A series of talks on Japanese cultural and social history in relation to the exhibition Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Join us for our fifth talk in the series The Floating World: People and Landscapes in Edo entitled 'Global Samurai: Japan's Warriors across Time and Space'

150 years after their abolition, the samurai is a global icon and a staple of popular culture produced not only in Japan but around the world. This is a significant departure from how the samurai class was viewed in the 1870s, as a rapidly modernising Japan sought to leave them behind along with other relics of the “feudal” past. Around the turn of the twentieth century, however, the samurai image was rehabilitated and reinvented into a symbol of a new Japanese national identity that quickly became known around the world. The appreciation of early modern art and material culture, including woodblock prints, played a significant role in the modern celebration of the samurai, as earlier idealisation and nostalgia towards Japan’s warriors fed into modern myths that continue to have global currency today.

📅 Thursday 15 October 2026

⏰ 6:30pm - 8pm

📍the Whitworth

🎟️ Book your free tickets now

Oleg Benesch

Oleg Benesch is Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of York. He was the research partner on the major British Museum exhibition ‘Samurai’ in 2026, and he has published widely on the history of Japan and East Asia in a global context, with a special emphasis on the samurai legacy and modern uses of the premodern past. For more on Oleg’s research and publications, please see www.olegbenesch.com (http://www.olegbenesch.com)

Erica Baffelli

Erica Baffelli is Professor of Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester (UK). She is interested in religion in contemporary Japan, with a focus on groups founded from the 1970s onwards. Her research projects and publication focus on religion in contemporary Japan; religion and media; new and minority religions; religion, gender and violence; and Buddhism and emotions. She currently PI on a Leverhulme Research Project on "Fear and Belonging in Minority Buddhist Communities" (2023-2027).

About the venue

The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit (https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/visit/planyourvisit/) to the Whitworth and accessibility information (https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/visit/access/) for you.

If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email whitworth@manchester.ac.uk (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/professor-gary-younge-and-professor-sook-kyung-lee-in-conversation-tickets-901318476827?aff=oddtdtcreator) or telephone 0161 275 7450.

The Whitworth art gallery and gardens is driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive social change, and actively addresses what matters most in people’s lives. We are proudly part of The University of Manchester, operating as a convening space between the University and the people of the city.

(Image credit: Beneath the Great Wave Installation Shot)

Description supplied by the event organiser.