A Study of Hybridity and Orientalism in American Japonism Literature

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Japonism a Western aesthetic infatuation with Japan, is generally considered to be a phenomenon of EuroAmerican. My research was started with a prospect for the further development of a study of Japonism. The focus was on a Japanese play, The Darling of the Gods. The Darling of the Gods was produced in 1902 by David Belasco in collaboration with John Luther Long. In its first season, it ran 186 performances, whereas Madame Butterfly ran only 24 performances. The story of The Darling of the Gods depends much on popular writings and plays concerning Japan in those days. I assumed that it gained an immediate success because it borrowed stereotypical images and ideas on Japan from other popular texts. In order to examine this, I researched the details of the performances and other Japonism novels and dramas at the turn of the century in the libraries in the USA and UK. I read a paper on The Darling of the Gods in Japan Comparative Literary Society in 2006. Then in 2008, I read a revised version of the paper written in English in the international conference in Hawaii. I also published an article on The Japonisme Journal. My research of The Darling of the Gods also developed into my study of Yoshio Markino, a Japanese artist who lived in the UK. I also examined Japonism in African American literature and tried to show a connection between Japosnism and African Americans.Through my research, I wanted to show Japonism not only the form of Orientalism but also the form of cultural hybridity.