Fashion commodities onscreen: The modern housewife in Naruse Mikio’s No Blood Relation ( Nasanu Naka , 1932) and masculine female attire in Ozu Yasujirō’s Dragnet Girl ( Hijōsen no onna , 1933)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on two marketable fashion “types” aimed at Japanese women: the modern housewife, who retains her kimono while familiarising herself with the conveniences of a Western-style lifestyle and accessories, and the masculinely attired, subversive type modelled on Hollywood actresses Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. The chapter defines the role of Western-style fashion objects within an otherwise conventionally “Japanese” look to depict the modernising housewife in Naruse Mikio’s No Blood Relation (Nasanunaka, 1932). The chapter discusses the relationship between Naruse’s film and the Mitsukoshi department store by analysing contemporary print media aimed at both male and female audiences. This section will be of particular interest to readers focusing on early product placement and commercial product tie-ins. The chapter then discusses how the Japanese cinema adapted masculine-attired Hollywood female star personae (Marlene Dietrich; Greta Garbo) for Japanese audiences and consumers and how Japanese star personae were utilised to market masculine attire to female consumers. Case studies are the costuming of Tanaka Kinuyo in Ozu Yasujirō’s Dragnet Girl (Hijōsen no onna, 1933) and the rebranding of actress Saijō Eriko, who was publicly scandalised for her relationship with a masculine attired female lover, as a Japanese “version” of Marlene Dietrich.