Born in 1988, ICHIHARA Etsuko is a media artist and fantasy inventor. She graduated from the Studies of Media, Body and Image program at Waseda University’s School of Culture, Media and Society. In her practice, she creates artworks that offer a unique interpretation of Japanese culture, customs, and beliefs, presenting new, technology-based approaches. Her accessible and fun work going beyond the conventional contexts of visual art and applying highly original design approaches to Japanese culture has attracted widespread international press and media attention. Her major work includes “Sekuhara Interface ”(2012), an interactive installation featuring a radish that responds with sexual moans when touched, and the “Digital Shamen Project” (2015–), in which a household robot offers a chance for the bereaved to live with a deceased relative for 49 days. She won the Excellence Award at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival in the Entertainment Division in 2017, an Honorary Mention (Interactive Art+ category) at Prix Ars Electronica 2018, and a STARTS Prize nomination also in 2018.