沈 池娟

My research focuses on Japanese modern drama of the Meiji and Taisho periods, when Japan was actively receptive to Western culture. Specifically, I am interested in exploring themes of perceptions of gender and social and cultural context surrounding the production and translation of western plays in Japan.

My PhD research at the University of Tokyo focuses on three basic themes revolving on actress Matsui Sumako's performances in Western plays directed by Shimamura Hogetsu. Firstly, at the level of the text, I analyze the relationship of modern Japanese drama to its social and cultural context and the influence that context exerts on characters, in particular on the image of women characters. Secondly, at the level of the performance, I consider how women are portrayed in modern Japanese drama that feature Japanese actresses, where social circumstances of the performer, reflected in her performance, influence perceptions of the woman character. Thirdly, I explore the audience's perception of the performance, which is affected by social conditions of the time, as well as of the woman character, which is shaped by the performance by the Japanese actress.

Most modern Japanese drama imported from the West was translated and adapted; in the process, the Japanese made this drama their own. I am interested in how Western drama was transformed by this process, and in the connection to a similar cultural flow from Japan to Korea. When Korea was under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), its modern drama was influenced by drama in Japan; this relationship, and the identity in the colonial period of the Korean "shinpa play"(literally meaning "new school"), were the subjects of my M.A. studies in South Korea. My current research in Japan is thus connected to Korea and Europe, as well as to Japan.