Colleges Create Japanese Digital Art Opportunities on Campus
- Mar 18, 2025
A wave of Japan-centered digital art opportunities has washed across The University of Texas at Austin campus in recent years, as students embrace Japan’s global cultural influence.
From anime and manga to video games, fashion, TV and film, Japan’s creative exports have captivated audiences worldwide. International fascination is fueling initiatives in the Colleges of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts that work to expand innovation at the intersection of art, culture, technology and global influence.
JapanLab Students Learn via Game Development
Students at UT Austin have created a video game that educates players about historical censorship in Japan. At JapanLab, a collaboration between the Departments of History and Asian Studies, creative minds generate Japan-focused educational video games and digital humanities projects.
Titled “The Censor’s Desk,” this game immerses players in Japanese history, from the Meiji period in 1868 to the formation of a new constitution, from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the occupation period.
Using an Approve or Deny stamp, the gamer inhabits the role of the censor, interpreting rules while analyzing authentic texts produced by Japanese writers in the specified time periods. In-game consequences relate to historical real-world outcomes, enabling players to perceive and analyze the profound ripple effects of artistic texts in society.
“We try to think through the repercussions of censorship by putting the player in the shoes of a censor,” said Kristin Cather, a co-director of JapanLab alongside professors Adam Clulow and Mark Ravina.
An associate professor who has taught in the Department of Asian Studies since 2006, Cather has also served for the past four years as director of the Center for East Asian Studies, which provides a home for JapanLab.
Each semester, student teams at JapanLab are given 15 weeks to create digital projects that are educational, interactive and culturally appreciative of Japanese history. During development of their projects, each student takes the lead on a different aspect of production, including research, narrative, sound, art, coding or user experience.
The JapanLab website displays a variety of completed works, representing a range from what Cather calls “extensive, incredible timelines” to novel video games. Some students have created digital versions of classic Japanese board games with historical commentary.
“The students want to make something they’re proud of, and that can be used widely by others for years to come,” Cather said.
Japanese Art Collective Brings Vision to Longhorns
UT Austin’s School of Design and Creative Technologies drew students and non-students alike in February 2025 to a presentation featuring Takeshi Yamada, head of recruitment at teamLab, a popular international art collective focused on navigating the confluence of art, science, technology and the natural world.
“The type of work that they do is really unique,” said Doreen Lorenzo, the School of Design’s assistant dean. “I love how it makes people gather. It makes people want to be part of something. And I love that aspect of what they do.”
In teamLab exhibits, digital art is projected on walls and floors to give visitors a sense of immersion in the space. Scenery blends seamlessly from room to room and often incorporates moving images and interactive elements. In one display, the creators utilized the scenery of a botanical garden in Osaka for a light show that moves with the wind and interacts with the nature around it.
Yamada spoke at the Buckman Center about teamLab’s work environment and the processes they use to assemble exhibitions; he later answered students’ questions during a subsequent Q&A session.
Many students with career goals in the digital arts were inspired to attend the presentation because of Yamada’s association with teamLab. Others, such as members of UT’s Japanese Association, attended to witness the collective’s connection to Japanese culture.
“I thought it would be interesting to see how a person in the industry in Japan describes their company,” said biology junior and Japanese Association officer Gia Son. “It was a cool experience to see how [so much] diversity exists in [the] Japanese industry.”
