Japanese Performers' International Activities and Receptiveness in the West in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H06676
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Aesthetics and studies on art
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Yagishita Emi 早稲田大学, 文学学術院, 助教 (10757256)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 川上貞奴 / 花子 / 伊藤道郎 / イザドラ・ダンカン / ジャポニスム / 日本人舞踊家 / 芸術文化 / 文化交流

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research project, I focused on three Japanese dancers, Sada Yacco Kawakami, Hanako (Hisa Ota) and Michio Ito who had all performed in the US and Europe and had also known Isadora Duncan, the pioneer of modern dance and very well known dancer in the early twentieth century. I used historical newspapers, films, magazines and photographs to verify these three Japanese dancers’ performances in the West and how their performances were reviewed and evaluated. In doing so, I also focused on the aspect of cultural exchange and the image of Japan in the West. With this approach and methodology, I was also able to reveal the confluent relation between Isadora Duncan and the three Japanese dancers.

Free Research Field

人文学