German Theatre and Intercultural Cinema: A Study of the Japanese Film Adaptations of Gerhart Hauptmann’s Plays

Abstract

In the 1920s Westernization and modernism characterized the cultural life of big Japanese cities, and the cinema quickly became the main entertainment of the urban masses. In this decade studios began to shoot movies following the cinematic techniques and narrative styles of European and American cinema, and increased production of film adaptations of Western literature works popular at that time. This paper focuses on the adaptations of German literature works, specifically of Gerhart Hauptmann plays, produced in Japan during the 1920s. While those films have been lost, stills and reviews of film magazines published at the time of screening have been archived. The study draws on these materials and examines the intertextual and intercultural relations between the films and the literary works. It provides a brief overview on the reception of German literature in Japan, compares the plays and films analysing the permutations in narratological elements, and offers insights on how cultural, political, and social context influenced the directors’ adaptation process.