Remediating traditions

Digitalizing traditional Japanese art techniques in kami

Titel: Datum: Door: Docent: Cursus: Words:

Remediating traditions: Digitalizing traditional Japanese art techniques in kami 7 november 2011 (blok 1, 2011/2012) Guan van Zoggel (3782611) guanvanzoggel@gmail.com Student MA Nieuwe Media en Digitale Cultuur dr. Sarah de Rijcke Get Real! Images, visualisations, technologies (Universiteit Utrecht) 4.991

Table of contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 3 Problematizing the dichotomy of word and image ........................................................... 5 Endeavours to digitalize sumi-e.............................................................................................. 8 Categorization and indexicalization of Japans verbal cultures ...................................... 11 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 16 Works cited ............................................................................................................................ 17

Abstract
This paper discusses the possibilities of video games as visual-oriented training. By focusing on the game kami and its worldwide praised visual presentation, I will criticize the Western notion of dichotomy of word and image and provide examples from Japanese cultures to problematize this Western oriented dichotomy. After demarcating the layer of typical Japanese of kami, comparison between kamis visual style and traditional forms of Japanese art during the game will be made and subsequently put into perspective to illustrate the issues of the dichotomization of word and image. I will argue that video games would not be an inappropriate medium to combat visual illiteracy, considering the level of artistic freedom and popularity they enjoy. Keywords: computer graphics, non-photorealism, kami, remediation, visual illiteracy

Introduction
What you see are arguably some of the most strikingly beautiful visuals ever found in a videogame never mind on the humble PS2. Every scene is like a living ink and wash painting, with stunningly graceful pastel landscapes populated with buildings, wildlife and fauna that are lavished with an equal degree of crafted attention. (Reed, 2007)

Most, if not all contemporary big budget video games, commonly known as blockbusters, are among other aspects designed and developed to visually conquer not only predecessors in its franchise, but more importantly, the competition. While the battle towards photorealistic computer graphics is also a battle of technological advancement, there are other manners to impress both the audience and competition in terms of visuals. A very recent example is El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Ignition Tokyo, 2011), an action platform game that blends colourful surrealism with the art of Japanese woodblock prints, topped with a hint of the television anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anno, 1995).

Another game that has been inspired by art, rather than reality is described in the excerpt quoted above. This quote, taken from the Eurogamer review on the PlayStation 2 version of kami (Clover Studio, 2006), provides a clear description of the visual style in which the game is presented. Its graphics are rendered in cel shading, a non-photorealistic rendering that makes computer graphics looks like cartoon-esque hand drawn images, as demonstrated masterfully by Nintendo in The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker (Nintendo EAD, 2002). The advantage of this rendering over photographic realism, as one reviewer points out in his review on kami, is that it is an art style that trancends technology. (quoted from Metacritic, 2011) What is implied here is that while photorealistic games might look realistic at initial release, they might as well be considered dated by gamers once a new generation of home video game consoles has been introduced. kami, however, has been originally developed for Sonys PlayStation 2, which belongs to the sixth generation of video game consoles, but was re-released without major graphical enhancements to Nintendos seventh generation Wii console in 2008. The quoted excerpt also describes kami as a living ink and wash painting, referring to a popular traditional form of Japanese art. In this article, I will explore the manners in which these art forms are remediated in kami. The research question used in this paper is as follows: In terms of computer graphics and visual styles, how does video game kami demonstrate the remediation of traditional forms of Japanese art and possibilities of the medium of video games as a manner to combat visual illiteracy? In order to answer this research question, it is necessary to explore the visual boundaries between the Japanese forms of art sumi-e (black ink painting) and Japanese calligraphy, by examining the close relation of word and image in Japanese cultures and thus problematize the Western notion of dichotomy of word and image. The close relation between word and image in the Japanese culture, such as the indexicality of the Chinese characters used in Japan, will be further demonstrated by examples taken from kami. Furthermore, this paper will discuss what role video games can play in the debate on the necessity of visual-oriented training before return to the question research as stated above.

Problematizing the dichotomy of word and image

Direct inspiration of this research was an article by Luc Pauwels on visual literacy and visual culture, in which he calls attention to the necessity of visual-oriented training. The author argues that such practice is needed for people to speak about them [visual codes] in an explicit and structured way and compares this perception of visuals to the comprehension of grammatical and syntactical rules of verbal culture. (2008: 81) While the author remains unclear about the exact content and shape of such visual-oriented training, he does raise the debate on the dichotomy of word and image. Although Pauwels points out that the debate of word versus image is in itself not particularly fruitful, he does not address, let alone criticize the dichotomization of word and image. (2008: 81) As the author is more concerned with the unfortunate usage of image culture and visual culture as synonyms, and visual illiteracy in contemporary Western cultures, I would like to complement Pauwels article by criticizing the Western notion of dichotomy of word and image. In this paper, I would like to build upon Pauwels concept of visual-oriented training and argue that video games are an appropriate medium to combat visual illiteracy. As I will demonstrate in more detail in the upcoming sections of this paper, it is unfortunate that many, if not the majority of game developers pursue the ideology of realism, or rather synthetic realism, a term coined by Lev Manovich (1992). Video games as a medium allow, or even invite game developers to express creativity, like an empty canvas invites a painter to express his or her feelings. Instead, many contemporary game developers spend millions of dollars on their blockbuster games (Nieborg, 2011) in an attempt to be more realistic than competition. While this race towards recreating realism implies developers have to design more ingenious manners to conquer over competitors, especially since the rising popularity of home consoles, I think it is highly unfortunate that these praiseworthy efforts are not spent in the development in more expressive games, such the game most of my arguments in this paper will be built upon, kami. kami is an action-adventure game, developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and 2008 for Nintendo Wii. In early stages of development, kami was a 3D photorealistic simulation (no game to speak of) focused on depict[ing] a lot of nature without an actual plot or gameplay system. (Gifford, 2009) An early development trailer featured a white wolf running through a wasteland, leaving behind

a trail of rapidly emerging flora and fauna. The team soon thereafter decided that this wolf would function as a reincarnation of the Japanese kami (deity) 1 Amaterasu, who is associated with the sun and therefore with nature, and the plot would be inspired by traditional Japanese folklores. Due to hardware limitations of the PlayStation 2, the team was forced to alternate the visual style and decided upon a style that would correspond with the remaining elements of kamis content. The team drew inspiration from traditional Japanese art, such as woodblock prints, creating an initially unintended coherency between characters, visual style and story. Thus, one may state that kami was built around limitations, or limits break limits, as Dutch game designer Vincent Leeuw would argue. Before moving on to the discussion of visual styles in kami, it should be noted that when gamers describe kami as typical Japanese, they refer to the aforementioned coherency between characters, visual style and story. If the setting would be replaced with a Medieval European fantasy setting, few to none would label the game as typical Japanese, e.g. Demons Souls (2010). This paper, however, is therefore primarily concerned with this layer of typical Japanese. One should be aware, however, that regardless of the amount of foregoing research conducted by the development team, this layer of typical Japanese is nothing more than a reflection of how the kami development team has interpreted Japanese cultural history. This approach bears a strong association with the term furusato (hometown). As Susan Napier explains, The use of the emotionally and ideologically charged word furusato, with its lyric evocation of a quintessentially Japanese originary village and landscape, () has been a vital building block in Japan's cultural construction of itself. (2005: 25, her italics) Atsushi Inaba, kamis producer, has indicated in an interview that the sentiment of furusato had a significant role in the development. He states that, while working on kami, the team realized that we didnt have a complete understanding of our own culture so it was a good opportunity to rediscover our own cultural background. (Shea, 2007) Elsewhere I have pointed out that famous anime director Hayao Miyazaki, too, was inspired by this philosophy of furusato for his film Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001). (Van Zoggel, 2011: 16)

Although translated as deity here, the concept of kami cannot be equated with the concept of God. As William P. Woodard points out that kami such as sun deity Amaterasu are much like the gods of Greece, but [i]n others, such as in the case of of the phenomenon of growth, natural objects, the spirit dwellings in trees, and the forces of nature, the term is hardly applicable. (Woodard, 1962: xi-xii)
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Within the layer of typical Japanese, one may distinguish various traditional art forms in kami. None of these are fully isolated, resulting in a unique artistic blend. In its introductory cut scenes, the story is narrated through a style similar to emakimono (pictures rolled), which traditionally consists of paper or silk attached to a scroll and are being read from left to right. Usually, each frame is introduced by a passage of text, followed by an illustration of a single scene, taking up about 12 to 18 inches per frame. (Mason, 1993) Similarly, at the beginning of kami, an empty scroll including canvas at the top and bottom of the screen is shown. Then a brush appears, draws the contour of a village, and, during a disembodied voices narrative, details of the drawn village fade in. Like an emakimono, the view then slowly pans to the left, presenting a new illustration and the narrative continues. Often overlaying silhouettes are used to emphasize the presence of important characters. Between the various arcs in kami, the storys narration is accompanied by illustrations that are reminiscent of woodblock prints. As the name implies, woodblock prints were created by carving an image into the surface of a wooden block, which were then covered in ink and subsequently a paper was placed over it. (Mason, 1993) The paper then would be rubbed with a disk-shaped pad, to copy the carved image onto the paper. In a fashion similar to woodblock prints, transitions between two arcs in kami are typically presented by illustrations concerning kamis universe that could as well have been created by Japanese woodblock print masters, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. The two aforementioned forms of art, emakimono and woodblock printing, are exclusively used to illustrate narratives between arcs of kamis actual gameplay. The remaining forms of art, on which kamis real-time rendered visual presentation is based, will be discussed in greater detail, since these have been subjected to numerous attempts of digitalization since 1986 and exemplify the problems with the dichotomization of word and image.

Endeavours to digitalize sumi-e

One of the major distinguishable forms of art used in kami, is the minimalistic and monochrome sumi-e (black ink painting). The philosophy of sumi-e, as artist Kazumi Cranney points out, is to capture the ki of the subject, or life spirit, (Cranney, 2010), is achieved by elegantly portraying natural phenomena in a few strokes. Sumi-e originated from China, where examples have been found dating back to at least 2000 B.C. The Chinese considered sumi-e, or shui m hu in their respective language, as the perfect manner to express Taoistic beliefs. Early eighth century, sumi-e was imported by Japan and was generally accepted as an art form which allowed artists to reproduce everything between heaven and earth, including all living creatures. (Syoko, 2002) During the fifteenth century, influential artist Sessh Ty established what is considered the first purely Japanese sumi-e, namely suibokuga (ink and wash painting), often complemented by Japanese watercolour. (Cranney, 2010) It is this very watercolour sumi-e that functions as kamis primary visual style. Although kami might be the first video game to digitalize sumi-e, scholars have made numerous endeavours to emulate the art of sumi-e on computer systems. In the following paragraphs, I will provide an overview of the numerous attempts scholars have made to accurately emulate sumi-e. In order to virtually emulate these sumi-e brush strokes, the subject was pioneered by Steve Strassmann of the MIT Media Laboratory Group in 1986. He divided his brush system, named Hairy Brushes, in four representative units to which many parameters would be allocated to: (1) the brush, a 1D array of bristles; (2) the stroke, a trajectory of position and pressure; (3) the dip, a description of the inital state of a class of brushes; and (4) the paper, a mapping onto the display device. (Strassman, 1986: 226) Although Strassmanns system takes a minute or two to render a stroke, numerous effects could be achieved by changing parameters, such as the ink quantity, ink colour, the spread of the bristles under pressure and texture mapping. As Strassmann himself indicates, his virtual brush system is primarily focused on new rendering algorithms and effects, and adds that further research is required to develop aspects such as paper effects and splatter. Another suggestion by Strassmann, the realization of 3D brushes, was explored by Jintae Lee of the University of Aizu in 1999. Building upon Strassmanns architecture brush system, Lee introduced the 3D soft-brush method in which the bristle shape varies dynamically in response to the forces imposed on it by the paper (Lee, 1999: 74).

Advantages over conventional brush systems include a more realistic drawing process thanks to the real-time visual feedback in 3D and a significant decrease in the complexity of drawing. The system, however, lacks subtle shading effects, resulting in overly regular brush strokes. The significance of ink diffusion, as emphasized by Lee, was disregarded by Nelson Chu and Chiew-Lan Tai of Hong Kong University, who developed the Virtual Chinese Brush. In order to create a model that can collectively simulate the bristles in real time yet is flexible enough to produce the effects that artists expect, they designed a brush model that consists of brush geometry, brush dynamics, ink loading and ink depositing. (Chu & Tai, 2004: 77) Furthermore, Chu and Tai created an calibratable input device for their brush model by attaching gyroscopes and an ultrasound emitter to an actual brush. The signals were then sent to ultrasound receivers located on the computer monitor, which calculated the position and tilt of the brush.

Figure 1: An enormous torii (literally bird perch) in kami (Capcom, 2006)

Figure 2: Ojiz-sama statues in the front, a mountain in sumi-e style at the horizon in kami (Capcom, 2006)

Around this time, developer Clover Studio began replacing the original 3D photorealistic style in kami with a visual style inspired by sumi-e and watercolours. During the annual video game convention Tokyo Game Show of 2004, the first trailer in this visual style presented a virtual cartoon-esque emakimono featuring sakura (cherry blossoms) and other natural phenomena stereotypically associated with Japan, while a young girl narrates: mukashi mukashi aru tokoro ni, kusaba ya doubutsu tachi wa aisuru kami sama ga imashita (Long time ago, at a certain place, there was a deity loved by flowers and animals). Subsequently, the illustration of the digitalized emakimono animates and slowly an animated colourful sumi-e presentation emerges. (YouTube, 2006) The stress on typical Japanese was further emphasized by the

background music, which consists mostly of traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shamisen and shakuhachi. kamis unique look was praised by the Western press as original and inspired. (Torres, 2004; see figure 1 and 2) One now might question the relation between the historization of virtual brush systems described earlier and the actual real-time rendering of sumi-e as a visual style in kami. In order to build this bridge, a return to the focus of this very research, the dichotomization of word and image, is necessary. So far, this paper has been primarily focused on the creation and rendering of art form sumi-e, through the means of virtual brush systems and kami, respectively. None of the authors of the virtual brush systems mention another still frequently practiced form of Japanese art that could be emulated by their virtual brush systems, namely Japanese calligraphy, or shod. Indeed, the virtual brush systems that have been developed in order to create a form of art that revolves around minimalistic images can, without any form of modification, similarly be used to emulate Japanese calligraphy. This unintended possibility clearly problematizes the Western dichotomization of word and image. To further elaborate the complexity and profound characters of this form of art, I would like to cite Christopher J. Earnshaw from the foreword of his book on Japanese calligraphy (1989: 2):
There is no riddle to calligraphy; it is simply a formula which combines the skill and imagination of a person who has studied intensively the combination available to him with only lines. His is but to build wonderful structures without hesitation, mistake or variation with those simple lines. The pure power and rhythms of nature influence the artist and he interprets this to infuse his characters with life.

Categorization and indexicalization of Japans verbal cultures

In the following section, I will argue that the dichotomy between word and image mentioned by Pauwels is far more problematic in Japanese cultures (or other cultures whose languages is based upon, or influenced by Chinese characters), since many common used Chinese characters are logographic and therefore indexical in nature. After an introduction to the Japanese language, I will demonstrate the indexicality, a term often solely associated with image culture, of Chinese characters and the manners in which Chinese characters are being used in kami. I will conclude by returning to the role of aforementioned virtual brush systems and the presence of these in kami. Upon returning to the dichotomy of word and image, I would like to argue that this dichotomy might be applicable to contemporary Western culture, as one may not consciously perceive the Latin alphabet used in many Western countries as a script derived from images. Although scholars widely agree that contemporary Latin alphabets are derived from Greek, there remains an ongoing debate where this linguistic family originated from. One of such debate is illustrated by Orly Goldwasser, professor of Egyptology, and Anson Rainey, emeritus professor of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and Semitic Languages (BAR Magazine, 2010). The dichotomy of word versus image is far less obvious in contemporary Eastern cultures, for example Japan. The writing system of contemporary Japanese language (hyjungo, standard Japanese) makes use of four syllaberies. Chronologically the first is kanji, Chinese characters that were introduced through Korea in the fifth century and in the eighth century adopted to express the Japanese phonetic speech (this style was called manyogana). Subsequently, two simplified syllabic scripts were derived from Chinese characters to write Japanese grammar and loanwords, respectively in hiragana and katakana. After Japan has been isolated from the world through means of governmental measures, the Latin alphabet (romaji, Roman letters) was introduced and used for company names and advertisements. Although Japan was occupied by the United States during the Second World War and forced to not educate Chinese characters at schools, the anti-sinitic sentiments in terms of writing subdued over the years. As a result, all four writing systems are actively practiced in daily Japanese life.

What is important to note about the aforementioned historization of the Japanese writing system, is the logographic nature of the Chinese characters. In contrary to the Latin alphabet used in most Western countries, the Chinese characters classified as pictograms (xing xng, form imitation) are direct, albeit stylized images of the objects they represent. In the words of Wen-Li Soong, psychology professor at the Fu Jen Catholic University: Each Chinese character is certainly made up by visual dots, bars, angles, squares, strokes of different directions, etc., but these forms are not just pictographic or iconic by nature, but also include indexical and symbolic formations (...). (Soong, 2011: 6) In order to clarify these indexical and symbolic formations, I will provide an example of Chinese characters classified as pictograms which have evolved from indexical representations to the symbolic regular script used in contemporary Chinese and Japanese society. A common Chinese character that is often used as segment (radical) of another character is (uma, horse). Space limitations disallow me to go into details, but the origin of this character has been traced back to the ancient Chinese oracle bone script (jiaguwn, shell bone writing), dating from roughly 1200 B.C. (figure 3). Through the ages, the characters have been transformed from a rather representative character, such as the oracle bone script, into a more simplistic character that belongs to the seal script (figure 4), which was adopted as the formal script in the Qin dynasty (ca. 200 B.C.). From this historical linguistic perspective, or perhaps this is what Pauwels meant with visual-oriented training, one can readily trace back components of the character , such as the manes and legs. The relation between word and image in Chinese and Japanese is therefore not a dichotomy like in most Western languages, but, if anything, rather a historical continuity.

Figure 3: The character in Chinese oracle bone script, ca. 1200 B.C. (Sears, 2011)

Figure 4: The character in Chinese seal script, ca. 200 B.C. (Sears, 2011)

Now the categorization and indexicality of Chinese characters have been demonstrated, once again the focus of this research will be on kami and its utilization of calligraphic Chinese characters. In kami, regardless of the original Japan version or localized and edited Western versions, there is an emphasis on the use of Chinese characters. What is remarkable, however, is that Chinese characters are not exclusively used as linguistic segments of narrative or conversations with characters in the Japanese version of kami, or as indicators of locations in kamis universe, such as (yu), or its phonetic reading , is used to indicate a hot spring. These usages are not only common in games that have been developed in Japan, but also in Japanese seikatsu (daily life). The next section, however, will discuss four other usages of Chinese characters that frequently occur during kamis gameplay. I have labeled and categorized these usages as following: (1) the aesthetic utilization; (2) the functional utilization; (3) the symbolic utilization; and (4) the collectible utilization. In the following paragraphs, I will follow elaborate these usages. The first usage, aesthetic utilization, occurs generally during the combat segments of kamis gameplay. When the player navigates Amaterasu, the players avatar presented as a white wolf, through the cartoon-esque world of ancient Japan, he will inevitably stumble upon demons strolling through fields or blocking his path. Upon touching these demons en thus engaging in combat with them, the area in which the player is located demarcates until a circle shaped arena is created. One may argue that this circle may be interpreted as an literal translation of Johan Huizingas famous and well debated magic circle (1934). The player will not be able to exit this magic circle unless she has either defeated all present demons or has been able to break through an illuminated burst in the wall of the magic circle (or lose the battle and end up in the title screen of kami). This wall, or more accurately, this dome consists of specific red Chinese characters that rise vertically from the floor and larger black characters that move horizontally across the wall. Few players from the West will be aware of the meanings of these specific Chinese characters, to list a few: (shi, death), (aku, evil), (ma, demon), (yami, darkness), (ju, curse) and (yamai, disease). Secondly, functional utilization is another usage of Chinese characters that frequently occurs during combat segments. kami features a game mechanic called Celestial Brush, which shortly pauses the game and provides an overlaying canvas, comparable to the emakimono cutscenes, allowing the player to virtually draw predetermined symbols in

calligraphic style by using the controller.2 In the case of the PlayStation 2 version, the player can draw strokes by holding down R2 button and move the left analog stick; in the case of the Wii version, the player holds down the B button and actually draws the symbols in the air by using the Wii controller. For example, drawing a circle around a leafless sakura tree allows the tree to bloom again. Similarly, drawing an horizontal line inflicts an horizontal slash, hitting objects that the line crossed when the game resumes. 3 If such an attack is ineffective against a certain demon, the Chinese characters (muda, useless) will shortly appear above the stroke drawn by the player. Thirdly, symbolic utilization is arguably most appropriate demonstrated by one of the major antagonists in the game, named Orochi.4 The design, role and theme of this eightheaded snake are based upon the Japanese mythological tale of Yamata no Orochi, who was slain by the kami Susanoo, according to the chronicles of Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1919). The goal of Orochi as a character in the story and the manner in which it is defeated also corresponds with the original mythological tale. It is, however, distinguishable from its mythological counterpart in that the developers provided each head with one natural element, represented by a Chinese character on the helmet on each head, and each head uses attacks based on its respective element.5 These Chinese characters readily inform the player of which head commands what element, such as (ka, fire) and (mizu, water), and simultaneously symbolizes the images of the movement from Yin to Yang and from Yang to Yin. (Kuo, 2004: 64). What is important here is not to comprehend Taoist philosophy by playing kami, but perceive the symbolical (and immediate informative) value of Chinese characters. The fourth and final utilization of Chinese characters that will be discussed here is that of collectibles. If Amaterasu, the players avatar, satisfies the desires of non-playable characters or even objects, such as making trees bloom again, the player will literally be rewarded with (sachi, fortune). Collecting these characters allow the player to upgrade certain abilities of Amaterasu. With meanings of ranging from blessing to happiness, I
There are instances in the game where the player can draw pictures, rather than predetermined symbols, such as designing a kimono (traditional Japanese clothing) and a mask. 3 Except for drawing the predetermined symbols, the Celestial Brush can be used for other purposes, such as dotting to make temporary flora sprout, create a falling star in the sky or cover demons in ink to confuse them. 4 Orochi is named Yamata no Orochi, written in katakana, in the original Japanese version, but shortened by the localization team for Western audiences. 5 The order and selection of the elements bear a strong resemblance with the trigrams of yin-yang, as described in the ancient Chinese work Book of Changes by Fu Xi (ARTIC, 2000).
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would like to argue that no such verbal cultural signifier exist in languages written in the Latin alphabet. The aforementioned usages of Chinese characters in kami are merely an indication of issues that are being raised by a dichotomy of word and image. Furthermore, the boundary between word and image is undetermined and vague to the extent that, as I indicated earlier, forms of art, such as sumi-e and Japanese calligraphy, do not exclusively focus on the creation of an image or word, respectively, but more importantly do follow the same principles of artistic expression. Upon comparison, one will find little difference between practicing sumi-e, a praised form of art, and Japanese calligraphy, the art of words. Moreover, the demonstration of indexicality of Chinese characters provides another argument against the acceptance of a dichotomy of word and image. To return more concretely to Pauwels article and his call for the necessity of visualoriented training, I have attempted to provide numerous examples from just one game that one may consider as visual-oriented training, albeit stressed on Japanese cultures. On the one hand, kami informs players through the means of remediation of Japans rich art history by utilizing an emakimono to narrate the story and sumi-e to present the majority of actual gameplay. Some players might relate the visual presentation to works of art they have perceived prior to playing kami, while other players, such as children, are exposed to numerous Japanese forms of art and will make the connection with Japans rich art history later in life. In this sense, kami functions as a visual-oriented training that introduces and informs players about Japans rich art history and to some extent even allows players to experience the creation of these forms of art through means of the virtual brush system. On the other hand, kami offers a platform, or grand narrative which introduces various interpretations of Japans mythological tales and folklores. Due to space limitations I have unfortunately not been able to discuss the remediation of Japans cultural heritage in length. Although kami was arguably one of the first games to implement coherency between characters, visual presentation and story to this extent, other games revolving around Japans cultural history and art have been released. One of these, Muramasa: The Demon Blade (2009), combines the hand drawn graphics developed Vanillaware is praised for, with remediation of another major form of Japanese art, namely uikyo-e (the floating world). Similarly, Muramasas characters, environments and music attempt to achieve the same coherency kami is known for.

Conclusion
In the final section of this paper, it is my attempt to answer the research question as stated at the very beginning of this paper: In terms of computer graphics and visual styles, how does video game kami demonstrate the remediation of traditional forms of Japanese art and possibilities of the medium of video games as a manner to combat visual illiteracy? To answer the first part of this question, this paper explored the layer of typical Japanese in kami by comparing various aspects of its visual presentation with traditional forms of Japanese art. It has become clear that several forms of Japanese art, such as the emakimono, woodblock prints, sumi-e and Japanese calligraphy, have been a source of inspiration to present kamis introductory narrative, narratives between numerous arcs, the general visual style throughout the actual gameplay, and symbols to readily inform the player, respectively. Regarding the second part of this question, I have problematized the Western notion of dichotomy of word and image and argued that the close relation between word and image in the Japanese cultures is not a dichotomy, but, if anything, rather a historical continuity. This criticism enabled to me further demonstrate the indexicality and possibilities of Chinese characters in the video game kami. Although rather Japanese oriented, these characters proved to be rather good methods of visual-oriented training to combat visual illiteracy. Concluding, further research could focus more on games that have been developed in the West and what role these games might be able to play to combat visual illiteracy. Moreover, such research could compare the possibilities of Western games as visual-oriented trainings with present research. Within such research, investigating the manners in which symbols, icons or other non-alphabetic characters are utilized in Western video games, especially in comparison to present research, might not only be of value for the discipline of game studies, but also appeal to scholars from the fields of art history and linguistics.

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