The dark line of Japanese noir: generic appropriation, Matsumoto Seichō, and Nomura Yoshitarō’s Stakeout (1958)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article closely reviews Nomura Yoshitarō’s 1958 film Harikomi (Stakeout), which despite its widespread acclaim remains relatively understudied, in light of a specifically Japanese generic appropriation of the American cinematic mode known as film noir. While genre and mode are typically regarded as distinct categories, I intentionally conflate them to argue that the film transcends and problematizes conventional categorizations of film noir as a subgenre, suggesting the formation of an alternative category. Instead of classifying the film within an established genre or cinematic movement, I position it within a line of Japanese films that intertwine social, cultural, and national media discourses. This line, I posit, offers a critical perspective on Japanese society and presents a dark vision, although not necessarily a subversive one. To limit the scope to more readily identifiable patterns, I frame the discussion around style to contend that Stakeout draws a line for a specifically Japanese kind of film noir. Thus, while the following analysis primarily centres on one film, the overarching objective of the article is to establish Stakeout as a pivotal point that is in line with both preceding and subsequent productions in terms of narrative and cinematic form.