'Honor died on the beach': Constructing Japaneseness through monstrosity in Ghost of Tsushima

We analyse the depiction of the Mongol invaders in Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions, 2020) through the lens of monstrosity, showing how their depiction is used as a frame to construct a notion of “pure” Japanese identity. To underscore how the Japanese in the game are “pure,” the Mongols are dehumanized and made monstrous through various devices, such as a language barrier, a collection of cultural Mongol artefacts, and their brute force as invaders polluting the established community. Positioned between the categories of “pure” and the “monstrous” is the player character, Jin, a liminal figure who blurs these two categories. Highlighting these depictions of the Japanese, nature, the Mongols and Jin, we consider how the construction of a pure Japan works in favour of bolstering the country’s national reputation.

In: Sarah Stang, Mikko Meiläinen, Joleen Blom and Lobna Hassan (Eds.), Monstrosity in games and play: A multidisciplinary examination of the monstrous in contemporary cultures. Amsterdam University Press