Jan 23, 2009

Kimiko Ryokai discusses Purikura

From San Francisco Chronicle
January 23, 2009

The purikura king is at PikaPika in Japantown

By Patricia Yollin

When Ryan Kimura graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004 with a degree in Asian American studies, he kept running into the same question: "What are you going to do with that?"

He wasn't sure. So he spent two years in Japan teaching English to high school students, who introduced him to purikura - the art of making photos, which are often turned into photo stickers - in a fancy, high-tech photo booth....

"Purikura is the opposite of serious," said Kimiko Ryokai, a UC Berkeley assistant professor in the School of Information. "It is just for fun."

Ryokai, who grew up in Tokyo, said, "It is always a social activity. Nobody really takes purikura by him- or herself."

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Last updated: October 4, 2016