具体描述
This illustrated work assembles 25 of the over 40 papers that were given at the "Japanese Theatre in the World" Symposium held in Munich in 1998. The essays range widely through Japanese theatre, from the ancient to the postmodern, or, one might say, from kagura to angura. Subjects include lion dances, Takarazuka, kabuki, noh, folk theatre, international reception, taishu engeki, Terayama Shuji and other modern playwrights, etc. The team of authors represents scholarship in Japan, the United States, Scotland, France, Germany, Australia, Romania, Italy, Sweden, and Israel. The chief focus is on the place held by Japan's various theatre forms in the world, and vice-versa.
East Meets West: Transnational Currents in Modern Drama A Comprehensive Study of Cross-Cultural Exchange and Theatrical Innovation, 1880–1950 This volume delves into the rich, complex tapestry of theatrical exchange between East Asia and the West from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. Moving beyond nationalistic narratives, East Meets West: Transnational Currents in Modern Drama meticulously charts the intricate pathways through which performance traditions, aesthetic theories, and dramatic texts traveled, mutated, and converged across geopolitical boundaries. This is not a history of singular national stages, but rather an exploration of the interstitial spaces where global modernisms were forged. The book is structured chronologically and thematically, revealing how forces such as colonialism, technological advancement (particularly in stagecraft and reproduction), and burgeoning internationalism fundamentally reshaped theatrical practices. We begin by examining the initial, often distorted, encounters—the Western fascination with Japanese Ukiyo-e aesthetics and Chinese opera spectacles, frequently filtered through Orientalist lenses in European capitals like Paris and Berlin during the Belle Époque. Chapter One analyzes the impact of early global exhibitions and ethnographic performances on European perceptions, using primary source material from theatrical reviews and private correspondence to reconstruct the atmosphere of both exoticism and genuine intellectual curiosity. The core of the study focuses on the revolutionary period between the World Wars, a time of intense experimentation both in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Berlin, and New York. This era witnessed significant attempts by Asian artists and intellectuals studying abroad to synthesize Western dramatic structures—such as naturalism, expressionism, and Brechtian epic theatre—with indigenous performance philosophies. We dedicate substantial attention to the rise of the "New Theatre" movements in East Asia, detailing specific case studies of playwrights who actively engaged with Stanislavski’s methods while simultaneously grappling with the political imperatives of nationalist cultural preservation. For instance, one section closely scrutinizes the translation challenges and subsequent reinterpretation of Ibsen and Chekhov in early Republican China, illustrating how these European models were repurposed to critique entrenched feudal structures rather than merely imitate Western social dramas. A crucial intervention of this volume lies in its detailed analysis of the circulation of theory alongside practice. We investigate the less-documented reverse flow: the influence of East Asian philosophical concepts—particularly those related to emptiness, stylized gesture, and the dissolution of the fourth wall—on seminal Western modernists. Far from a one-way street, this book demonstrates how figures such as Meyerhold, Artaud, and Brecht encountered and integrated non-Western performance modalities, often through secondary sources or brief, intense exposure during their travels or via émigré artists. Chapters explore the specific impact of Noh and Kabuki aesthetics on the development of the European Theatre of Cruelty concept, tracing textual evidence and visual schematics of early performances that overtly referenced these Asian styles. The second half of the book shifts focus to the complex relationship between state politics and theatrical production during periods of escalating tension leading up to and including World War II. We examine how state censorship and propaganda efforts utilized and distorted transnational theatrical exchanges. In East Asia, this often meant a precarious balancing act between embracing "modern" global forms and adhering to nationalistic or ideological mandates. The analysis incorporates archives from occupied territories to reveal the clandestine performance networks that sustained avant-garde ideas when official channels were closed. Furthermore, the volume addresses the infrastructural aspects of this transnational theatre: the role of publishing houses, the evolution of international copyright law as it related to dramatic texts, and the development of early global theatrical agencies that managed the tours of international stars. By mapping these often-overlooked logistical networks, we reveal the material conditions that made cross-cultural artistic dialogue possible. Finally, the concluding section reflects on the legacy of this period. It argues that the modernist rupture in global theatre was not solely an internal Western event, but a multifaceted dialogue forged through strenuous, reciprocal engagement. The cross-pollination examined herein laid the essential groundwork for post-war global theatre practices, highlighting the continuing relevance of understanding how different cultural matrices negotiated the universal aspirations of modern dramatic expression. This study offers essential reading for scholars of theatre history, global modernism, performance studies, and cultural translation.