UEHASHI Naoko - anthropologist, fantasist

Tonight we have been watching another episode of Kemono no Souja Erin , a beautifully drawn fantasy manga based on a story series written by Naoko Uehashi, a Japanese anthropologist who has studied Australian Aboriginal society. Uehashi mixes realistic cultural elements from many cultures into invented worlds that provide a context for human dramas to unfold. I was especially taken tonight by the scene of 'Erin', a lyre (small harp) player, playing her harp inside the wokshop of a harp maker. She can be seen with her harp here (art follows music follows human science?)