Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz

@kaitlynugoretz

That chick obsessed with Shinto and #torii gates. ⛩️🔍🗺️ Scholar of Asian religion, digital tech, media & pop culture | Postdoc Fellow in Asian Media Studies @ University of Idaho | YouTuber @ Eat Pray Anime | Cultural consultant

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Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 14d

The Mon making continues 🎨

A photo of golden shells being painted with Pokemon: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, and Rowlet

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 16d

Doing my best to make Pokemon matching shells (kai awase 貝合わせ) for my Fall Japanese games class. Hope they don’t roast me too hard 😅

A photo of two gold shells painted to look like Pikachu

An illustration of chonky Pikachu by Sugimori Ken

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 18d

Speaking of quick games with kawaii aesthetics, I just got a copy of Gasha. It was on the shelf next to Kingyo but I thought the topic might be a little more familiar to my students. Have you played it before?

A photo of the colorful and cute card game Gasha

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 19d

Me having to remind myself every five minutes ‘DONT DRINK THE PAINT WATER, DONT DRINK THE PAINT WATER’

A photo of gold shells being painted with Pokemon: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Charmander

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 19d

Now that I look at it some more, Hanami’s cover art is practically the Cool Japan logo 🤣

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 19d

Trueeee. Reiner Knizia is a legend but it is very of its time (1998). Recently they reskinned it as Hanami. I guess they were rly attached to the sun. Whereas Rising Sun (my beloved) was kinda subtle about it.

Image of the board game Hanami featuring a red sun and pink cherry blossom motif

Image of the box cover art for the board game Rising Sun, featuring ink illustrations or samurai and mythical creatures

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 22d

Sakura is a good one to ban! Hanamikoji is on my syllabus. We’re also going to learn some parlor games in our historical game unit 😆 Oh man if you’re interested in a cat theme and haven’t heard of it already, check out Kyoto no Neko!

Cover image for the board game Kyoto no Neko

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 22d

A few hills I’d die on that I’m thinking of banning for my Playing Japan students’ board game design projects to encourage creativity: 🙅‍♀️ Sengoku warfare (done to death!) 🙅‍♀️ Wonton/chop suey fonts (can we not 🙃💀) What things do you think r overdone or gross in game design on Asian setting/themes?

An image of the cover art for the board game Shogun, featuring a samurai in armor in front of a large castle and army.

An image of the cover art for the tabletop game Samurai. A samurai in armor stands in front of a castle and a statue of the Buddha, with a large red sun in the sky. The text of the title “Shogun” is written in classic chop suey/wonton font.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 23d

Five layers later 😮‍💨

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 23d

Chonky Pikachu (best Pikachu) is in progress. I already hate the ridges so much. This is gonna take so many layers to not look totally shitty 🫠

Photo of the silhouette of chonky Pikachu being painted on a gold shell

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 24d

It’s so much prep but I’m SO excited for it, and I’m so lucky that the U of Idaho Habib Institute is supportive of my pedagogical schemes 😅♟️🎴🎮

A flyer for a course offered by Prof. Kaitlyn Ugoretz at the University of Idaho: Playing Japan: Games and Culture. The flyer includes images of suguroku board games, go, PAC Man, and The Legend of Zelda. The text reads: How does Japan make games? How do games make Japan? Press Start. Let’s play in Fall 2026!

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· 24d

What does a gal who already has too much on her plate do for a hobby? Make a kai-awase (shell matching) set for her Fall Japanese games course. Instead of classic images, the painting theme will b, by pop student demand, Pokemon. 😆 R these the ideal shell? No. But we’re balling on a budget. 🐚💅

A photo of clam shells being painted metallic gold

A photo of gilded and illustrated clam shells used in a Japanese court matching game called kai-awase

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jun 6

While I was in Philly for Comicon with my family, I convinced everyone to go get ramen at Kyuramen near the convention center. I didn't know we'd be going to a chain that uses #torii & Shinto prayer boards (ema) as decor! There's at least 30 locations across the US with torii. It's mapping time! ⛩️🗺️🔍

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jun 3

Old Navy is wild for this 🤣

An ad photo of a light pink T-shirt with a green graphic illustration of anthropomorphic egg salad sandwich and onigiri from 7-ELEVEN. The Japanese text reads “new items” and “egg sandwich and onigiri”

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· May 29

AI hallucination #torii lookin ass decor 😅

A photo of a digital ad from Bed Bath & Beyond showing a black metal frame featuring several horizontal beams and “floating” feet reminiscent of but not accurate to a torii gate

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· May 25

I finally got to see the card game I consulted on, Upper Deck’s Rush of Ikorr, in a store! Fun to see it in the wild 🤩 Thousand-armed Kannon was one of my deck additions, and the artwork was so popular that it became a primary asset for the game marketing. 🪷🙏

Photo of a booster pack for the trading card game Rush of Ikorr on a store shelf

Illustration of the bodhisattva Thousand-Armed Kannon for the trading card game Rush of Ikorr

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· May 16

Ancient Japanese wisdom: “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.” —Kūkai, probably

An embroidered image of three Daruma dolls with the saying in kanji “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· May 9

That’s it, the rest of Instagram can go home. This is peak content 🤌 #funthropology

Instagram graphic, text reads: fun.thropology

YOU'RE INVITED TO A tea party

HOSTED BY CLIFFORD GEERTZ

MAY 06

4pm

RSVP

dress code: layers upon layers of meaning please arrive ready to interpret the interpretation of the interpretation

Instagram graphics, text states:

ON THE MENU:

Tea (but what does the tea MEAN in this context)

Cupcakes (described for 47 pages)

A single cookie that represents the entire worldview of the baker, her grandmother, colonial trade routes, and the concept of sweetness itself

we will be doing a thick description of the snack table

Instagram graphic, text reads:

HOUSE RULES:

Nothing is just a thing. The napkins are a text.

If you wink at someone you must explain whether it was a twitch, a parody of a wink, or a rehearsal of a fake wink mocking the original wink

No thin descriptions allowed (this is a safe space for context)

The vibe check will take 6 months of fieldwork minimum

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· May 7

Having just finished teaching an Anime course, I couldn’t agree more. 💯

A frame from the Studio Ghibli animated film Porco Rosso. The pig pilot Porco Rosso says his iconic line: “Better a pig than a Fascist.”

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Apr 21

Gave ‘em the ol anti-Orientalist one-two punch! 😅

A photo of scholar Edward Said looking seriously at the camera with the text “Edward Said Approved”

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Apr 20

Tfw you conjure up a banger lecture on Jazz and Anime out of thin air

A frame from the anime film Blue Giant showing a young man staring at his fingers after drumming for the first time asking, “Did I just… jazz?”

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Mar 25

I had a wonderful time connecting w/ the caring faculty & bright students at St. Edward’s University! I guest lectured on anime pilgrimage in Prof. Mathew Scruggs’s exciting Religion + Anime class & abt my work to bring 🇯🇵 religions & media theory in conversation for the Spring Nostra Aetate Lecture.

Presentation slide: “Superflat Pantheon: Representing the Divine in Japanese Media” by Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz. Habib Institute for Asian Studies, University of Idaho. The background features a stained glass or triangle-shaped tiled design of various gods and spiritual scenes from anime, manga, video games, and traditional art.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Mar 16

We also have a call for KPop Demon Hunters proposals js.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Mar 15

It’s only midterms for my spring Anime class at the University of Idaho, and we’re having a blast. But I can’t help but also look forward to teaching a course on Japanese culture and games in the Fall!

A course flyer for a Fall 2026 class at the University of Idaho called “Playing Japan: Games and Culture” taught by Prof. Kaitlyn Ugoretz. The tagline reads: “How does Japan make games? How do games make Japan? Start’ Let’s play in Fall 2026!” There are images of historical Japanese board games like suguroku and go and video games including PAC-Man and Zelda Breath of the Wild.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Feb 28

Oh thank you for letting me know! I couldn’t see who it was who was blocked. It was from a mass list, not personal. RE: your questions about the map, yes it is a WIP & includes some torii that used to exist but don’t anymore. I’ll check the one mentioned above that may be in the wrong location.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Feb 3

So satisfying to find niche screencaps for lecture. 🤌 Today we read Marc Steinberg's @msteinbrg.bsky.social excellent translation of Ōtsuka Eiji's "World and Variation: The Reproduction and Consumption of Narrative" in Mechademia Second Arc 5, no. 1 (2010). 📖🔗 www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jan 27

Yes, this is an Ame no Uzume fan account.

An ink painting of the Shinto kami Ame no Uzume no Mikoto dancing in loose, revealing clothes and green garlands on top of an overturned wooden basin. Roosters crow to join her in beckoning the solar kami Amaterasu Ōmikami out of hiding in her cave.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jan 11

They're just putting #torii gates on roofs now ig 😅 Shiki of Mocksville Japanese Restaurant, Mocksville, NC

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jan 8

More information about the Kaiserslautern Japanese Garden: www.kaiserslautern.de/tourismus_fr...

A photo of two people on a sunny day walking through the vermillion Torii gate at the Kaiserslautern Japanese Garden in Germany

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz· Jan 8

Regular people: soccer/football thoughts ⚽️ My brain: Oooh Kaiserslautern, they have a lovely Japanese garden with a #torii gate!