Alan Tansman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520245051
- eISBN:
- 9780520943490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520245051.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter focuses on two 1980s figures—the novelist and essayist Nakagami Kenji, much of whose work can be read as a critique of the centralizing, discriminatory power of the Japanese state and ...
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This chapter focuses on two 1980s figures—the novelist and essayist Nakagami Kenji, much of whose work can be read as a critique of the centralizing, discriminatory power of the Japanese state and its imperial narrative about one of Japan's historically oppressed minorities, the burakumin; and the singer Misora Hibari, who sang for the working classes in order to heal their suffering after the war—in whom the fascist strain was even more unknowingly held, and, to the reader or audience, barely, if at all, discernible. The hidden quality of the fascist strain in these respective works marks the measure of its durability. Its suitability to both highbrow literature and popular song suggests its easy diffusion throughout culture.Less
This chapter focuses on two 1980s figures—the novelist and essayist Nakagami Kenji, much of whose work can be read as a critique of the centralizing, discriminatory power of the Japanese state and its imperial narrative about one of Japan's historically oppressed minorities, the burakumin; and the singer Misora Hibari, who sang for the working classes in order to heal their suffering after the war—in whom the fascist strain was even more unknowingly held, and, to the reader or audience, barely, if at all, discernible. The hidden quality of the fascist strain in these respective works marks the measure of its durability. Its suitability to both highbrow literature and popular song suggests its easy diffusion throughout culture.
Jennifer Coates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208999
- eISBN:
- 9789888390144
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208999.003.0002
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Chapter 1 describes the structure of the post-war Japanese studio and star systems. The concept of star persona is introduced, blending the work of film theorist Richard Dyer with contemporary ...
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Chapter 1 describes the structure of the post-war Japanese studio and star systems. The concept of star persona is introduced, blending the work of film theorist Richard Dyer with contemporary Japanese magazine and newspaper accounts of individual stars. The media construction of the personae of popular post-war stars are explored as a means to understand how wartime and pre-war conduct and activities could be sutured into a post-war public persona compliant with the demands of the occupation censors. The Tōhō studio strikes (1946-1948) are explored as historical background for the positioning of film stars as larger than life ‘every persons.’ Case studies include the star personae of Hara Setsuko, Misora Hibari, and Yamaguchi Yoshiko.Less
Chapter 1 describes the structure of the post-war Japanese studio and star systems. The concept of star persona is introduced, blending the work of film theorist Richard Dyer with contemporary Japanese magazine and newspaper accounts of individual stars. The media construction of the personae of popular post-war stars are explored as a means to understand how wartime and pre-war conduct and activities could be sutured into a post-war public persona compliant with the demands of the occupation censors. The Tōhō studio strikes (1946-1948) are explored as historical background for the positioning of film stars as larger than life ‘every persons.’ Case studies include the star personae of Hara Setsuko, Misora Hibari, and Yamaguchi Yoshiko.
