Cultural Guests of Honor

Located in Harajuku's famous LAFORET fashion mall, ATELIER PIERROT is a staple in the Gothic & Lolita community. Operating over 30 years, they helped create and influence the Gothic Lolita scene both in Japan and abroad. Their stores offer a wide variety of clothing and accessories featuring their romantic, well-tailored Gothic Lolita aesthetic, and their new Maison de ATELIER PIERROT line expands into bags, shoes, and accessories to offer a complete Gothic Lolita lifestyle.

Alisa Freedman is a professor of Japanese literature, cultural studies, and gender at the University of Oregon. Her books include Japan on American TV; Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road; Women in Japanese Studies: Memoirs from a Trailblazing Generation (edited collection of 32 memoirs); Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (edited textbook featuring 42 trends); annotated translation of Kawabata Yasunari's The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa; and Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan (coedited volume).'

She has published numerous articles for academic and general interest publications, literary translations, and guides to publishing and professionalization skills. She is the Faculty Fellow of a University of Oregon residence hall and has received a national award for her mentorship work. Alisa enjoys presenting at public events like cultural festivals, anime cons, reading groups, and TEDx.