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2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

The world of Hawaii's Local Plays : The birth and Development of Kumu Kahua Theatre

Research Project

Project/Area Number 14510551
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Section一般
Research Field 英語・英米文学
Research InstitutionDoshisha University

Principal Investigator

USUI Masami  Doshisha University, Faculty of Letters, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (00223537)

Project Period (FY) 2002 – 2005
KeywordsAmerican Literature / American Studies / Asian American Literature / Japanese American Literature / American Drama / Hawaii's Culture / Hawaiian Studies
Research Abstract

I collected the references and the scripts of Hawaii's local plays which were born and grew from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries after they were influenced by both traditional Eastern and Western plays. Assisted by local writers, directors, and scholars, I could do my research at the Hamilton Library of the University of Hawaii, Kumu Kahua Theatre, and also the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. I also interviewed local playwrights and directors. Consequently, I could deliver my paper at some conferences both in Japan and abroad, and published articles.
My research covers three major transformations of Hawaii's local plays. In the beginning era, Hawaii was being invaded by Western culture and values yet where the tradition Hawaiian pageant was born in order to dramatize and produce the historical plays regarding Hawaiian monarchy in the sublime setting of Hawaii's nature. The second era is a transitional era where, due to the establishment of plantations in the nineteenth century, ne … More wly-arrived and -settled immigrants from China, Japan, the Philippines, and Korea introduced their own unique theatrical activities and works and as a result, they were blended. The third period is the crucial turning point where, due to the statehood of Hawaii and also Americanization in all fields including education, Hawaii's local plays which were first operated in Standard English and were first influenced by American drama were changed into their unique local drama with Pidgin English as the common language and with local topics as the common interest. Those three points describe the historical trace of Hawaii's local plays which are still now flourishing.
After my research regarding those three points, I participated in the panel with local writers, critics, and teachers at Bamboo Ridge Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa twice. The second panel which I joined at Bamboo Ridge Institute was especially fruitful because I exchanged my idea with Stephen Sumida who is one of the founding members of Hawaii's local literature group and press, Bamboo Ridge, published the first book on Hawaii's local literature, and also served President of American Studies Association. In spite of the fact that Hawaii's local drama is still now a minor field, I had great opportunities to present my papers at prestigious conferences such as the Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association and also at the Modern Language Association. Less

  • Research Products

    (13 results)

All 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

All Journal Article (12 results) Book (1 results)

  • [Journal Article] Remapping Hawaii and Reconstructing Localism in Lee Cataluna's Plays,2006

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Literature Vol49

      Pages: 57-80

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Remapping Hawaii and Reconstructing Localism in Lee Cataluna's Plays2006

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Literature Vol.49

      Pages: 57-80

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Women's Voice behind Men's Words in Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl's Fanny and Bell,2005

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      同志社大学英語英文学研究 第78号

      Pages: 27-55

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Women's Voice behind Men's Words In Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl's Fanny and Bell2005

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Studies in English Vol.78

      Pages: 27-55

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Sexual Colonialism in Korea/Japan/America Spheres in Nora Okja Keller's Comfort Woman and Fox Girl,2004

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Journal of American Studies of Korea Vol36.1

      Pages: 254-83

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Sexual Colonialism in Lois-Ann Yamanaka's Novels2004

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Literature Vol.47

      Pages: 27-51

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Hawaii as a Motherland in Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl's Plays2004

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Studies in English Vol.77

      Pages: 87-119

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Sexual Colonialism in Korea/Japan/America Spheres in Nora Okja Keller's Comfort Woman and Fox Girl2004

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Journal of American Studies of Korea Vol.36.1

      Pages: 254-283

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] Local Hawaii as Home in Darrell H.Lum's Plays2003

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Doshisha Literature Vol.46

      Pages: 55-78

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] The Trace of Establishing Localism In Hawaii's Local Dramas2003

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      AALA Journal Vol.8

      Pages: 26-34

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] The Path of Multiethnic Local Literature in Contemporary Hawaii2002

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Annual Report of Korea-Japan Culture Studies Vol.15

      Pages: 1-13

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Journal Article] The World of Hawaii's Local Plays : The Path to Kumu Kahua2002

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui
    • Journal Title

      Shuryu No.63

      Pages: 67-83

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
  • [Book] Asian American Playwrights : A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook2002

    • Author(s)
      Masami Usui, ed. Miles Xian Lum
    • Total Pages
      xi+407
    • Publisher
      Westport : Greenwood
    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より

URL: 

Published: 2007-12-13  

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