- Edo Period Precedents
- Emergence of the Modern Masses
- Modern citizen-subjects
- Modern workers
- Birth of the Japanese Movie Industry
- Folk to Popular to Mass Culture
Edo Period Urbanization
- Population growth in 1600s
- Early 1600s: roughly 18 million
- Early 1700s: roughly 26 million
- Increased urbanization
- Post stations & harbor towns
- Castle towns
- Major cities
- Edo: Shogunal Capital
- 1590: 1,000
- 1600: 30,000
- 1657: 500,000
- 1720: 1,000,000+
Edo: Laying the Groundwork
- Independent commoner culture that crosses class lines
- Increased literacy
- Concentrated consumer base
- Novelty as a positive value
- Entertainment "industry"
- Disposable income for leisure
- Technological advances
Kabuki
- Origin as "drag" plays performed by women
- Close association with prostitution
- Female kabuki banned in 1629
- Young men's kabuki banned in 1652
- To continue to draw audiences, began to show more polished and
plotted plays, specialization in acting roles, formalization and
expansion of theatrical space
- Kabuki actors were top celebrities of the day, trendsetters
and tabloid fodder
Meiji (1868-1912): A New Era
- Fukoku kyohei (Rich country, strong army)
- Chukun aikoku (Loyalty and patriotism)
- Bunmei kaika (Civilization and enlightenment)
- Haibutsu kishaku (Despise Buddhism)
- Risshin shusse (Rising up in the world)
- Genbun itchi (Unity of speech & writing)
- Ryosai kenbo (Good wife, wise mother)
Re-defining the People
- 1871-1876 Abolition of occupational class categories and
restrictions
- 1872 Compulsory education system
- 1873 Conscription law mandating three year service terms for
all able-bodied men
- 1894-5 Sino-Japanese War
- 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War
- 1889 Constitution with limited franchise
- 1925 Universal manhood suffrage
Changing Economy
- Nineteenth Century
- Unequal commercial treaties bring J into world econ.
- State investment, guidance, and coordination
- Dependence on agricultural sector
- Uneven development and concentration of wealth
- Twentieth Century
- Renegotiation of unequal commercial treaties
- Integration into world markets
- Dual economy structure dominated by zaibatsu
- Increasing maturity of industrial sector
- Metropole-colony relations
Workers in the New Economy
- Urban centers and social mobility
- Emergence of industrial labor force
- Wage labor and "individualism"
- Women and light industry
- Separation of work and living spaces
- Home as the space of consumption
- Shopping as a gendered activity
- Growth of a white collar middle class
- Living standards up but distribution of wealth increasingly
unequal
Mass Culture Highlights
- 1912 first Jpz. records
- 1914 Shônen kurabu, Tokyo Station opens
- 1916 Chaplin boom, Fujin kôron
- 1920 hit song "Gondora no uta," 1100 newspapers with combined
circulation of 6-7 million
- 1924 female bus conductors
- 1925 gov't radio broadcasting
- 1927 first subway opens
- 1928 500,000 have radios
- 1930 first domestically produced washing machine
Japanese Movies: The Beginning
- 1897 Edison Vitascope & Cinematographe Lumiere
- 1897 movie camera imported by Mitsukoshi photography
dept.
- 1900 Yoshizawa Co. produces cameras, then films
- First commercial films: geisha dances, Kabuki or modern plays,
documentaries
- Majority of films shown from France, then the United
States
- 1903 Denkikan in Asakusa
- 1910s "Chain drama" (rensageki)
Katsuben (benshi)
- Functioned as
- Narrator and voice actor
- Commentator-reader
- Audience representative
- Drew on Edo period performance traditions
- Star in own right
- Individualized interpretation
- Dictated pace of projection
- Sometimes performed w/o the movie
- Tournaments
Prewar Movie Theaters
- Mostly located in shitamachi neighborhoods
- Seating capacity: generally 500-800
- Benches, tatami, standing room
- Multi-piece live orchestra
- Regular bill: 3 features lasting 4 hours
The 1910s &20s
- Multiple movie companies: competition and mergers
- More "realistic" acting, actresses begin to replace female
impersonators
- Western music begins to replace Japanese music
- Subtitles for foreign films challenge role of katsuben
- Protection of copyrights
- Censorship becomes more formal, restriction of access to some
films for minors, separate sections for men and women
The 1930s
- Introduction of talkies
- Forced into adoption through competition w/ foreign
subtitled talkies
- Higher production costs
- Katsuben strike, eventual disappearance
- Movies as a major entertainment industry
- Major studios (Nikkatsu, Shochiku, and Toho), directors,
stars established
- 650 films a year
- Large audiences
- Melodramas, action flicks, comedies, musical revues
Toward Mass Culture
- Folk culture: Localized, non-commercial, anonymous, repetition
of past customs
- Edo commoner culture: Urban, commercial, both named and
anonymous, emphasis on the new and original
- Modern mass culture: Mass production for mass consumption,
commercial, copyrights, American influence, youth-oriented