The “Actress” and Japanese Modernity: Subject, Body, Gaze

Abstract

Reform of theatrical practice in Japan was based on Western models and its agenda was to distance itself from the classical Kabuki Theater and to restructure theatrical practice in the country. Crucial to this proccss was the fostering of a new breed of performers, including the introduction and development of the “actress.” Women had been banned from public stage performances since 1629 and the Kabuki of the H do period, in fact, had become famous for its characteristic “female impersonators,” i.e., onna gata or male actors playing female roles. However, those who had traveled and studied in the West considered these “outmoded traditions” inappropriate for the emerging modern nation or empire of Meiji. In this paper it is seen that in order to promote the emerging nation or empire and cultivate so-called “noble pursuits” among people, it was considered necessary to treat this reform as a national project. The construction of the Western-style Imperial Theater was completed in 1911, the last years of Meiji, and became a symbol of the reform. However, the significance of the “actress,” as a crucial element and a symbol of the modernization process, have yet to be fully explored. I address this issue here and examine the new forms of corporeality and expression brought to the theater by the modern actress. Furthermore, I examine how the audience viewed these women within the reformed theatrical space, and how the actresses viewed themselves in terms of being part of a Western-based practice, distanced from the traditional “female impersonation” of Kabuki. Also, I look at what the introduction of the modern actress, such as Matsui Sumako, hoped to achieve and the difficulties encountered in the process.