études des médias et de culture populaire Journal of media studies and popular culture, 5(1). 175-201.
(2013). From Sherlock Holmes to ‘Heisei’ Holmes: Counter Orientalism and Post-Modern Parody in Aoyama Gosho’s Detective Conan Manga Series. International Journal of Comic Art, 15(1). 230-250.
Book Chapters
(2023). Policing Youth: The Role of Detectives in Japanese Visual Novel Games. Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (Revised Edition) (pp. 81-87). London, England. Routledge.
(2022). Starving Beauties? Instabae, Diet Food and Japanese Girl Culture. Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation (pp. 47-64). Champaign, Illinois. University of Illinois Press.
(2018). Rule Makers vs. Rule Breakers: The Impact of Legislative Policies on Women Game Developers in the Japanese Game Industry. Feminism in Play (pp. 125-141). Cham, Switzerland. Springer International Publishing.
Research Currently in Progess
Okabe, T.(n.d.). London Detective Mysteria: A Case Study on the Limitations and Potentials of the Otome Detective in Japanese neo-Victorian Video Games.
Hutchinson, R., Okabe, T., Mondelli, F., & Pelletier-Gagnon, J.(n.d.). The Japanese Videogame Theory Reader. In Progress.
Okabe, T.(n.d.). Game-changing Policies in the Japanese Game Industry: Ladies, Leaves and Corporate Liabilities.
Okabe, T.(n.d.). From Holmes to Homuzu: An Introduction to Sherlock Holmes in Japanese Pop Culture. In Progress.
Okabe, T.(n.d.). Sleuthing Shojo: The Girl Detective in Japanese Media. In Progress.
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Foundation Toronto: Parallel Worlds: Translating Colorful Interview with author Eto Mori & translator Jocelyne Allen, moderated by Dr. Mimi Okabe | Interviewer | Ontario | Canada | 11/18/2021 | Present | International |
| Ritsumeikan Centre for Game Studies, Ritsumeikan University | Editor, Associate Editor | Japan | 9/1/2021 | Present | International | |
| 12th International Japan Game Studies Conference: Replaying Japan | Program Organizer | New York | United States | 8/19/2024 | 8/21/2024 | International |
| Promoting Asian Studies Program at UBCon, UBCon 32nd Annual Gaming and Anime Convention, University at Buffalo | Program Organizer | New York | United States | 4/28/2023 | 4/30/2023 | Local |
| Toronto International of Authors' Crime & Mystery Festival | Interviewer | Ontario | Canada | 5/22/2022 | 5/23/2022 | International |
| Replaying Japan Journal, Ritsumeikan University, Ritsumeikan Centre for Game Studies | Editorial Review Board Member | Japan | 9/1/2019 | 8/31/2021 | International | |
| Replaying Japan: The International Japan Game Studies Conference | Organizing Committee Member | Japan | 8/1/2016 | 8/31/2021 | International | |
| Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (CSSC) | Advisory Committee Member | Ontario | Canada | 9/1/2019 | 9/1/2020 | International |
| Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) | Program Committee Member | Finland | 6/3/2020 | 6/6/2020 | International | |
| Canadian Review of Comparative Literature/ Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée | Editorial Assistant | Alberta | Canada | 9/5/2014 | 4/30/2015 | International |
| Replaying Japan 2014 - International Japan Game Studies Conference | Interpreter | Alberta | Canada | 8/21/2014 | 8/23/2014 | International |