Hal-Con 2023
One of the earliest examples of proto-science fiction in Japan is the tale of Urashima Taro, in which young fisherman briefly descends to a palace at the bottom of the sea and rises back to a world of the future, altered beyond recognition. For some of us, that’s an image that might describe our recent experience of the world. But here in Japan, where such symbols are as bountiful as blossoms in spring, the concepts of renewal and transformation can be seen in many forms.
This year’s Hal-Con is no exception.
Hal-Con 2023 took place at the Kawasaki International Center in Yokohama on April 15-16, 2023. As in previous years, the stated purpose of the convention is to encourage interest in Japanese science fiction, promote future Worldcons in Japan, and provide connections between international and Japanese science fiction writers and fans. With new hybrid panels and a larger gathering of writers, it’s making some progress on that front. It still has some way to go in bringing in a larger fan base and more international guests, but I’m confident that will improve as time goes on.
This year’s guests of honor were Christopher Priest and manga artist Tetsuya Imai. Following a brief introductory ceremony (attended remotely by Christopher Priest), Imai was on a panel with Hirotaka Osawa, a researcher on AI technology. They discussed the use of AI in science fiction, covering a variety of media and literary SF representations, including Imai’s own Break of Dawn. They also talked about how current trends and images in genre fiction might be altered by new developments in AI research.
In the afternoon, there was a ‘‘Build the World’’ panel, common to many Worldcons, where Akira Shrase moderated a fan-based effort to design a world from scratch. There was another panel on the growing popularity of ‘‘Denki’’ novels (biographical fantasy). Masamitsu Hosoya and Tetsuya Kohama discussed the history of the subgenre, relating how the form evolved from traditional forms of firsthand witness accounts (a Chinese style called chuanqi) to ‘‘stories with strange content.’’
On Sunday morning, there were panels on emerging writers in the field, along with a discussion of upcoming fiction. In my own panel with Christopher Priest, we had an hour-long discussion that, in the parlance of The Prestige, seemed to vanish like a Slydini coin as we delved into his wide range of work, from The Inverted World to The Adjacent (recently published here in Japan) and discussed his forthcoming novel Airside. We talked about our mutual passion for The Magus by John Fowles and the art of conjuring, his improvisational approach to writing novels, and his recurring themes of awakening, transformation, and perception. We also discussed his use of the dream archipelago, historical references, and Nolan’s brilliant adaptation of The Prestige. At some point, Priest cited Jerzy Kosiński and Guy Murchie (Song of the Sky) as primary influences, along with John Fowles. As our discussion came to an end, I was struck by just how fervent, prolific, and influential his career has been over the last 50 years, bringing to mind a favorite quote from The Islanders: ‘‘The true reality is the one you perceive around you, or that which you are fortunate enough to imagine for yourself.’’
In the afternoon, there was a panel on local conventions and fandom led by Tetsuya Kohama and Yosuke Iida. This was followed by a discussion of fandom and previous conventions by the chair of the 38th Japanese Science Fiction Convention, Kunihito Tomii.
Later, I spent some time talking to Yukima Ogawa about her new short story in Multiverses: An Anthology of Alternate Realities (my own Titan anthology, in full disclosure), and her genre-bending debut collection Like Smoke, Like Light, due to be published in the US by Mythic Delirium on June 20.
It was a great pleasure to reconnect with writers and fans of the genre. As we continue to share our experiences of the depths (that all of us have had to face in our own way), and rise to a new world, we’re confident that we can find a place in it once again. More information about Hal-Con can be found at their website.
–Preston Grassmann
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