The Aesthetics of Shadow by Daisuke Miyao

daisuke

m i ya o

The AesTheTics of

shAdow  Light  Li ghting ing and Japan Japanes esee Cin Cinema ema

The AesTheTics of

shAdow  Lighting and Japanese Japanese Cinema Cinema

 M

DukeUniversityPress DurhamandLondon 2013

©2013DukeUniversityPress  Allrihtsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonacid-

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DesinedbyHeatherHensley  TypesetinArnoProbyTsenInformationSystems,Inc. LibraryofConressCataloin- in-PublicationDataappear in-PublicationDataappear onthelastprintedpaeofthisbook.

For Dica

Contents

Acknowledgments

ix 

IntroductIon

 W  W                  W W??

1

1. gg-  M: Shochiku and Hollywood

15

2. W: Shochiku and Jidaigeki

67

3. M: Shochiku and Germany

119

4. W: Shochiku, Toho, and Japan

173

conclusIon

MgMgWz

255

notes

283

BIBlIogrAphy

3 29

Index

365

ACknowledgments

IameternallyratefultothelateR IameternallyratefultothelateRobertSklar obertSklar,mymentor ,mymentor.Ihad .Ihad countlessjoyfulmomentswithhimwhenwetalkedaboutlms and and books. books.Wi With th his genero generosit sityy, patien patience, ce,an andd contin continuou uouss enencouraement,Ihavebeenabletotransformmyselffromanaïve studentfromJapanwhoknewverylittleaboutthepracticeof cinemastudiesintoalittlemorearticulatelmhistorian.ank  yousoverymuch,P  yousoverymuch,ProfessorSkla rofessorSklar. r. Iowes Iowesomu omucht chtoth othebi ebih heart eartofth ofthela elateK teKeiko eikoI. I.cD cDonald onald.. Itwasmyreatp Itwasmyreatpleasuretorepo leasuretoreporttheproress rttheproressofmyresearc ofmyresearchto hto heratannualconferences.Ourmeetingswerealwaysafterher dailyten- milerun,andshealwaysamaedmewithherpositive enery.IamsorrythatIdidnothaveachancetorunthehistoric HaywardFieldwithKeiko- sensei,whowasaUniversityofOreonalumna. Speci Specialth althank ankso sotoKe toKennissok issoker erofDuk ofDukeU eUniv nivers ersity ityPr Press ess.. Kenwastheveryrstpersonwholistenedtomyinitialrough ideaabou ideaaboutwritina twritinatrans transnatio nationalhistory nalhistoryof of cinematic cinematiclih lihtin tin.. ItwasinChicagoin2007whenmybookonSessueHayakawa cameout.Hehasbeenenthusiasticaboutthis cameout.Hehasbeenenthusiasticaboutthisprojecteversince projecteversince anduidedmethrouhalonandwindinroad.isbookisa collaborationbetweenKenandme. Asmyproj Asmyprojectin ectinvolv volvedexten edextensive siverese research archboth bothinthe intheUnit United ed State Statess and and Japan, Japan,II havebeen havebeenver veryy fortun fortunate ateto tobe beass assist istedby edby manyinstitutions.IthankaboveallCharlesSilverattheuseum ofodernArt,FilmStudyCenterinNewYork;OkajimaHisa-

shi,OkadaHidenori,TochigiAkira,IrieYoshiro,andItakuraFumiakiatthe NationalFilmCenter,theNationaluseumofodernArt, NationalFilmCenter,theNationaluseumofodernArt,T Tokyo;achi okyo;achi  Yukiko,  Yukiko,Fukuda FukudaAtsuko Atsuko,and ,andstamem stamembersat bersatKawakita KawakitaemorialF emorialFilmInilmInstitute;oriwakiKiyotakaattheuseumofKyoto;YasuiYoshioatKobe PlanetEiaShiryokan;BarbaraHallattheararetHerrickLibraryofthe CenterforMotionPictureStudy;MonaNagaiandJasonSandersatthe PacicFil acicFilmArchive mArchive;Johnhiripi ;Johnhiripiriat riattheAnth theAntholoyFilmArchi oloyFilmArchive;and ve;and stamembersattheUniversityofOregonKnightLibrary’sInterlibrary LoanOce.IhavealsobenetedreatlyfrommyvisitstotheNewYork PublicLibraryforPerforminArts,DepartmentofSpecialCollections,TsubouchiemorialeateruseumatWasedaUniversity,theNationalDietLibrary,andShoch tionalDietLibrary,andShochikuOtaniLibrary ikuOtaniLibrary.. An An/ // /  Fello Fellows wshi hip, p,Cen Cente terfo rforthe rtheStu Study dyoW oWom omen enin in SocietyResearchGrant,OreonHumanitiesCenterResearchFellowship, RichardA.BrayFacultyFellowship,andotherinternalresearchrantsat theUniversityofOreonprovidedmewithprecioustimeandfundinto completethisbook. KotaniEiichi,KuritaT KotaniEiichi,KuritaToyomichi, oyomichi,iyaawa iyaawaJiro, Jiro,Okada Okadaariko, ariko,akao akao  Ayako,  Ayako, andYoshidaK andYoshidaKiju ijusharedprecious sharedprecious storiesof stories ofJapaneselmmaking Japaneselmmaking  withme. Iamdeeply Iamdeeplyratef ratefultoSte ultoStevenBr venBrown,R own,Rebe ebeccaF ccaFowler owler,Hide ,HideakiFu akiFujiki, jiki, TomGunning,EliseHansen,AbéMarkusNornes,andYomotaInuhiko,  whokindlyreadsectionsofthisbookatvarious  whokindlyreadsectionsof thisbookatvariousstaesandavemevalustaesandavemevaluablecommentsandencouraements. Cheer CheerstoKat stoKathle hleenKa enKarlyn rlyn,ik ,ikeAro eAronso nson,P n,Pris riscill cillaP aPeña eñaOvall Ovalle,Sa e,SannitaGopal,KatharinaLowe,Kateondloch,Audraahoney,andthefacultyandthestaoftheCinemaStudiesProramattheUniversityofOreon.Iamhonoredtosharetheloveofcinemawithyou. Amon Amongg man many frie friend nds, s, coll collea eagu gues es,, and and ment mentor orss onbo on both th side sidess of the the Pacicwhohaveprovided acicwhohaveprovidedinvaluableprofess invaluableprofessionalandemotionalsupport, ionalandemotionalsupport, IwouldliketoparticularlythankCharlesAron,DudleyAndrew,Chris  Arnold, Keri Aronson, Kathryn Barton, Jennifer M. Bean, Betty Chen, StephenDurrant,aramEpstein,RobertFelsin,FunatsuAkiko,Aaron Gerow Gerow,, Carol Carol Gluck, Gluck, Fran Frances ces Guerin Guerin,, Heidi Heidi Johns Johnson, on, Patrick atrick Keatin Keating, g, ChikaKinoshita,HiroshiKitamura,ColleenLaird,TomLaarre,Jeana, atsudoakoto(PinewoodCompany),atsuiJun(Heibonsha),ShannoncLachlan,izunoSachiko,ShoganNaidooandtheMmarathon  x

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groupinEugene(forkeepingmetphysicallyandmentally),iwakoOkigami,OtaYoneo(ToyFilmProject),MisaOyama,AugustaLeePalmer, Michael MichaelRaine Raine,, Donald Donald Richie, Richie,Sait Saitoo Ayako Ayako,, Tze-lanSan lan Sang, g, MiryamSas, Miryam Sas, Shibataotoyuki,IrinaShport,illiamG.Simon,BenSiner,Takeuchi Shiehiro(Eiashiryonokobeya),AlanTansman,PatrickTerry,Noboru Tomonari,MitsuyoWada- Marciano,AkikoandGlynneWalley,Kristen  Whissel,Linda  Whissel,LindaWilliams, Williams,ariY ariYoshihara, oshihara,itsuhiro itsuhiroY Yoshimoto,a oshimoto,and ndZhang Zhang Zhen. LeihBar LeihBarnw nwell ellandLi andLiSmi Smithat thatDuk DukeU eUniv nivers ersity ityPre Press sshav havepat epatie ientl ntlyy uidedmethrouhthebook’seditorialandproductionprocesses. Ialso Ialsothan thankkenthusia enthusiastic sticaudie audiences ncesof ofmy mytalks talksat atth theeUniversi University tyofCa ofCalilifornia,Berkeley;CarletonCollee;theUniversityofaryland;Stanford University;theAssociationforAsianStudies;KinemaClub;andtheSocietyforCinemaandediaStudies. Iwouldliketosince Iwouldliketosincerelythank relythankNishimura NishimuraT Taro,atsumoto aro,atsumotoT Toshio,TatsumiT tsumiTakayuki,andthe akayuki,andthefacul facultyof tyof lettersat lettersat KeioUni KeioUnivers versity ity,, andNotoji andNotoji asako,KunishieJunji,andthefacultyofAmericanstudiesattheUni versityofT  versityofTokyo,K okyo,Komaba,forth omaba,fortheirtremendou eirtremendouskindness. skindness. I amve am very rygr grat atef eful ulto tom my pare parent nts, s,Mi Miya yaoo Shun Shunsu suke kean andd Masa Masami mi,, for for alwaysbelievininme,andtomyparents- in-law,AkaiSadaoandKimiko. in-law,AkaiSadaoandKimiko. Lastly Lastly,very ,very,veryspec ,veryspecial ialthank thanksgotothelove sgotothelovesof sof mylife:Y mylife:Yok oko, o,Dica Dica (whoisatRainbowBride (whoisatRainbowBride),Dot,andH ),Dot,andHoku. oku.ithoutyou,I ithoutyou,Iwillbelostin willbelostin theshadow.ithyou,Icanbebrihtandcheerful.

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xi

IntroductIon

 W                   W  W?

“‘eaestheticsofshadow’[ kage no bigaku]thatJapanesepeople createdoveralongperiodoftimethroughoutlongyearsstays deepinsideofourselvesnomatterhowmuchsocialtendencies chane.e chane.ewanttobrinout‘theaestheticsofshadow’fromits wanttobrinout‘theaestheticsofshadow’fromits hiddenplace hiddenplace,underst ,understanditcorrectl anditcorrectlyy,anddo ,and doourbesttocreate ourbesttocreate  Japanesecinema.  Japanesecinema.”So ”Sowrote wroteY YoshinoNobutaka,apr oshinoNobutaka,aproductiondeoductiondesineratShochiku,oneofthemajorlmcompaniesinJapan,in thejournal  Eiga Shomei Shomeiin1979.Cinemaisamediumoflihtand shadow.Cinema shadow.Cinemadoesnotexistwithouttheelectricallihtbeam doesnotexistwithouttheelectricallihtbeam thatpassesthrouhthecelluloidstriptothrowashadowimae ontoascre ontoa screenbefore enbeforeaviewer aviewer..Evenbeforetheprocessof Evenbeforetheprocessofpropro jection,theproductionofmovinp  jection,theproductionofmovinphotoraphicima hotoraphicimaesisaconesisaconstructioninlihtandshadow structioninlihtandshadow.Evendiitalcamerasne .Evendiitalcamerasneedlihtto edlihtto inputinformationtobetransformedintodata.Itisthereforeno surprisethattheJapaneseproductiondesinerparticularlynoted lihtininJapanesecinema.hatattractsmein lihtininJapanesecinema.hatattractsmeinY Yoshino’swords, oshino’swords, thouh,ishisstronemphasisonshadow.hatis“theaestheticsofshadow”thathebelievedtobeveryimp icsofshadow”thathebelievedtobeveryimportantinJapanese ortantinJapanese cinema Infac In fact,t,Y Yoshino oshino’’s claimfaithf claimfaithfully ullyrep replica licated tedthe thewe wellll-known known  writing by renowned novelist Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, Jun’ichiro,  In Praise of  Shadows(“Ineiraisan,”December1933–January1934).InhisdiscussionofJapanesearchitecture,Taniakiwrites,“Ultimately,it

isthemaicofshadows.eretheshadowstobebanishedfromthecorners,thealcove[inaJapaneseroom]wouldinthatinstantreverttomere  void.iswastheeniusof  void.iswastheeniusofour[ our[Japanese Japanese]ancestors—that ]ancestors—thatbycuttino bycuttino thelihtfromthisemptyspacetheyimpartedtotheworldofshadowsthat formedthereaqualityofmysteryanddepthsuperiortothatofanywall paintingorornament.”3  In Praise Praise of Shadows ShadowshasbeenoneofthemostinuentialwritinsthatexplainJapaneseaesthetics.In1940,quotinTaniaki’s discussionextensively,MidorikawaMichio,theheadoftheNipponese SocietyforCinematoraphers(NihonEiaKameramanKyokai),stated, “Weshouldobservethebeautyofshadows,whichappearsgracefullyin theharmonyof[Japanese]architectureandlights.”4Midorikawaurged cinematoraphersinJapantouselihtinthatwouldachieve“thebeauty ofshado of shadows. ws.”Forinstance,theNipponese ”Forinstance,theNipponeseSociety SocietyforCinematogr forCinematographers aphers decidedon Te Battle of Kawanakajima ( Kawanakajima  , Kinugasa  Kawanakajima kassen ,Kinugasa Teinosuke,1941),awarlmsetinsixteenthcenturyJapan,ashavinthe  bestcinematoraphy  bestcinematoraphyfor foradramatic adramaticlmofthe lmoftheyear yearmainlybecau mainlybecause seof“the of“the attractionofblackthatllstheentirelm.”enotionthatYoshinocalled “theaestheticsofshadow”hadalreadybeenwidelysharedamongJapanese cinematoraphersbytheearly1940s. Curio Curiousl uslyy,howeve ,however, r,the theexpre express ssivi ivity tyof ofsh shado adowsha wshadnot dnotbeen beenemp emphahasiedinthedominantmodeoflmlihtininJapanbeforeTaniakiwrote  In Praise Praise o Shadows Shadows.esloanintherstdecadesoflmmakininJapan  was“Clarityrst, storysecond”(  Ichi nuke, ni suji ),whichakinoShoo, “thefatherofJapanesecinema, “thefatherofJapanesecinema,”hadintroducedinthe1910s ”hadintroducedinthe1910s.Astheterm .Astheterm nuke (clarity)suggests,whatearlyJapaneselmmakersemphasizedwas notthebeautyofdarkness notthebeautyofdarkness,butbrihtnessthatwo ,butbrihtnessthatwouldmakeimae uldmakeimaesvisible svisible eveninworn- outprintsscreenedattheatersnotequippedwithbrihtliht  bulbsfor  bulbs for projection.Shochiku projection. Shochikuinherited inheritedsuch suchan anemphasis emphasison onclarity clarity in lightingwhentheyadoptedtheirslogan“BrightandcheerfulShochiku cinema”( akaruku tanoshi Shochiku eiga)inthe1920s. ore orecuriou curiously sly,w ,whe hennTaniak aniakiw iwrot rotee  In Praise o ShadowsandJapanese cinematogra cinematographe pherswidely rswidelyagree agreedd withhimaboutthebeauty withhimabout thebeautyof ofshad shadows, ows,  Japanwas  Japan wasleading leadingthe theworld world inthe in thevogue vogueof of neonsigns. neon signs. e eappreciaappreciationofshadowemeredinthemidstofaourishincultureofelectrical light.eacclaimedHollywoodlmmakerJosefvonSternbergwasvery impressedbythecoexistenceb impressedbythecoexistencebetweenlihtan etweenlihtandshadowinJ dshadowinJapanwhenhe apanwhenhe  visitedin19  visitedin1936.Emp 36.Emphasiin hasiininparticula inparticularthe rthesimu simultaneous ltaneousthrivin thrivinofliht ofliht 2



andshadow,SternberrelatedhisfascinationwiththeJapaneselandscape toOnoShichiro,areporterforthenewlyestablished  Nihon Eigajournal: eentertainm eentertainmentdistrict entdistrictsin sinJapa Japanare nareood ood,especia ,especiallyatniht. llyatniht.e e linesofvariousobjectsrisetoth linesofvariousobjectsrisetothesurfaceincolorfulne esurfaceincolorfulneonandallother onandallother thinsaremysteriouslyhiddenindarkness....Japaneselandscapeisas monochromeasinkpaintins,butthecolorsintheentertainmentdistrictsaregaudilygorgeous.ereisastreetvendorsellingexoticautumn insectsrihtinfrontofanAmerican- stylejacafé.Cornisbeinbar becuedrihtnextto  becuedrihtnex ttoicecream icecreambeinsoldat beinsoldat anAmericanstyleparlor.  earin  earin geta[woodenclos]onherbarefeet,awomanwithaJapanese hairstylewalksalongthatstreet.Itisasuperbmysteriousviewthatcom binesolda  binesoldandn ndnew ewcultures. cultures.IfI IfIphotoraph photoraphth this, is,itm itmust ustbe beT Technicolor. echnicolor. SternberwasaruablythelmmakermostrespectedbyJapanesecinematoraphersintheearlytomid- 1930s.isrespectwasaresultofthecinematoraphyinthoselmsofSternber’sthatmadeastarofarleneDietrichinHollywood.Asstatedinhisautobiography,Sternberg’stheoryof cinematiclihtinresidedinacreativecontrastbetweenlihtandshadow. Inachapterentirelydevotedtoexplaininhisthouhtsoncinematiclihting,Sternbergcondentlystated,“Eachlightfurnishesitsownshadow,and  whereashadowisseenthere  whereashadowisseentheremustbealiht.Shadow mustbealiht.Shadowismysteryand ismysteryandliht liht isclarity.Shadowconceals,lihtreveal isclarity.Shadowconceals,lihtreveals.(T s.(Toknowwhattorevealandwhat oknowwhattorevealandwhat toconcealandinwhatde toconcealandinwhatdereeandho reeandhowtodothis wtodothisisall isallthe thereistoart.)A reistoart.)A shadowisasimportantinphotoraphyastheliht.Onecannotexistwithouttheother.”ecoexistencebetweenlihtandshadowthatheemphasiedherecorrespondedtohisresponsetotheJapaneselandscapein1936. Contra ContrarytoSt rytoStern ernber ber’ ’semp semphas hasison isonthein theinnat natebal ebalanc ancebet ebetwe weenli enliht ht andshadowincinematiclighting,whatJapanesecinematographersand critics critics wh whoo special specialize izedd in lm techn technolo ologie giess partic particula ularly rly noted noted was his “craftyemp craftyemphasi hasiss onshad on shadows, ows,” accordin accordingg tothecinematogr to thecinematographe apherr Miura itsuo,whohadwitnessedSternber’slmmakininHollywoodin1928 andhadphotographed Te Battle of Kawanakajimain1941.0ecriticTakii KojiselectedSternberg’s Shanghai Expressand  Blonde Venus Venusasthebest  American lms of 1932in 1932 in terms of cinematography. cinematography. In particular,T particular, Takii praisedthecinematographicachievementin“low- keytones”that“enhance theatmosphereandexpressthedrama.”Focusingonthedistinctiveuseof shadowsintheselms,Takiiclaimed,“elowkeylihtinisthehihest  W                  W?

3

achievementofphotoraphictechnique....Itisnotsimplyaboutinvisible darkness.” Why Why didT did Tanizak anizakii and and Japan Japanes esee cinema cinematog tograp rapher herss start start emphas emphasizin izingg shadowsinthe1930swhenJapan shadowsinthe1930swhenJapanwasinthe wasinthemidstoftheourishinculture midstoftheourishinculture ofelectriclihthydidtheyneedtheconceptifthedominantmodeof  Japaneselmmakin  Japaneselmmakinsinceth sincethe191 e1910shad 0shadbeenbrihtn beenbrihtnessinli essinlihtin htinere ere therenoattemptstochallenethe“clarityrst”sloanbywayofshadow  beforethe  before the1930s?Or 1930s?Ordid didthe theswitch switchoccurin occurin anunprecedentedmanner? an unprecedentedmanner?  Whatwere  What werethe thesociopolitical, sociopolitical,economic, economic,orcultural orcultural contexts behindthis behind this tendencytovalueshadowshighly?Why tendencytovalueshadowshighly?WhydidT didTanizakiandJapanesecinemaanizakiandJapanesecinematoraphersneedtostressthesinican toraphersneedtostressthesinicanceofshadows ceofshadowsinthename inthenameofJapaofJapanese nese culture?Wa culture?Wasthereanythin sthereanythingg theyneed theyneededto edtodefe defendor ndorjustify justify?? And howwastheappreciationofshadownaturaliedastheessenceofJapanese culturalidentity,asseeninYoshino’sclaim,ifitdidnotappearuntilthe 1930s Inth In this isbo book, ok,Ibrin Ibringout“ gout“ ‘the ‘theae aest sthe heti tics csofsha ofshado dow’fro w’fromitshid mitshidde denn place”andndawayto“understanditcorrectly.”Youwillreadhowand  whythenotionthatY  whythenotionthatYoshinocalled“th oshinocalled“theaesthetics eaestheticsofshadow”wasformuofshadow”wasformulatedinthehistoryofJapanesecinema.Tobemorespecic,Itellastory aboutthetension- riddenprocessofhowtechnologiesoflightingdevelopedandhowdiscoursesonlightingwereconstructedintheformative decadesofcinemainJapan.Mystoryoftencrossesnationalbordersbecausethediscussionof“theaestheticsofshadow”insuchcloseconnection  withJapanesecultural  with Japanesecultural traditionmust tradition musthave havebeen beenaa resultof result ofcomplicated complicated internationalortransnationalconictsoverlihtintechnoloies.Inthis sense,Inarrateatransnational“historyofentanle sense,Inarrateatransnational“historyofentanlementthattracesactual mentthattracesactual interconnections”oflms,lmtechnologies,lmmakers,andlmcriticism aroundlihtandshadow,tousethelmscholaririamHansen’sterms. isbookisarecas isbookisarecastin tingof gofJap Japan anes eselmhist elmhistory orythr throug oughthetro hthetrope peof of lihtandshadow.LihtinhasplayedasinicantrolenotonlyindistinuishinthestylesofJapaneselmfromthoseofAmericanandEuropean lm,butalsoinidentifyin,orinventin,acohere lm,butalsoinidentifyin,orinventin,acoherentJapanes ntJapaneseculturaltraeculturaltradition.Implicitlyorexplicitly,suchquestionsas what is Japanese cinema? , what roles should cinema play in Japanese society? ,and what is Japanese?have  beenexamined  been examinedin inthe thepractice practiceand anddiscourseof discourseof lightingtechniquesand lighting techniquesand technoloies.Howcouldthelihtandlihtinbeusedasalensforinsiht intoJapaneseidentityHowwerecinematoraph intoJapaneseidentityHowwerecinematoraphyandlihtinpracticed yandlihtinpracticed,, 4

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conceptualized,andtheorizedintheheterogeneouseldsofJapaneselm? Iaruethatlihtintechnoloyincinemahasbeenstructuredbytheconictsof ictsof modern modernity ityinJapan inJapan,, inclu includin dingg the the struggl strugglesover esoverho how w tode to dene ne cinema,subjectivity,andnationhood. Idiscu Idiscuss ssthe theuniq unique uehist histor oryyof Japa Japane nese secine cinema mabutIdono butIdonotpre tpresu suppposeanahistoricallyuniedJapaneseness.Inuencedbystructuralistand poststructuralisttheory,thelmtheoristNoëlBurchinsistson“theJapanese diference ,inbothHeianliteratureandmodernlmpractice.  ,inbothHeianliteratureandmodernlmpractice.”” Even thouhBurchemphasiesthe“  presence o ”inJapanesecultural o the context ”inJapanesecultural production,whatheseemstosuggestisthepresenceofthehistorically unchangingtraditionofintertextuality,inwhichtextsdonothidetheir referencetoothertexts.AccordintoBurch,Japanesecinemais“presentational”becauseitreliesonJapanesetradition,thefundamentalOther tothatoftheest,whiletheesterncounterparthas“representational” conventions,inwhichtheprocessofculturalproductionissupposedtobe hidden.ereisnodoubtthatJapanesecinemaisintertextual.Lihtinis clearevidenceofthis,especiallywhenShochiku,oneofthemajorlmcompanies,standardieditsproductatitslmstudioandreferredtoKabukistylelihtin.However stylelihtin.However,thatwasnottheres ,thatwasnottheresultofanunch ultofanunchaninpres aninpresence ence ofJapanesetraditionbutratherofasocioeconomicchoicemadeforlocal needs—inventionoftraditionintheprocessofmodernization.WhenI aruethatacertaincinematicstylewasdeployedinaJapanesemanner,I makethecasewi makethecasewithinthehis thinthehistoricalcontextofJapanese toricalcontextofJapanese modernity. Eventhoughthe Eventhoughthefocusof focusofthis thisbook bookiso isonJ nJapanesecinema, apanesecinema,Isituate IsituateJapaJapanesecinemawithinthebroadereldsoftransnationallmhistory.TakamuraKurataro,theformerheadoftheNipponeseSocietyforCinematoraphers,oncewrotethattheessenceoflmmakingwas“howtocontrol  broadanddiversetechn  broadanddiversetechnoloicalmaneuve oloicalmaneuversfromphoto rsfromphotoraphin(sta raphin(stabilibiliinlihtfromlensesontolms)toprojection(exhibitinimaesrecorded onlmontoscreen onlm ontoscreenss byusinglights).” byusinglights).” Takamura akamura’’s claimindicatesthat claimindicatesthat technoloicalandartistic“man technoloicalandartistic“maneuvers” euvers”oflihtdonotpre oflihtdonotpresupposea supposeanyculnyculturalornationalconictinnature.Experimentswithtechnologicallighting incinemashouldbelocatedwithinthetransnationaldiscursiveandpracticalnetworkofapreoccupationwithandrepre ticalnetworkofapreoccupationwithandrepresentationoftechnoloical sentationoftechnoloical modernity. Atthe Atthesame sametime time,in ,inJapa Japanese nesereal reality ity,cin ,cinemati ematicli clihtin htinha hashi shistori storically cally  beenstabiliedandexhibited  beenstabilied andexhibitedin incloserelation closerelationtoJapan’s toJapan’sculturaland culturalandnana W  W              W?  W?

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tionalidentitypolitics.Japaneselmmakinhasbeenaninternationalaffair.After1897, fair.After1897,whenKonishiCamera whenKonishiCameraStorepurchased StorepurchasedaBaxterandray aBaxterandray camerafromtheUnitedKindom camerafromtheUnitedKindomandAsanoShirobecame andAsanoShirobecametherstJapatherstJapanesecinematorapherwhousedthecameraandphotoraphedlandscapes ofNihonbashiandAsakusaofTokyo,Japaneselmcompaniesimported mostofthecameras,lightingequipment,projectors,andrawlmfrom EuropeandtheU EuropeandtheUnitedStates nitedStates.Allofthose .Allofthoseimportedmate importedmaterialswereconrialswerecontinuouslyinshortsupply.In1919,thepioneercinematorapherEdamasa  Yoshiro  Yoshiro insisted,“Both insisted, “Both directors and cinematographersknow cinematographers know very well thatitisimpossibletohaveoodresultsinlmmakinwithweakbeamsof liht....[However,]currently,equipmentforusinarticiallihtinisnot complete.ecannothelpdependinonlyonthesunliht.Itisthemost urentissueforustoha urentissueforustohaveproper veproperequipmentfo equipmentforarticiallihtin rarticiallihtin. .””  erehas erehashisto historica rically llybeen beenanunequ anunequaleo aleopol politi itical calrelat relation ionshi ship, p,oran oran imbala imbalanc ncee of power power,, betwee betweenn Japan Japanan andd theUn the Unite itedd States States.. ere ere isno is no doubtthatHollywoodhasplayedaubiquitousroleinthedevelopment oflihtintechnoloyinJapan.YettherelationshipbetweenHollywood andJapanesecinemahasnotsimplybeenabinaryoppositionbetween theproductionanddistributioncenterandperiphery,betweencultural dominance dominanceandresista andresistance, nce,orbetween orbetweengloba globall andlocal.elm andlocal.elmscho scholar lar DavidBordwellclaimsthatalltheworld’smass- marketcinemasmighthave  beenbasedonthestandardcontinuitystylepioneeredbyclassicalHolly beenbasedonthestandard continuitystylepioneeredbyclassicalHolly wood,as  wood, asthe theground groundagainst againstwhich whichthe thestylistic stylistic accomplishments accomplishmentsof of indienouslmmakerscanbeanalyed.But,asiriamHansensuests, thatdoesnotmaketheworld’ thatdoesnotmaketheworld’smasssmass- marketcinemas“simplyvariantsofa dominantstyle.” dominantstyle.” Hansenarues,“I Hansenarues,“IflmmakersinC flmmakersinChinaandJap hinaandJapanconanconfrontedHollywoodhee frontedHollywoodheemonyinbothits monyinbothitsenablinandd enablinanddestructivee estructiveeects, ects, theireortstoforeidiomsoftheirownwerecruciallyinectedbyalarer  vernacular-modernistculture  vernacular-modernistculture at oncecosmopolitan andlocal.” Bearin Bearingin ginmin mindsuchtens dsuchtension ionin inthe thegeop geopoli olitica ticalpersp lperspecti ectivebetw vebetween een atransnationalityandanationality,IdrawonthehistorianHarryHarootunian’sconceptof“co- evalmodernity, evalmodernity,”whichsugge ”which suggeststhe ststhe narrative narrativeof of modernityinJapantobe“contemporaneityyetthepossibilityofdierence,”withoutinorinthecomplexlobalpowerrelations.Harootunian reardsa“ doubling ”as“auniqueemblemofJapan’smodernexperience”; ”as“auniqueemblemofJapan’smodernexperience”; fascinationwiththenewuncertaintyandxationofsuchtemporalityand resistancetothecultureofcapitalism;or“therecognitionofavasteld 6

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ofeconomicandculturalunevennessthatit[ ofeconomicandculturalunevennessthatit[doublin]souh doublin]souhttoresolve, ttoresolve, overcome,andevenrepress.”FollowingHarootunian’sideaofadou blin,thisbook  blin,thisbookreards reardsthe theidea ideaofJapane ofJapanesem semodernity odernityasfram asframentary entaryand and provisional,inwhich kindaishugi(theideoloyofmoderniation,industrialiation,rationaliation,andscienticproress,m aliation,rationaliation,andsci enticproress,modeleduponth odeleduponthe eest) est) and modanizumu(discoursesofnewnessineverydaylifeandmaterialsof consumerculture)existedinana consumerculture)existedinanambivalentmanne mbivalentmanner. r. eae e aest sthe heti tics csofsha ofshado dow w emer emerge gedd ina in a proc proces esss of trans transna nati tion onal alan andd cross-cul cross-cultur tural al negot negotiat iation ionin in Japan Japanese esemod modern ernity ity.. When WhenII use use theter the term m negotiation ,IhaveStuartHall’sinuentialessay“Encodin/Decodin”in mind.Hallproposesthreedecodinstrateiesinpracticesofreadinand makingsenseofculturaltexts.Negotiatedreadingismoreambivalent thandominantreadin,whichwouldpresumenoactiveinterventionatall onthepartofthedecoder,oroppositionalreading,whichwouldassumeno identicationatallwiththestructuresofinterpellationofthetext.Asthe lmscholarJudithaynesuests,whilethemodelofneotiation“posits  boththeactivityofthereader/viewerandtheheteroeneityofthedier boththeactivityofthereader/viewer andtheheteroeneityofthedierentelementsofsocialformations”and“conceivesof entelementsofsocialformations”and“ conceivesofavarietyofreadin,” avarietyofreadin,” thereis“atendency”inculturalstudiesofregardingsuchheterogeneity andactivityasanindicationof“aresistancetodominantideoloy.”Such atendencyeventuallymaintainsthebinarystructurebetweenthedominantversustheoppositional.Idonotconsiderthenotionofneotiation tobeaformofresistance.Iammoreconcernedabouthistoricallyspecicstrulesandconictsamonroupsofpeople.Someofthemcould  beinpoliticallyoreconomicallydominantpositionsandothers  bein politicallyoreconomicallydominantpositionsandothersinrecepinreceptiveones,butsuchrelationshipswerebynomeansunchanin.Anaudienceofapopularstarcouldbeextremelypassivetothepresumedideal ofcapitalistideoloy ofcapitalistideoloyandtreme andtremendou ndously slyactiv activeat eatthe thesame sametime.Suchan time.Suchan audiencecouldbecooperativeinreinforcingthedominantideologyby notpassivelybutconsciouslyparticipatinintheconstructionofthestar’s ocialimage.Simultaneously,hisorherperception—ortheaect—of theonscreenimae theonscreenimaeofthestarwasdirectandph ofthestarwasdirectandphysicalanddiminished ysicalanddiminishedthe the distancebetweentheactorandhimselforherself.Tome,thenotionof neotiationraspssuchsimultaneity,coexistence,anddialoismwithout inorinthepowerrelations—lobalpowerrelations—amonroupsof people.Neotiationisnotlimitedtotheissueofspectatorialpositionsbut thoseofindustrialproduction, thoseofindustrialproduction,socialcriticism,andc socialcriticism,andculturaltradition. ulturaltradition.  W                W? W ?

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ithsu ithsuch chaanotiono notionofne fneotia otiation tionin inmind mind,,Idescri Idescribe bethe thehhistorical istoricalproprocessofhowtheaestheticsofshadowhasbeeninvented,developed,naturalized,andpublicizedinthediscourseofmodernityinJapan.Myfocus onlihtintechnoloiesandtech onlihtintechnoloiesandtechniquesintheh niquesinthehistoryofJapanes istoryofJapanesecinema ecinema illustratesthefollowin: 1.e 1.estru strules lesove overt rthe hede deniti nition onofcin ofcinema emafor forthe themass masses, es,with withint inthe he capitalist-industrialmodern capitalist-industrialmodernization izationofShochiku, ofShochiku,betweenth betweentheclassical eclassical styleofKabukiandHollywood. 2.econict 2.econictsinsh sinshapin apinnew new(es (especi peciallyfem allyfemale)s ale)spect pectatoria atorialsubj lsubjecectivitywithinthatcapitalist- industrialmodernity,alongwiththeemerenceofanewenreofperioddrama,andanewstar,arua enceofanewenreofperioddrama,andanewstar,aruablythe blythe mostpopularstarinJapaneselmhistory,HayashiChojiro(later HaseawaKauo),who HaseawaKauo),whoselmswereaspe selmswereaspecicallysensorialcicallysensorialaective form. 3.e 3.eam ambi bival valen entrel trelati ation onsh ship ipbe betw twee eenthe nthene newfor wforms msofsoc ofsocia ialrela lrela-tions—primacyofvision,tobespecic—andcinemaasanewvisual medium. 4.eattemp 4.eattemptofconc tofconceptua eptualiin liincult culturalau uralauthen thenticity ticityinthe inthestru strules les  between the ceaseless fascination with the novel technologies of Hollywoodlihtinandth Hollywoodlihtinandthedefe edefenseofculturals nseofculturalspirit( pirit( bunka seishin). Chapter1isahistoricalanalysisoftheformationofthelmindustryand modeofproductionfrom1910throuhthe1920sfromtheperspectiveof light.AsaresultoWorldWarI,Japanwastransformedintoanindustrialpower.EspeciallyduringthereconstructionfromtheGreatKanto Earthquakeof1923,Tokyobecamealareindustrialcenter,recruitinits laborforcefromthecountryside,aswellascenterofmassconsumption. Shochiku,thecompanythatoriginallyownedandoperatedKabukitheaters,enteredthelmbusinessin1920andestablisheditselfinthemidst ofsuchdevelopingmodernlife.eprotagonistofthischapteriscinematorapherHenryKotani,whostartedhiscareerinHollywoodaround 1915andreturnedtoJapantojoinShochikuCompany’sKamatastudioin 1920butwasredafewyearslater.IntheclashoflihtintechniquesbetweenKotaniandShochiku,wecanobservethestrulinexperienceof capitalist-industrialmodernityandmodernizationinJapan.Iarguethat capitalist-industrialmodernityandmodernizationinJapan.Iarguethat lightingwasconceivedbyJapaneselmmakersandcriticsinrelationto HollywoodcinemaandJapanesetheatricalconventionsdurintheforma8

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tiveyearsofthelmindustry.ekeytermsare visibilityand expressivity. Compariso Comparisonn ismadebetweenKotan ismadebetween Kotani’i’sstillsstill- extantHollywoodandJapanesework neseworks,alonwith s,alonwithcriticismofhisandotherJapane criticismofhisandotherJapanesesemadelmsof theperiod.ComparisonbetweenSternber’s  Docks o o New York(1928)and itsJapaneseadaptation, First Step Ashore (  Joriku daiippo ,ShimazuY  , ShimazuYasuasu jiro,1932)demonstrates  jiro,1932) demonstratesthat thatShochiku’ Shochiku’ss lmmakingpriority lmmaking prioritywas wasnot notthe the expressivityoflighting,nomatterhowhighlySternberg’slightingtechniqueswereregardedbyJapanesecinematographersatthattime.Shochiku Kamatalms,fromaperspectiveoflihtin,achieveddominantstatusin  Japaneselmmakindurin  Japaneselmmakindurintheperiodof theperiodofmodernlifenot modernlifenotbecause becauseof ofthe the imitationofHollywoodbutbecauseofthecapitalisttacticsthateectively combinedrationaliedproductionprocesses,thestarsystem,andconventionaliedtheatricalstyle. Chapt apter 2 historica ricall llyy comb ombines genre studie dies, star studie dies, and spectatorshipstudiesbywayofthepracticeoflihtin.emainfocuses areon  jidaigeki(perioddrama),theuniqueenreofJapanes (perioddrama),theuniqueenreofJapanesecinemathat ecinemathat  wasrapidlyp  wasrapidlypopularied opulariedinth inthelat elatterh terhalf alfofthe ofthe1920s, 1920s,andHa andHayashi yashiChojiro Chojiro,, themostpopularmalestarinJapanfromthelate1920suntilthe1940s.In thelate1920s,jidaigekichallengedtheprevailingdominanceoftheShochikuKamatalmthrouhspectacularsword- htinscenes.Jidaiekiincorporatedlightingandtechnologyinadistinctivemanner.eashof theswordwasthedenitiveelementofthenewenre.Inordertoachieve theashinanexpressivemanner,jidaigekimixedHollywoodstylewithanothertheatricalconventioninJapan, shinkokugeki(newnationaltheater),  whichwas  whichwasnotable notablefor forsword swordhts htsthatw thatwere eremore morerealistic realisticthan thanKabuki.In Kabuki.In otherwords,alocaliedproductofHollywood(ShochikuKamatalms)  was challengedby challenged byanother another localized product of Hollywood(jidaigeki). Hollywood (jidaigeki). Making Making thingsmorecomplicate thingsmorecomplicated,Shochik d,Shochikuu challenge challengedd backatjidaig backat jidaigeki eki  withits  with its brandnew brand newstar, star,Hayashi HayashiChojiro Chojiro.. Shochiku’s Shochiku’s counterattackwas counterattack was achievedbyitsowninnovativelihtintechniques—“movableliht,” onobashi(extension),and nagashi- me(sensualsidelongglance)—thatwere exclusivelyinventedforHayashibycraftilycombiningtheHollywoodstylethree- pointlightingwithKabukitechniques.Withtheashofthe star—hisfaceandeyes,inparticular—Shochikueventuallywontheht againsttheashoftheswordandsucceededinmaintainingitsnancial andstylisticdominanceintheJapan andstylisticdominanceintheJapaneselmindustry eselmindustryatleastuntilthelate atleastuntilthelate 1930s.oreover,withHayashi’sstardom,almfanculturethattareted  W  W                W? W ?

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thefemaleaudiencewasborn.Hayashi’sstardomalsomarkedtheemerenceofamodernviewi enceofamodernviewinsubje nsubjectin ctinJapa Japanese nesecinemawhoactive cinemawhoactivelyparlyparticipatedinconsumingproductspreparedandpublicizedbyacapitalist industry.Hayashifanswerephysicallysusceptibletotheeectofcinema asamoderntechnoloy,buttheyweresimultaneouslyconsciousthatthey  wereconsumersofthestarim  wereconsumersofthestarimae. ae. rou rough ghin inve vest stig igat atin ingg the the socia sociall demo demogr grap aphi hics csof of the the Amer America icann city city and the audien audiences ces of melodr melodrama ama,, the the lm histor historian ian Ben Ben Singer Singer shows shows thattheurbanworkingclassandthewhite- collarlowermiddleclass—  bothproductso  bothproductsofmodern fmoderncapitalism’ capitalism’sreat sreatbureaucratic bureaucraticexpansion—we expansion—were re the main main partic participa ipatory tory spectat spectators ors and and consum consumers ers of the “ manufactured stimulus”oeredbysensationalam stimulus”oeredbysensationalamusementss usementssuchasmelodram uchasmelodramaonstae aonstae andscreen.Boththeswordghtinginjidaigekiandthephysicalityof HayashiChoji HayashiChojirooeredsucha rooeredsuchamanu manufactur facturedstimulus edstimulus.. Speciclighting Speciclighting schemesplayedasinicantroleinbothcasesandenhancedsensationof theamusements.hilevisibilitywascrucialtotheconstructionofnarrativeclarityandbriht tiveclarityandbrihtness nessinthedomin inthedominantmode antmodeoflmmakin oflmmakinin inJapa Japann intheearlydecadesofthetwentiethcenturyandwasstandardiedinShochikuKamatalms,jidaiekiemphasiedthespectacularvisualdelihtof theswordinmotion.Iftheswordinjidaigekiampliedthediscourseof lihtininJapanesecinem lihtininJapanesecinema,itwasalsoth a,itwasalsothelihtinth elihtinthatdeprivedjid atdeprivedjidaieki aieki oftheinitialshock.Becauseofanewlihtinscheme,jidaiekiwastransformedintoalamor formedintoalamorousattraction ousattractionofa ofastar—adierenttype star—adierenttypeofmanufacofmanufacturedstimulus.eashoftheswordwasacontestedeldintheJapanese lmcultureofthelate1920s. Chap Chapte ter3 r3 isaclo is aclose sete textu xtual alan anal alys ysis isoftwo oftwocri criti tical cally lysu succ cces essf sful ull lms ms,,  whichIcall“  whichIcall“streetlms, streetlms,”andIdis ”andIdiscussth cusstheuse euseoflihtin oflihtininth inthemint eminterms erms ofsocialcriticismandaestheticmodernism.Oneis Crossways(  Jujiro ,a.k.a. Crossroads and Shadows of the Yoshiwara),ajidaigekilmfrom1928directedbyKinuasaTeinosuke,andtheotheris at Night’s Wie( Sono yo no tsuma),acontemporarycrimemelodramafrom1930directedbyOzu  Yasujiro.Burchhihlyrates  Yasujiro.Burchhihlyrates at Night’s Wieinhisroundbreakinwork onJapanesecinema, To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in the Japanese Cinema(1979),as“fascinatingevidenceoftheimpactwhichAmericanlmsandesternculturehad,notonlyuponOubutuponasiable Crosswayshas portionoftheJapanesemiddleandlowermid portionoftheJapanesemiddleandlowermiddleclasses. dleclasses.””  oftenbeenreardedasanimitationofGermanexpressionistlm.Yetby 10

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closelyexamininlihtininthesetwolms,thischapterfocuseslesson explication explicationof oftherelat therelationofinuenc ionofinuenceorimpac eorimpactbetwee tbetweenEastande nEastandest st andmoreonthedepictionofwhattheliterarycriticomasLaarrecalls the“cinematicmateriality”thatis“dynamic.”LaarrehasraisedinsihtfulquestionsregardingthisdichotomybetweenJapanandthe fulquestionsregardingthisdichotomybetweenJapan andtheWest: West:“Does “Does theuseofaesternformormedium(cinema)inJapanforceJapaninto  Western  Westerndevelopmentand developmentand history?Or history? Ordo doJapanesetraditions Japanesetraditions transform  Western  Westerncinema? cinema?Does Doescinema cinema‘westernize’ ‘westernize’Japan, Japan,or ordoes doesJapan Japan‘japan‘japanify’cinema”Laarrearuesthatth ify’cinema”Laarrearuesthattheproblem eproblemwithsuchqu withsuchquestionsisthat estionsisthat theysupposeaninsurmountablecontradictionorincommensurabledifferencebetweenWesternizationand“Japanization.”AccordingtoLaarre,thouh,modernity,“asthecondensationofanumberofdierent processesandhistories,isnotalinearprocesswithintheestorinrelationtotheest.”Laarrearuesthatthedynamicmaterialityofcinema canopenupnewandconstantlydivergent“unperceivedmodesofsensoryperceptionandexperien soryperceptionandexperience,there ce,therebysuggesti bysuggestinga ngadiere dierentorganiza ntorganiza-Crossways tionofdailylife.”ematerialityenhancedbythelihtinin and Tat Night’s WifedeviatesfromthesimpledichotomyofEast/West ortheeopoliticalhierarchyandstructuralheemonyofcenter/periphery andplacesitselfinthesensorynetworkofloballmculture.Inparticular,thesetwolmsarerepresentativesofthecoevallymodernphenomenonofstreetlms,inwhichthecityistheprotagonistthatcapturesthe rhythmsandtoneofmod rhythmsandtoneofmodernlife:cinemarevis ernlife:cinemarevisualiesthemo ualiesthemoderntechnoderntechnologicalworld.6Mytextualanalysisislessinaninterpretivemannerofa narrativestructureandmoreinacloselyobservatorywaytocapturesubtle nuancesandfunctionsoflihtandshadow.Lihtininthesestreetlms oersinsihtfulvisionsintothereconurationsofurbanspace,theeect ofsociopoliticalandsocioeconomicp ofsociopoliticalandsocioeconomicpowerrelations owerrelations,andthe ,andthediscourse discourseon on thesenseofvisionfrom thesenseofvisionfromthelate1920s thelate1920stoearly1930s. toearly1930s.Inthismanner, Inthismanner,despite despite  beinproduced  beinproducedwithinS withinShochiku’ hochiku’scomm scommercialstratey ercialstratey,th ,these esetwolms twolmsininternallychallened,ordiversied,thedominantmodesoflmproduction thatcorrespondedtothecompany’ssloan,“BrihtandcheerfulShochiku cinema.” Chapter4isacompre Chapter4isacomprehens hensive ivediscou discourseanal rseanalysisoncine ysisoncinematic maticlihtin lihtin fromthelate1930sto1945.A“discursivehistoryofcinema”isproposedby thelmscholarAaronGerow. thelmscholarAaronGerow . Inhisproposal,Gero Inhisproposal,Gerowasksthese wasksthesequesquestions:“hospoke,andwithwhatauthorityhereorinwhatsocioeco W  W              W?  W?

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nomicconditionswascinematicdiscoursebeinspoken,andtowhomwas itdirectedhatrelationsofpowerwereimbricatedintherelationsbetweendiscourses?Whatwerestatementsbeingmadeagainst,andwhat  wastheirconcrete  was theirconcretepolitical politicalimport? import?What Whatwas wasassumedor assumedor leftunsaid left unsaidin in theseenunciations?Howweretheyarticulatingnotjustcinemabutalso thosewhomdiscoursewasspeakinofandthemodernculturetheyinhabited”Dealinwithmostofthesequestions,Ifocusonhowandwhythe aestheticsofshadow,aruablythemostsinicantmanifestationonlihtininJapanesecinema,emeredinthelate1930sto1940s.Intheseperiodswecanobserveanobviouschan odswecanobserveanobviouschaneintheappearan eintheappearanceofpopularlms, ceofpopularlms, mostnotablyinthestarvehiclesofHaseawaKauo(formerlyknownas HayashiChojiro) Hayashi Chojiro)produced producedat atthenewlyestablishedT thenewlyestablishedTohostudioandin ohostudioandinthe the criticismoncinematiclihtininlmmaaines. Inthem Inthemid-t id-tolate olate1930s, 1930s,Japanese Japaneseaest aesthetics heticswas waswidely widelydiscu discussed ssedinth inthee contextofJapaneseimperialistwareorts.eaestheticsofshadow,which appreciateddarknessinJapanesearchitectureandlandscapeinopposition toelectricityandbrightlightinginWesternculture,emergedwithinthis trend.Filmmakersandcriticsstartedtodiscussashifttorealismandthe integrationofa integrationofa documentary documentarystylein styleincinema cinematograp tography hy.. However However,, Iargue thattheemerenceoftheaestheticsofshadowwasinfactanembodiment ofanambivalentattitudetowardtechnoloiesofcinema.ItwasacomplicatedmixofadorationoftheHollywood- stylelow- keylightinganddespair aboutthelimitedmate aboutthelimitedmaterialconditionsinJ rialconditionsinJapan.Itw apan.Itwasanatte asanattempttojustify mpttojustify theconictinthenameofdocumentaryandJapaneseculturaltradition undercertainhistoricalandmaterialco undercertainhistoricalandmaterialconditions. nditions.Usinth Usinthelensoflihtin elensoflihtin andtechnology,IbringoutanewlightonthehistoricaldiscoursesonJapaneseaestheticsandthe neseaestheticsandtheinventionofJap inventionofJapanesecultural aneseculturaltradition. tradition. elmhist elmhistori orianAbé anAbéarkNo arkNorne rnesdes sdescri cribe besthe sthecontr contradi adicto ctory ryconconditionsinJapanesesocietyandcinemaofthisperiod.Ononehand,the “radualmilitariationoflmcultureisundeniable,”iventhatcinemais suchacapital- intensiveandcollaborativeformofart.Ontheotherhand, Nornes Nornessuests suests,“allthe ,“alltheway wayup upto to orldarII,onecan orldarII,onecanndplenty ndplentyof of  jay,colorful  jay,colorfuladvertiseme advertisementsfor ntsforHollywoodlmsnex Hollywoodlmsnextto ttodeadlyserious deadlyserious celebrationsofwarheroics[onthepagesoflmmagazines].Examined fromthisperspective,thisso- calleddarkvalleyinJapanesehistorywas alsoanexcitintimeforlmmakinthathadmoretodowiththethrillof modernitythanwiththewarinChina.”ediscursivetendencyofthe 12

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aestheticsofshadowwasmeanttosynthesietheseapparentlycontradictorytrends.eostensibleoalwastohihlyvaluetheJapanesespiritthat shouldberepresentedinJapaneseaesthetics.Yetthehiddenmotivebehind thatoalwasadesperatesearchfor thatoalwasadesperatesearchforwaysto waystoovercomematerial overcomematerialand andtechnotechnoloicallimitationsandtoaccomplishspectaclesthatwouldequalthelamourofHollywoodcinema—inadierentbutequallyrippinmanner.IfI useLaarre’sterms,thiswas“ useLaarre’sterms,thiswas“aformofcolonialambivalence,astructure aformofcolonialambivalence,astructure ofdisavowalanddisplacement,whichentailsarepeatin,reprisin,orredirectingo directingoW Westernhierarchi esternhierarchiesbasedon esbasedonwhit whitenes eness,sex s,sexappe appeal,andinal,andindustriousness.”Suchtermsas the attraction o blackness blacknessor beauty o darknesswereinventedandconceptualizedincloserelationtodocumentary andrealismtoconcealbutsimultaneouslyimplytheaspirationformore visibilityversus lamour.Comparedtothekey lamour.Comparedtothekeytermsofchapter1,whichare termsofchapter1,whichare  ,thoseinthischapterwouldbe ouldbe invisibilityequals expressivity. expressivity ,thoseinthischapterw Asacasestud Asacasestudyofsuc yofsuchanamb hanambiva ivalen lently tlydialo dialoicrel icrelati ations onship hipbetw between een HollywoodandJapan,Icloselyanalyetheworkofthecinematorapher Harryimura,aformercolleaueofthecinematorapherGreToland in Hollyw Hollywood ood.. I conduc conductt compar comparati ative ve analys analyses es of lms lms and and discou discourse rsess onlighting,notpresup onlighting,not presupposin posingg thebinarycontr thebinarycontrastsbetween astsbetweenW Westernand non- Western  Western cinema or the Hollywood dominant—because I believe itisimpossibletodistinguishthemclearlyinanyway—buttoexamine theconditionsofJapanesecinemathatwererifewithwhatGerowcalls “contradictions”and“crisscrossedbytransnationalvectors.” isbookcon isbookconclud cludeswit eswithanaute hanauteuristan uristanalysi alysis,but s,butwithalit withalittletwi tletwist.I st.I donotconcentrateontheworkofareatdirectorbutthatofacinematorapher,onewhoworkedwithsuchfamousdirectorsasKurosawaAkira, iouchiKenji,andOuYasujiro,whohavebeenreardedasauteursby criticsandhistorians.ischapterisachallenetotheentrenchedmodel ofthecanonizedauteur,ormasterdirector,especiallyprevalentinJapanese lmstudies.ostacademicworksonJapanes lmstudies.ostacademicworksonJapanesecinemahavefocusedon ecinemahavefocusedon eitherahistoricalsurveyofpopularlmsorcanonizedauteurdirectors. eassumptionofauteurtheoryisthatlmsdirectedbyaparticularauteur canbeanalyzedtouncoverrecurrentthemesandaestheticpatternsthat demonstratethecohesionofhisorhervisionoftheworld.isapproach isinsucienttoaddresslmmakin.hatismostlackininexistinacademicworksonJapaneselmsisaperspectivethatconsiderslmstobe theproductsofcollaborationthatexistbeyondauteurdirectors’authority.  W  W                W? W ?

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erearetechniciansbehindthecamerainadditiontothedirectors.Idiscussthelmsoffamousdirectorssuc cussthelmsoffamousdirectorssuchasKurosa hasKurosawa,iouchi,I wa,iouchi,Ichikawa chikawa Kon,andasumuraYasuo,butmyemphasisisnotupondiscoverinor rearminthecoherenceoftheirwork;rather,Iindicatethecollaborative natureofcinemaandthein natureofcinemaandtheindustrialstructurethatde dustrialstructurethatdenesit. nesit. efo e focu cusof sof this thisco conc nclu ludin dingcha gchapt pter eris ison onth thecon econi ict ctsand sandne nego gotia tia-tionsbetweenthetrendthatattemptedtonaturaliethediscourseofthe aesthe aesthetic ticss ofsha of shadow dowastheesse astheessenc nceof eof Japan Japanes esee cultur culturee tosuitth tosuit thee new new sociopoliticalandsocioeconomicendsofJapaninthepost– sociopoliticalandsocioeconom icendsofJapaninthepost–orlda orldarII rII periodandthelmmakerswhochallenedsuchatrendbycriticallyenaingwiththepracticeoflighting.eprotagonististhecinematographer iyaawaKauo,whoseworks,suchas Rashomon(Kurosawa,1950)and Ugetsu( Ugetsu monogatari ,iouchi,1953),continuouslyreceivedinter ,iouchi,1953),continuouslyreceivedinternationalprizes.Obviously,iyagawawasanactiveagencyininventingtraditionsandreimainintheaestheticsofshadowastheJapaneseaesthetic inthepostwarperiod. inthepostwarperiod.But Butatthesame atthesametime,iyaawa’ time,iyaawa’swork,especiallyits swork,especiallyits hyperbolicfocusonthecontrastsbetweenlihtandshadowandtheclarity ofimagesindeepfocus,wasnoteasilycontainedwithinsuchadiscourseof  Japanesebeauty  Japanesebeauty.Beinattentiv .Beinattentivetoboththe etoboththehistoryoflih historyoflihtintechniqu tintechniques es andtheinnovationoflightingtechnologyinandoutsideJapan,iyagawa’s cinematoraphydive cinematoraphydiversiedthem rsiedthemeaninofrealismi eaninofrealismincinema. ncinema.

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s

Introduction

 AlltranslationsofJapan  AlltranslationsofJapaneseboo esebooks,leaets, ks,leaets,andn andnewspaper ewspaperandmaga andmagazinearticles zinearticlesin inthis this  bookarebymeunlessotherwisenoted.IhavepreservedJapanesenameorder,which  bookarebymeunlessotherwisenoted.IhavepreservedJapanesenameorder ,which placesthefamilynamerst(e.g.,OnoShichiro),exceptforfamouspersonsandscholarsbasedintheUnitedStateswhoarecommonlyreferredtobytheirgivennamesrst (e.g.,SessueHayakawa).IdonotusemacronsforJapanesetransliteratedtexts.  Eiga ShomeiisajournalfortheJapanese 1.Y 1.Yoshin oshino, o,““ ‘Ineirai ‘Ineiraisan san’niyos ’niyoseteII, eteII,”15. ” 15.  Associationof FilmLightingTechnicians(NihonEiga FilmLightingTechnicians(NihonEigaShomeiGijutsusha ShomeiGijutsusha Kyokai). 2.G 2.Guerin rin,  A Culture of Light  ,xiii. 3.Taniz anizak aki,i,  In Praise of Shadows ,32–33.  ,32–33. 4.Mido 4.Midorikaw rikawa,“Ka a,“Kamerama meramanno nnoseik seikatsuto atsutokyoy kyoyo, o,”65. ”65. 5.Ota 5.OtaSa Sabur buro, o,“Ku “Kuro rono nogai gaika, ka,”1 ”102–3. 02–3. 6.Shimazaki, 6.Shimazaki,“Nihon “Nihonno noeigagi eigagijutsu jutsuhatten hattennihat nihatashita ashitaT TsuburayaEijin suburayaEijino oyakuwari,” yakuwari,” 38;Watanabe,  Eizo o horu ,60;Kawatani,  ,60; Kawatani,  Mato o kakenuketa ototko ,14–15,38–41.  ,14–15, 38–41.

ere are dieren dierentt version versionss of Makino Makino’’s words. words. Accordi According ng to some some source sources, s, “story”precedes“clarity.”AccordingtoJoanneBernardi,TakizawaOsamu,who knewMakinoShozopersonally,supportsthisversion(Bernardi, knewMakinoShozopersonally ,supportsthisversion(Bernardi, Writing in Light  , 301).ecinematographer 301).ecinematographerMoritaFujiocl MoritaFujioclaimsthatitwasorigin aimsthatitwasoriginally“cl ally“clarityrst” arityrst”  jidaigekisahodai3  butwaschangedto“storyrst”later(Morita,“Nihoneigano  butwaschangedto“storyrst”later (Morita,“Nihoneigano kai,”71).Evenifithadbeen“claritysecond,”thefactthatMakinoemphasizedthe importanceoflightingincinemastaysthesame. 7.Mizuta, 7.Mizuta,“Lumi “Luminous nousEnvi Environm ronment, ent,”342. ”342. 8.Ono,“ 8.Ono,“Sutanbaguotsuisekisuru, Sutanbaguotsuisekisuru,”44.F ”44.ForSternberg,thisvoyagetoJap orSternberg,thisvoyagetoJapanwasthe anwasthe rstlegofalonewestwardcruisetoAsiaafterhisheartbreakingexperiencesin Hollywood.eVienna-  bornlmmaker,whohad  bornlmmaker, whohadmadea madeastarof starof MarleneDietrichinHollywood,hadbeenredbyP richinHollywood,hadbeenredbyParamountafterbothcriticalandbo aramountafterbothcriticalandboxoce xoce failuresof e Scarlet Empress(1934)and e Devil Is a Woman(1935).elatter  becamethelastlmthatSternbergan  becamethelastlmthatSternbergandDietrichworked dDietrichworkedontogether(B ontogether(Baxter, axter, Von Sternberg  ,202–3).  , 202–3). Arguably,the Arguably, theexperience experience inJapan in Japanrevived revived Sternberg’sconSternberg’s con-

denceinhistheoryofcinema.EventhoughSternbergdidnottalkparticularly aboutJapanandlighting,henotedinoneinterviewhisrealizationafterthetrip: “Myideasaboutthecinemabecamemorepreciseinthelightofmyexperiences. Iwastiredofseeingstudiooppositiontoanycreativeideasofthecinéasteatthe dierentstagesofitsexpression.Whereasapainteruseshisbrushes,canvasand colors,followingonlythebentofhisimagination,thelmdirectorhastoconsider

othermenandhumanmateri othermenandhumanmaterial.After al.Afteratriparoundthe atriparoundtheworld,Iwanted world,Iwantedtowork towork accordingtocertainprinciples;forinstance,thatweshouldbeconcernedtocreateexpressiveeectsachieved ateexpressiveeectsachievedinliterature—and inliterature—andIhoped Ihopedtowo toworkwith rkwithmorefreemorefreedom”(Weinberg,  Josef von von Sternberg  ,125). 9.Stern ternbe berg rg,, Fun in a Chinese Laundry ,311–12. 10.MiuraMitsuo,“CameramannoCameramanhihyo,” 10.MiuraMitsuo,“CameramannoCameramanhihyo,”82;MiuraMitsuo,“Horiuddo 82;MiuraMitsuo,“Horiuddo

kara,”41. 11.T 11.Takii,“Mi akii,“Mitchell tchellNo Noisele iseless, ss,”79. ”79. 12.Ibid I bid.. 13.Hanse 13.Hansen,“V n,“Vernac ernacular ularModer Modernism, nism,”305. ”305. 14.eprevalen 14.eprevalenceofshadowsproduc ceofshadowsproducedby edbythenonmi thenonmimeticmisemeticmiseen-scèneandby en-scèneandby articiallightingwasrecognizedbysuchhistoriansandtheoristsasLotteEisner e Haunted andSiegfriedKracauerinadierenthistoricalcontext(seeEisner, Screen;Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler ).BothEisnerandKracauerseeshadow ).BothEisnerandKracauerseeshadow inthelmsoftheearlyGermanstudiosasavisualmetaphorforevilorforthe darkandthreateningforcesthatallegedlylurkedinthepreHitlerGermanpsyche orsoul.Mybookalsoregardsthecinemat orsoul.Mybookalsoregardsthecinematicshado icshadow’ssigni w’ssignicanc canceas“an‘o eas“an‘other’ ther’ realitythatmustbeperceivedforthesakeofexistentialsecurityorpsychicsta bility”andthensuggests  bility”and thensuggestsanotherfunctionofitas anotherfunctionofitasa“modernistnarrativedevice” a“modernistnarrativedevice” thatenablesacommunicative thatenablesacommunicativerelationshipbetween relationshipbetweenlmmaker lmmakerandviewer andviewerregardregarding“asimultaneityofmultiplenarrative,adiegeticcomplexity”(seeFranklin, “MetamorphosisofaMetaphor, “MetamorphosisofaMetaphor,”178–79).Y ”178–79).Yetthemajorfocusof etthemajorfocusofEisnerandKraEisnerandKracauerseemedtobethenarrational cauerseemedtobethenarrationalfunctionsofthe functionsofthecinematicshadow cinematicshadow,whether ,whetheras as ameansofmetaphororo ameansofmetaphororofcommunication. fcommunication.Whatabouttheli Whataboutthelightingtechnologies ghtingtechnologies andthepeoplewhodealtwithsuchtechnologiesbehindthecinematicshadowon thescreen?Howweresuchtechnologiesdiscussedinco thescreen?Howweresuchtechnologiesdiscussedincontemporarycriticism? ntemporarycriticism? modernity , modernism , and modernization , I 15.Regardi Regardingdeni ngdenitio tionsof nsof theterm the termss  Modernityis“thestate  basicallydrawonthelmhistorianAaronGerow’susage. modernismistheheterogeneousbutinterconofbeingnew”onthemateriallevel; nected“setofdiscourse nected“setofdiscoursesattempti sattemptingtoshapea ngtoshapea particular particularvisionof visionof modernity modernity,,” oftencharacterizedbyself- reexivityandrebellionagainstbourgeoisvalues;and modernizationisaprocess“inaeldofstrugglewheretherearenotonlyother competingmodernisms...butalsocomplextraversingforcesofpowerandhistoricalcontingencies”(Gerow, Visions of Japanese Modernity ,34–35). 16.Burch, Burch, To the Distant Observer  ,49;emphasisintheoriginal.  ,49;emphasisintheoriginal. 17.Ibid.;emph Ibid.;emphasis asisinth intheo eorigina riginal.l. 18. 18.Ibid., Ibid.,71 71–72. –72. 19.Takamura akamura,, Satsuei kantoku Takamura Kurataro ,386. 20.Itry 20.Itry nottosubscri notto subscribeto beto technologi technologicaldeterminis caldeterminism,no m,no matter matterhowsignican howsignicantt theimpactthatmaterialconditionshadupontheemergenceoftheaestheticsof

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shadow.Insteadmyfocusistocarefullydelineatethecompetingdiscoursesand practicesthatcinem practicesthatcinematogra atographers phersand andcritic criticswere sweresubje subjecttowhenfacingcertai cttowhenfacingcertainn materialconditions. 21.Gijutsu Gijutsushi shiIin Iinkai kai,“ ,“Y Yunyu unyu dai1 dai 1 gono kamera kamerawabakku wabakkusut sutaa ando ando rei,” 69–72; 69–72; TanakaJunichiro,  Nihon eiga hattatsu shi I  ,70. 22.Edamasa,“Nazewagakunini 22.Edamasa,“Nazewagakuniniyuryoeigaumarezaruka,”107.Edamasastarted yuryoeigaumarezaruka,”107.Edamasastarted his careerasacinematographerwhenY careerasacinematographerwhen YoshizawaShoten,oneoftheoldestlmcomoshizawaShoten,oneoftheoldestlmcompaniesinJapan,constructedtherstglassstageinJapan. 23.Bordwell,“VisualStyleinJapaneseC 23.Bordwell,“VisualStyleinJapaneseCinema,1925–1945, inema,1925–1945,”7,23. ”7,23. 24.Hansen,“V 24.Hansen,“VernacularModernism, ernacularModernism,”291. ”291. 25.Ibid.; 25.Ibid.;emph emphasis asisadded added.. 26.Haroo 26.Harootunian tunian,, Overcome by Modernity ,xvi–vii. 27.Ibid.,xvii,xxi;emphasisintheorigi 27.Ibid.,xvii,xxi;emphasisintheoriginal. nal. 28.Stuart 28.StuartHall Hall,“Enc ,“Encodin oding/Decodin g/Decoding,” g,”128–38. 128–38. 29.SeeM 29.SeeMayne, ayne, Cinema and Spectatorship ,92–93. 30.Singer Singer,,  Melodrama and Modernity ,91. SeealsoZhang, Seealso Zhang,  An Amorous History of the Silver Screen ,9. 31. 31.Burc Burch, h, To the Distant Observer  ,154. 32.LaMa 32.LaMarre, rre, Shadows on the Screen ,82. 33.Ibid., Ibid.,80. 80. 34.Ibid., 34.Ibid.,19. 19. 35.Ibid., Ibid.,83. 83. 36.Guerin Guerin,,  A Culture of Light  ,xviii,170. 37. 37.Gerow Gerow,, Visions of Japanese Modernity ,3. 38.Ibid., Ibid.,4. 4. Film ,xvii,xx. 39.Norne Nornes, s,  Japanese Documentary Film 40.Ibid., 40.Ibid.,xxi. xxi. 41.LaMarre, LaMarre, Shadows on the Screen ,14. 42.Gero 42.Gerow, w, Visions of Japanese Modernity ,13. 43.Norne Nornes, s,  Japanese Documentary Film ,xviii;  , xviii;Gerow, Gerow, Visions of Japanese Modernity , 3. 1. lighting and modernity

1.U 1.Ushihar shihara,“ a,“Kama Kamata tano nokor koro, o,”21. ” 21. 2.Sh 2.Shir irai aiSShige higeru, ru,  Kamera to jinsei ,25.  ,25. 3.Mi 3.Miura ura,,“Kis “Kisek eki,i,””42. 4.Otani 4.OtaniT Takejiro,“Sh akejiro,“Shochik ochikukinemasosetsu ukinemasosetsuni ni tsuite”[Onestablish tsuite”[OnestablishingShochi ingShochiku ku Shochiku shichijunen cinema], Engei Gaho ,May1920,quotedinTanakaJunichiro  ,May1920,quotedinTanakaJunichiro,, shi ,239.  ,239. 5.Quo 5.Quoted tedin inW Wakiya, akiya, Otani Takejiro engeki rokuju nen ,208.Otanialso  ,208.Otanialsomentionedthe mentionedthe numberofreelsthattheU.S.lmindustryexportedeverymonth(eightmillion) andtheamountofincometaxespaidbythosewhoengagedinthebusinessinLos  Angeles(6.4milliondollars).  Angeles(6.4milliondollars). 6.Quote 6.Quotedin dinHira Hirai,“ i,“Soko SokoNih Nihonei oneigasa gasatsuei tsueishi5, shi5,”47 ”47.. 7.T 7.Taguchi,“ aguchi,“Shoch ShochikuKi ikuKinema nemasorits soritsuhiw uhiwa(5), a(5),”95. ”95. 8.Bordw rdwell, ell, Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema ,19.

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 M isassociateprofessorintheDepartment ofEastAsianLanguagesandLiteraturesattheUniversityof Oregon.Heistheauthorof Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom ,alsopublishedbyDukeUniversityPress.  ,alsopublishedbyDukeUniversityPress.

LibraryofCongressCataloging- in-PublicationData iyao,Daisuke. eaestheticsofshadow:lightingandJapanesecinema/ Daisukeiyao. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. 978- 0-82230-8223-54075407-9(cloth:alk.paper) 9(cloth:alk.paper) 978- 0-82230-8223-54225422-2(pbk.:alk.paper) 2(pbk.:alk.paper) 1.Cinematography—Lighting. 2.Cinematographers—Japan. 3.otionpictureindustry—Japan—History. 4.Culturein motionpictures. I.Title. 1993.5.j3M562013 777.092—dc23 2012033713