The Art of Censorship in Postwar Japan

The Art of Censorship in Postwar Japan

Hardback: $45.00

ISBN-13: 9780824835873

Published: July 2012

Additional Information

348 pages | 11 b&w images, 1 diagram

  • About the Book

  • In 2002 a manga (comic volume) was for the beginning time successfully charged with the criminal offense of obscenity in the Japanese courts. In The Art of Censorship Kirsten Cather traces how this example represents the near contempo in a long line of sensational landmark obscenity trials that accept dotted the history of postwar Nippon. The objects of these trials range from a highbrow literary translation of Lady Chatterley's Lover and modern adaptations and reprintings of Edo-catamenia pornographic literary "classics" by authors such every bit Nagai Kafu to soft core and hard cadre pornographic films, including a collection of all the same photographs and the script from Oshima Nagisa'due south In the Realm of the Senses, as well as adult manga. At pale in each case was the establishment of a new hierarchy for law and civilisation, determining, in other words, to what extent the constitutional guarantee of free expression would extend to art, artist, and audience.

    The piece of work draws on various sources, including trial transcripts and verdicts, literary and film theory, legal scholarship, and surrounding debates in artistic journals and the printing. Past combining a conscientious analysis of the legal cases with a detailed rendering of cultural, historical, and political contexts, Cather demonstrates how legal arguments are enmeshed in a broader web of cultural forces. She offers an original, interdisciplinary analysis that shows how art and police nurtured one another even as they clashed and demonstrates the dynamic relationship between culture and law, society and politics in postwar Nippon.

    The Art of Censorship volition appeal to those interested in literary and visual studies, censorship, and the recent field of bear on studies. Information technology volition as well notice a broad readership amid cultural historians of the postwar flow and fans of the works and genres discussed.

  • Near the Author(due south)

    • Kirsten Cather Fischer, Author

  • Reviews and Endorsements

    • "The Fine art of Censorship in Postwar Nihon is amid the about lucid and engaging cross-disciplinary projects to emerge from Japan studies in recent years. It will appeal to a broad readership both inside and exterior Nippon studies, in particular scholars of literature, visual culture, law, and the emerging field of affect studies. Kirsten Cather accomplishes this remarkable feat by combining close readings of aesthetic, literary, and visual texts; careful exegesis of courtroom cases and juridical documents; and detailed rendering of cultural, historical, and political contexts. The Fine art of Censorshipdemonstrates once and for all, without ever forcing the upshot, that culture and politics are inexorably intertwined. I can think of no other study in the Japanese example that does it so well." —Gregory Chiliad. Pflugfelder, Columbia Academy

      "In a series of deft analyses bristling with insights, Kirsten Cather surveys the trial records and some of the media responses for each of Japan'due south major obscenity cases between 1950 and 2007. This highly original work vividly presents the theoretical stakes for literature, film, photography, and manga in each of the trials. The writing is lucid and strong throughout, sophisticated but jargon-free and accessible to non-specialists." —Jordan Sand, Georgetown Academy
      "This book is definitely a page-turner. ... This is a must-assign volume for whatsoever course on modernistic Japan, visual arts and social club, or modern legal, social, or cultural history." –Republic of chad R. Diehl, Loyola University Maryland <p> "The book assembles an impressive cast of characters as defendants and witnesses: Ito Sei, Mishima Yukio, Nakamura Mitsuo, Nosaka Akiyuki, Oshima Nagisa, Yoshiyuki Jun'nosuke, Kanai Mieko, and Suzuki Seijun, amongst others. The accounts of their testimonies are of great interest, not least considering of what they reveal of the creative implications for writers and directors of the legal arguments and verdicts. Cather has fatigued fascinating insights that are of value both for the written report of Japanese cultural history, and for the written report of literature and other media more mostly." – Duncan Adam, <i>Nippon Review</i> 25 (2013) <p> "Cather has succeeded admirably in presenting the complication of an ongoing legal debate between censor and censored, as well as the social, political and cultural backdrop of her selected cases." –Mark Schilling, <i>Nippon Times</i> <p> "Kirsten Cather has written an important and carefully researched survey of Japan's major postwar obscenity trials involving literature and picture. <i>The Art of Censorship in Postwar Japan</i> frustrates our typical comfort by simultaneously celebrating subversive art and mocking efforts to regulate cultural expression. Cather leverages shut readings of argumentation by prosecution, defense force, witnesses, and judges at the trials themselves and succeeds in demonstrating that these events are far more than complex than we tend to presume." –Steven Ridgely, University of Wisconsin-Madison


      —https://www.uhawaiipress.com/p-8622-9780824835873.aspx

    • "The Art of Censorship in Postwar Nihon is among the most lucid and engaging cantankerous-disciplinary projects to emerge from Japan studies in recent years. Information technology will entreatment to a wide readership both inside and outside Japan studies, in particular scholars of literature, visual culture, law, and the emerging field of impact studies. Kirsten Cather accomplishes this remarkable feat by combining close readings of aesthetic, literary, and visual texts; careful exegesis of court cases and juridical documents; and detailed rendering of cultural, historical, and political contexts. The Art of Censorshipdemonstrates once and for all, without e'er forcing the issue, that culture and politics are inexorably intertwined. I can think of no other study in the Japanese instance that does it then well." —Gregory M. Pflugfelder, Columbia Academy

      "In a serial of deft analyses bristling with insights, Kirsten Cather surveys the trial records and some of the media responses for each of Japan's major obscenity cases between 1950 and 2007. This highly original work vividly presents the theoretical stakes for literature, motion picture, photography, and manga in each of the trials. The writing is lucid and strong throughout, sophisticated but jargon-free and accessible to not-specialists." —Jordan Sand, Georgetown Academy
      "This book is definitely a page-turner. ... This is a must-assign book for any course on modern Nihon, visual arts and society, or mod legal, social, or cultural history." –Chad R. Diehl, Loyola Academy Maryland <p> "The book assembles an impressive cast of characters as defendants and witnesses: Ito Sei, Mishima Yukio, Nakamura Mitsuo, Nosaka Akiyuki, Oshima Nagisa, Yoshiyuki Jun'nosuke, Kanai Mieko, and Suzuki Seijun, among others. The accounts of their testimonies are of peachy interest, not to the lowest degree because of what they reveal of the artistic implications for writers and directors of the legal arguments and verdicts. Cather has fatigued fascinating insights that are of value both for the study of Japanese cultural history, and for the report of literature and other media more generally." – Duncan Adam, <i>Nippon Review</i> 25 (2013) <p> "Cather has succeeded admirably in presenting the complexity of an ongoing legal fence between conscience and censored, as well as the social, political and cultural backdrop of her selected cases." –Mark Schilling, <i>Nippon Times</i> <p> "Kirsten Cather has written an important and carefully researched survey of Japan'southward major postwar obscenity trials involving literature and movie. <i>The Art of Censorship in Postwar Nihon</i> frustrates our typical condolement past simultaneously celebrating subversive art and mocking efforts to regulate cultural expression. Cather leverages close readings of argumentation by prosecution, defense, witnesses, and judges at the trials themselves and succeeds in demonstrating that these events are far more complex than we tend to assume." –Steven Ridgely, University of Wisconsin-Madison


      —https://www.uhawaiipress.com/p-8622-9780824835873.aspx
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