This introduction to the special issue “Performance, Projection, Provocation! Relational Creativity in Contemporary Japan” presents a history of group-based creative practice in Japan, from the amateur endeavors of sākuru (circles) to the professional creativity of international production companies. The special issue applies the concept of “relational creativity” to a series of case studies to better understand how creative practices shape relationships and other social forms, institutional and less institutional.

Virtual YouTubers, also known as VTubers, are entertainers who use two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated characters to create entertaining virtual content online. This article explores a group project called the “MetaBirthday,” in which VTubers and their followers collaborated to write lyrics, compose music, design stage outfits, and shoot a music video. Through semistructured interviews with the group’s participants and close reading of their published textual material, this article interrogates how VTubers harness virtual and physical spaces to create a sense of mutual benefit, inspiration, and satisfaction in tension with the everyday realities of these spaces.