The Man Who Saved Kabuki: Faubion Bowers and Theatre Censorship in Occupied Japan

by Shiro, Okamoto; Leiter, Samuel L.

• ISBN13: 9780824823825
• ISBN10: 0824823826
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr

Summary

Faubion Bowers, who served as personal aide and interpreter to General Douglas MacArthur in Japan, was appalled by the Occupation's censorship policies aimed at eliminating all traces of feudal thought in Japanese media and entertainment, including kabuki. Bowers used his position in the Occupation administration and his knowledge of Japanese theatre in a tireless campaign to save kabuki. This lively and skillfully adapted translation from the original Japanese offers fascinating and little-known details about Occupation censorship politics and kabuki performance while providing yet another perspective on the history of an enduring Japanese art form.

Author Biography

Okamoto Shiro spent most of his career as a journalist for the Mainichi Shinbim and is now a freelance writer Samuel L. Leiter is head of the graduate program of the Department of Theatre, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and faculty member of the Ph.D. program, City University of New York

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction	vii
Author's Introduction	xv
Faubion Bowers and Japan, 1940-1945	1	(16)
Wartime Kabuki: Censorship on the Home Front	17	(13)
The Occupation Commences and the Actors Return	30	(13)
Kabuki Censorship Begins: The ``Terakoya'' Incident	43	(23)
How Faubion Bowers ``Saved'' Kabuki	66	(37)
Kabuki's Suffering Ends	103	(12)
Conclusion	115	(14)
Epilogue Letter from Kawatake Shigetoshi to Faubion Bowers	129	(2)
Appendix A Kabuki Chronology, 1940-1948	131	(24)
Appendix B Kabuki Plot Summaries	155	(26)
Notes	181	(12)
Selected Bibliography	193	(4)
Index	197