Re-imagining Shakespeare in Contemporary Japan: A Selection of Japanese Theatrical Adaptations of Shakespeare

Description

An anthology of three exciting Japanese adaptations of Shakespeare that engage with issues such as changing family values, racial diversity, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and terrorism, together with a contextualizing introduction. The anthology makes contemporary Japanese adaptations of Shakespeare by three independent theatre companies available to a wider English language audience. The three texts are concerned with the social issues Japan faces today and Japan's perception of its cultural history. This unique collection is thus both a valuable resource for the fields of Shakespeare and adaptation studies as well as for a better understanding of contemporary Japanese theatre.

Tetsuhito Motoyama is Professor at Waseda University (Tokyo) in the Faculty of Law. Publications on Shakespeare and adaptation include co-authored with Kaoru Edo, 'Strange Oeillades No More: The Three Daughters of Lear from the Tokyo Shakespeare Company's "Shakespeare through the Looking-Glass"', Shakespeare 9 no.4 (2013); and co-edited with Hiromi Fuyuki The Text Made Visible: Shakespeare on the Page, Stage, and Screen (2011). Rosalind Fielding is a translator and researcher. Publications include 'Riots, Cherry Blossoms and Wheelchairs: The Performance Politics of Saitama Gold Theater' in Performance Research 24 no.3 (2019) and a chapter in Shakespeare in East Asian Education: Schools, Universities and Theatre Education in Hong Kong, China, Japan and Korea (Palgrave). Fumiaki Konno is Senior Assistant Professor at Meiji University (Tokyo) in the Faculty of Commerce. Publications on Shakespeare and adaptation include co-authored with Tetsuhito Motoyama, 'The Shakespeare Company Japan and Regional Self-fashioning' in Bard Bites, edited by Kristin Bezio and Anthony Russell (forthcoming); "King Richard II (1857) and Chronicles," The Bulletin of Arts and Sciences, Meiji University 533 (2018); and 'Charles Kean's Edition of Henry VIII: A Study of Its Base Text', The Bulletin of Arts and Sciences, Meiji University 524 (2017).

The vibrancy of contemporary Japanese theatre is nowhere more evident than in this collection of three plays, all related to Shakespeare, whose texts now serve as a ubiquitous "data base" for Japanese dramatists seeking new creative possibilities, from homage to burlesque. King Lear, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, here brilliantly expanded and transposed, appear in eloquent translations, accompanied by superlative background essays and interviews. A delight for readers or potential performers. * J. Thomas Rimer, University of Pittsburgh, USA * The history of Shakespeare in Japan is one of the most unique, idiosyncratic and interesting branches of 'global Shakespeare'. Hitherto scholars have focused mainly on Japanese translation, cultural reception and performance. This book takes the discipline to the next level, providing translated examples of free adaptations, together with substantial critical explication and contextualisation. An invaluable resource for the expanding study of a fascinating cultural field. * Graham Holderness, writer and critic *