KJCKorea
Journal Central

This article aims at investigating <Chunhyangjeon> made by both Japanese and Korean people in early 1940s when Japan intensified imperialistic aggression in Asia and the Pacific, and addressing the political context of these performances. ‘Musicial <Chunhyangjeon(春香傳)>’ was performed at Seoul in 1940, and <Chunhyangyojeon(春香女傳)> at Tokyo in 1941. The former was performed by the abroad performance group including Takarazuka Kageki Dan(宝塚歌劇團) and the latter was performed as one of plays called ‘Toho National Theater’(東寶 國民劇) produced by Toho Company(株式會社東京宝塚劇場). The Takarazuka Kageki Dan and Toho Company performed military propaganda plays choosing the traditional stories of colonized countries and making the relation between Japan and colonized countries intimate. And The Takarazuka played several overseas performances in Europe, America, and Manchuria from 1938 to 1945. ‘Chunhyangjeon’ performances made by Japanese people were one of military propaganda plays. The culture organizations of Japan and colonized countries were restructured to connect each other in early 1940s. Japan companies might be connected to Korean companies which were inspired to make similar plays. Korean theater company named Gohyeop(고협) performed <Chunhyangjeon> throughout 1940 in the Peninsular and Manchuria. And in 1941, Korean film company called Peninsula Film Company(반도영화사) released <Spring of the Peninsula(半島の春)> based on the process making film ‘Chunhyangjeon’. The boom of <Chunhyangjeon> performance was a representative case which showed how Japan’s military propaganda plays performed in early 1940s. We can characterize military propaganda plays through the case. First, those plays were popular theaters played by an hybrid form using western music and dance. Second, those represented many Asian countries by adapting the traditional stories of the colonized countries. Third, those were played in colonized countries outside of Japan with the government’s support and functioned effectively to make cultural assimilation between Japan and the colonized countries increased.

<Chunhyangjeon>, Doho(東寶), Gohyeop(고협), National Theater(國民劇)), <Spring of the Peninsula(半島の春)>, Takarazuka Kageki Dan(宝塚歌劇團)