Description

Book Synopsis
Go beyond Kurosawa and discover an up-to-date and rigorous examination of historical and modern Japanese cinema InA Companion to Japanese Cinema, distinguished cinematic researcher David Desser deliversinsightfulnew material ona fascinating subject, ranging from the introduction and exploration of under-appreciated directors, like Uchida Tomu and Yoshimura Kozaburo, to an appreciation of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema from the point of view of little-known stars and genres of the 1950s. ThisCompanionincludes new resources that deal in-depthwith the issue of gender in Japanese cinema, including a sustained analysis of Kawase Naomi, arguably the most important female director in Japanese film history. Readers will appreciate the astute material on the connections and relationships that tie together Japanese television and cinema, with implications for understanding the modern state of Japanese film.TheCompanionconcludes with a discussion of the Japanese media's response to the 3/11ear

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors viii

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction 1
David Desser

Section 1 History, Ideology, Aesthetics 25

1 Kyoto – The “Hollywood of Japan” 27
Diane Wei Lewis

2 The Pure Film Movement and Modern Japanese Film Style 49
Laura Lee

3 Shiraito Redux: Text, Body, Desire from Kyoka to Mizoguchi 67
Ayako Saito

4 The Adventures of Uchida Tomu 90
Daisuke Miyao

5 Yoshimura Kozaburo and the Working Woman in the Old Capital 106
Alexander Jacoby

6 Calico-World in Rainbow Colors: The Aesthetics of Gender in 1950s Toei Jidaigeki 130
Junko Yamazaki Copyrighted Material

7 Silverscreen Dreamboats and the Polyvocal Address 149
Earl Jackson

8 Mad, Bad, and Beautiful: Revisiting Kurosawa’s Women 174
Dolores P. Martinez

9 Biographies of Loss: The Cinematic Melancholy of Kawase Naomi 193
Erin Schoneveld

10 Shaping the Anime Industry: Second Generation Pioneers and the Emergence of the Studio System 215
Laura Montero-Plata and Marie Pruvost-Delaspre

11 Shapeshifting in Anime: Form and Meaning 247
Richard J. Leskosky

Section 2 The Old and the New 269

12 Ainu in Documentary Films: Promiscuous Iconography and the Absent Image 271
Marcos P. Centeno-Martín

13 Modernity in Film Exhibition: The Rise of Modern Movie Theaters in Tokyo, 1920s–1930s 294
Chie Niita

14 Female Stardom and National Identity in Postwar Japan 316
Jennifer Coates

15 Wild, Sexy, and Funny: Toei Does “Pink” 334
Laura Treglia

16 Behind the Voice that Brought Peace: The Emperor as Hero in The Emperor in August 352
Griseldis Kirsch

17 Queer Time in Summer Vacation 1999 369
Nina Cornyetz

18 Horror Old and New: Nakata Hideo’s Ringu (1998) between J-Horror and Hibakusha Cinema 382
Olga V. Solovieva

19 Youth, Trauma, and Contemporary Japanese Cinema 401
Jay McRoy

20 “Female Director”: Discourses and Practices in Contemporary Japan 421
Alejandra Armendáriz-Hernández and Irene González-López

21 The Dying Art of Japanese Cinema 446
Kirsten Cather

Section 3 Intermediality 469

22 Before Media Mix: The Electric Ecology 471
Alexander Zahlten

23 Gosho and the Gagman: Scriptwriting at the Time of the Talkie Crisis 493
Lauri Kitsnik

24 Inventing Television through Film: Japanese Cinema and TV, 1953–1963 510
Aaron Gerow

25 ’Scope and the City: Reframing a Modern Metropolis 529
Jasper Sharp

26 Bodies in Motion: Japanese Film of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Era between Mass Culture, Media, and Memory 547
Ryan Cook

27 Adaptation as Cinematic Translation: Murakami Haruki and Ichikawa Jun’s Tony Takitani 568
Mika Ko

28 Blockbusters in Japan: Hit Film Culture and the Rise of Fuji Television as Commercial Film Studio 591
Rayna Denison

29 Hani Susumu, Nouvelle Vague in Japan and Processive Cinema 612
Takuya Tsunoda

30 The Cultural Turn in Post-3.11 Documentary: Kamanaka Hitomi’s Accented Documentary 639
Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano

Index 658

A Companion to Japanese Cinema

    Product form

    £134.06

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £148.95 – you save £14.89 (9%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Thu 2 Jul 2026.

    A Hardback by David Desser

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of A Companion to Japanese Cinema by David Desser

      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: 04/03/2022
      ISBN13: 9781118955321, 978-1118955321
      ISBN10: 1118955323

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Go beyond Kurosawa and discover an up-to-date and rigorous examination of historical and modern Japanese cinema InA Companion to Japanese Cinema, distinguished cinematic researcher David Desser deliversinsightfulnew material ona fascinating subject, ranging from the introduction and exploration of under-appreciated directors, like Uchida Tomu and Yoshimura Kozaburo, to an appreciation of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema from the point of view of little-known stars and genres of the 1950s. ThisCompanionincludes new resources that deal in-depthwith the issue of gender in Japanese cinema, including a sustained analysis of Kawase Naomi, arguably the most important female director in Japanese film history. Readers will appreciate the astute material on the connections and relationships that tie together Japanese television and cinema, with implications for understanding the modern state of Japanese film.TheCompanionconcludes with a discussion of the Japanese media's response to the 3/11ear

      Table of Contents

      Notes on Contributors viii

      Acknowledgements xv

      Introduction 1
      David Desser

      Section 1 History, Ideology, Aesthetics 25

      1 Kyoto – The “Hollywood of Japan” 27
      Diane Wei Lewis

      2 The Pure Film Movement and Modern Japanese Film Style 49
      Laura Lee

      3 Shiraito Redux: Text, Body, Desire from Kyoka to Mizoguchi 67
      Ayako Saito

      4 The Adventures of Uchida Tomu 90
      Daisuke Miyao

      5 Yoshimura Kozaburo and the Working Woman in the Old Capital 106
      Alexander Jacoby

      6 Calico-World in Rainbow Colors: The Aesthetics of Gender in 1950s Toei Jidaigeki 130
      Junko Yamazaki Copyrighted Material

      7 Silverscreen Dreamboats and the Polyvocal Address 149
      Earl Jackson

      8 Mad, Bad, and Beautiful: Revisiting Kurosawa’s Women 174
      Dolores P. Martinez

      9 Biographies of Loss: The Cinematic Melancholy of Kawase Naomi 193
      Erin Schoneveld

      10 Shaping the Anime Industry: Second Generation Pioneers and the Emergence of the Studio System 215
      Laura Montero-Plata and Marie Pruvost-Delaspre

      11 Shapeshifting in Anime: Form and Meaning 247
      Richard J. Leskosky

      Section 2 The Old and the New 269

      12 Ainu in Documentary Films: Promiscuous Iconography and the Absent Image 271
      Marcos P. Centeno-Martín

      13 Modernity in Film Exhibition: The Rise of Modern Movie Theaters in Tokyo, 1920s–1930s 294
      Chie Niita

      14 Female Stardom and National Identity in Postwar Japan 316
      Jennifer Coates

      15 Wild, Sexy, and Funny: Toei Does “Pink” 334
      Laura Treglia

      16 Behind the Voice that Brought Peace: The Emperor as Hero in The Emperor in August 352
      Griseldis Kirsch

      17 Queer Time in Summer Vacation 1999 369
      Nina Cornyetz

      18 Horror Old and New: Nakata Hideo’s Ringu (1998) between J-Horror and Hibakusha Cinema 382
      Olga V. Solovieva

      19 Youth, Trauma, and Contemporary Japanese Cinema 401
      Jay McRoy

      20 “Female Director”: Discourses and Practices in Contemporary Japan 421
      Alejandra Armendáriz-Hernández and Irene González-López

      21 The Dying Art of Japanese Cinema 446
      Kirsten Cather

      Section 3 Intermediality 469

      22 Before Media Mix: The Electric Ecology 471
      Alexander Zahlten

      23 Gosho and the Gagman: Scriptwriting at the Time of the Talkie Crisis 493
      Lauri Kitsnik

      24 Inventing Television through Film: Japanese Cinema and TV, 1953–1963 510
      Aaron Gerow

      25 ’Scope and the City: Reframing a Modern Metropolis 529
      Jasper Sharp

      26 Bodies in Motion: Japanese Film of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Era between Mass Culture, Media, and Memory 547
      Ryan Cook

      27 Adaptation as Cinematic Translation: Murakami Haruki and Ichikawa Jun’s Tony Takitani 568
      Mika Ko

      28 Blockbusters in Japan: Hit Film Culture and the Rise of Fuji Television as Commercial Film Studio 591
      Rayna Denison

      29 Hani Susumu, Nouvelle Vague in Japan and Processive Cinema 612
      Takuya Tsunoda

      30 The Cultural Turn in Post-3.11 Documentary: Kamanaka Hitomi’s Accented Documentary 639
      Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano

      Index 658

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account