Emmy Fränti

Muotokuva vaaleahiuksisesta naisesta, jolla on siniset silmät ja musta paita, tummansinisellä taustalla.

Photo: Ari Haimi

Author & Educator

I am Emmy Fränti, an author and educator. I hold a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies, and my work focuses on Japanese culture and history.

My books and lectures bring together cultural history, personal experience and interpretation. I am particularly interested in historical phenomena connected to everyday life and the meanings people have attached to them. I also find it fascinating to explore the connections between the past and the present.

My main areas of interest include the urban culture of Edo-period Japan, the entertainment worlds of the Floating World, and the rich traditions of folklore and supernatural beliefs – particularly the worlds of yōkai and yūrei. I also explore East Asian history more broadly, with a particular interest in Korea's Joseon dynasty.

Through my books, lectures and collaborative projects, I seek to offer fresh insights and new perspectives on the subjects that fascinate me. I work with both non-fiction and fiction, always curious to discover where each path of exploration might lead.

Thank you for visiting my website. I hope we share an interest in cultures, stories, and sustainable ways of seeing the world.

Works

Edo ja kestävyyden taito

(Edo and The Art of Resilience)

Non-fiction

A non-fiction book on Edo-period Japan (1608–1868). Edo, present-day Tokyo, was at the time the world’s most populous million-city and a vibrant center of urban culture and consumption—yet it produced almost no waste. The book explores how an exceptional period of peace, maintained under a strict military government, a circular economy–based everyday life, and a deep relationship with beauty and impermanence together shaped a sustainable yet highly dynamic consumer society.

The book reveals what everyday life in Edo was truly like and what we can still learn from the period’s ways of thinking and practices in the midst of today’s sustainability challenges. It invites readers to reflect on the conditions under which a sustainable society can be built—and whether we would be ready for it ourselves.

Publication: February 2026
Publisher: Aviador

Book orders: info@avidador.fi

Works

Tulikärpästen kesä

(The Summer of Fireflies)

Novel
Publication: January 2027
Publisher: Aviador

Tulikärpästen kesä (The Summer of Fireflies )is a novel about encounters and fleeting moments in the Japanese countryside.It is a story about people, life choices and everyday life amid the forces of nature. Like fireflies on a summer night, encounters and moments briefly light up. They disappear, but leave their mark.

Nainen hymyilee kameralle, hänellä on vaaleat hiukset, vaatteet ovat tummansiniset ja päällä on korallinpunainen neule. Taustalla on abstrakti maalaus ja valo on pehmeää.

Lectures & Collaboration

Lectures

I have over twenty years of experience in education and have lectured on green skills and sustainability at institutions such as Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan), Riga Technical University (Latvia), and the University of Tartu / Viljandi Culture Academy (Estonia).

During the 2026–2027 academic year, I am presenting a series of lectures at Helsinki Summer University, exploring Japanese and East Asian cultural history through a variety of themes:

‍•The Floating World of Edo Japan: Urban Culture, Entertainment and Everyday Life
• Yōkai and Yūrei: Folklore, Ghosts and Japan’s Supernatural Culture
• Experiencing Edo Japan Today: A Traveller’s Guide to the Edo Legacy
• Life at the Royal Court of Joseon Korea: Power, Beauty and Fate Behind K-Dramas
‍
‍My lectures combine cultural history, personal perspectives and storytelling, bringing the past to life and exploring its connections to the present.

I am also a member of the Culture Vitale Culturists network, where I offer lectures and workshops exploring Japanese cultural history, traditions and heritage.

Projects & Collaboration

I have worked on a wide range of competence development and educational projects for public institutions, communities, and organizations, including initiatives focused on green skills and sustainable development. I am particularly interested in projects that promote cultural exchange, and long-term ways of thinking and learning.

Writing, language awareness, and educational development are central to my work. I am the author of a guide on language-aware teaching methods for lower secondary education, produced as part of a literacy project funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Feel free to get in touch if you are looking for a speaker, collaborator, or expert for lectures or development projects.