Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies



Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies

open access | peer reviewed

Aims & Scope
The series Ca' Foscari Japanese Studies, strong in the tradition well-established at the Dipartimento di Studi sull’Asia e sull’Africa Mediterranea, aims to be an international benchmark for the studies on Japan. It collects publications of high scientific rigor aimed at documenting the most original and theoretically advanced developments in this field, ranging from classicism to modernity. Its highly multidisciplinary vocation results in a production structured in four thematic areas: Arts and Literature; History and Society; Religion and Thought; Linguistic and Language Education.

Permalink doi.org | e-ISSN 2610-9395 | ISSN 2610-8976 | Language en, it | ANCE E233745

Subseries
Linguistics and Language Education e-ISSN 2724-2285 ISSN 2724-1203
Arts and Literature e-ISSN 2610-9425 ISSN 2610-8992
History and Society e-ISSN 2610-9409 ISSN 2610-8984
Religion and Thought e-ISSN 2610-9417 ISSN 2610-900X

Copyright This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Latest published volume

Latest book publication cover
  • Tangible Images
  • Reading and Writing Classical Japanese Cinema
  • Lauri Kitsnik
  • Oct. 20, 2024

  • Japanese cinema has commonly been studied through the contributions of major directors and actors, its various genres, and, more recently, by audience engagement. This monograph adopts an alternative viewpoint, focusing on the significant yet overlooked role of scriptwriters in the filmmaking process and in the popular imagination during the peak of the studio system between the 1930s and 1960s. Simultaneously, it examines the role and function of a new type of readership, equipped with specific intermedial skills, facilitated by the wide and continuous availability of film scenarios. The monograph is structured into three main parts. The first part provides an analysis of the evolution of the textual format of the Japanese film scenario, emphasising the transformative period that coincided with the advent of sound cinema and tracing the development of the standard master-scene script. It also outlines the field of scenario publishing and demonstrates how the serialisation of film scripts in various periodicals, and their subsequent anthologising, functioned as a site for canon formation. An examination of the standardised use of the manuscript paper (genkō yōshi) in scriptwriting traces the implications arising from its medium specificity as a hybrid modern writing device. The second part shifts the focus to the act of reading scripts and discusses the concerted efforts of the Shinario bungaku undō (Scenario Literature Movement) to establish the scenario as a distinct entity within the literary field. It delineates several topics that emerged in course of the debate, including the scenario’s autonomous status, its role in inviting new talent from outside the industry, and its archival capacity for film preservation. It also examines the unique faculties and skills required from readers of the scenario form, and discusses various examples and functions of readership, including film criticism by Itami Mansaku. The final part is dedicated to exploring the social and spatial conditions of scriptwriting. It highlights how the perceived critical status and privileged writing environment have projected a particular image of the writers and their creative processes. A discussion of the collaborative writing space, as exemplified by the jōyado (regular inn), is further complicated by the introduction of gender in scriptwriting and contributions of several female writers. Finally, an examination of script scouting practises that characterise Japanese scriptwriting, and Mizuki Yōko’s work in particular, addresses the extent of scriptwriter’s agency and authorial status. In conclusion, this book provides a multi-faceted exploration of the role of scriptwriters in Japanese cinema, highlighting their significant contributions and the complexities of their craft. As such, this study offers a fresh perspective on some of the reasons behind the international success of Japanese film since the 1950s, arguing for a more nuanced understanding that fully acknowledges the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the diversity of audience reception through cinema’s textual means.

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  • Urban Shamans
  • Silvia Rivadossi
  • May 14, 2020
  • 468 download 1537 search
  • Contemporary Japan
  • Paolo Calvetti, Marcella Mariotti
  • July 25, 2015