From Book to Screen: Modern Japanese Literature in Films: Modern Japanese Literature in Films

Of all the world's cinemas, Japan's is perhaps unique in its closeness to the nation's literature, past and contemporary. The Western world became aware of this when Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice film festival in 1951 and the Oscar for best foreign film in 1952. More recent examples include Shohei Imamura's Eel, which won the Palm d'Or (Best Picture) at Cannes in 1997. From Book to Screen breaks new ground by exploring important connections between Japan's modern literary tradition and its national cinema. The first part offers an historical and cultural overview of the working relationship that developed between pure literature and film. It deals with three important periods in which filmmakers relied most heavily on literary works for enriching and developing cinematic art. The second part gives detailed analyses of a dozen literary works and their screen adaptions. The works included, all highly regarded in the worlds of literature and film, are excellent materials for cross-study. For example, Ooka's Lady Musashino and Mizoguchi's film adaptation both address adultery as a topic of great concern in postwar Japan, but each in a different way. Tuson's Broken Commandment and Ichikaa's film version investigate a difficult social issue, the plight of the outcast; here again, writer and director have a unique approach and interpretation.