<論文>演劇をめぐるファシズム期イタリアの文化政策 --宝塚少女歌劇団の第一回欧州公演(1938年)を通じて

Abstract

On November 2, 1938, the cameras of the Italian Educational Film Federation [L'Unione Cinematographica Educativa] captured 30 Japanese women on film. These young women seen tripping down the ramp of ocean liner Yasukuni Maru, moored in the port of Naples, belonged to the Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan. They had arrived in Europe after a month's sea voyage to perform in Germany and Italy as "goodwill arts ambassadors, " commemorating the first anniversary of the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact by Germany, Italy, and Japan. In the ensuing three months, the troupe put on 34 performances in over 25 European cities, including a last-minute show in Warsaw. This European tour, carried out shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, is almost always cited in any research on Takarazuka's history. Papers have also been written focusing on the German segment of the tour or discussing the tour from the viewpoint of Japanese foreign cultural machinations. With regards to the Italian tour, Tatsuji Iwabuchi, in his writing, touches upon the political background of the troupe's Italian premiere in Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia), but goes little further than to mention the newspaper reviews of the Milanese show and Mussolini's comments on the performance in Rome. Therefore, this paper seeks to bring to light details of the tour's hitherto relatively unknown Italian segment by reexamining the diaries, notes, and letters of those involved with the Takarazuka troupe. In addition, it aims to discuss this specific example in light of fascist Italy's cultural policy over theater, which is not well known in Japan. In the first section, I review the details related to Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan's Italian tour, such as the scheduling process, officials on the Italian side, tour routes, ticket prices, and means of promoting the performances. In the second section, I focus on the point that newspaper and newsreel publicity for Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan promise the same kind of spectacle for which Carro di Tespi Lirico, a travelling musical theater troupe promoted by Dopolavoro, was famous. In the third section, I examine another Dopolavolo theater project, Filodrammatica, and analyze common features between this group and Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan. It was 80 years ago that the Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan appeared in Europe for its first-ever overseas performance. At that time, Japan was preparing to host the Tokyo Olympic Games and the World Exposition to commemorate 2600 years of imperial rule. Development of international-standard tourist hotels and resort areas to attract foreign tourists, and thus acquire foreign currency, was being promoted, and foreign cultural policy to accurately convey Japanese culture was being advanced. With such overlaps with present-day Japan, perhaps we may find new meaning in revisiting the experience of Takarazuka Shojo Kagekidan, sent out from Japanese society to connect to Europe.