Kabuki at War: 1931-1945

Date
Fri March 4th 2011, 12:00pm
Event Sponsor
Center for East Asian Studies
Location
Building 250 - Room 100, Main Quad
Kabuki at War: 1931-1945
Speaker:

CEAS BROWN BAG SERIES

James R. Brandon Emeritus Professor of Asian Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa

It has long been asserted that Kabuki is a classic theatre form that has no relevance to modern Japanese society.  However, recent research reveals this to be a myth. Between 1931 and 1945 more than 100  contemporary war plays (sensôgeki ) were written and performed on Kabuki stages. Examples are:  The Manchurian Incident (1931),  Three Heroic Human Bombs (1932) , Tank Commander Nishizumi (1940),  Pearl Harbor (1942), and Banzai for the South Seas (1944).  Kabuki actors raised war funds and Kabuki troupes toured battle zones in Manchuria and China. When Japan lost the war, Kabuki producers and scholars successfully propagated the myth that a "classic" Kabuki had played no part in the war, thereby mitigating the severity of American Occupation censorship of Kabuki.

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