Open Talk: Naruse Mikio and the Image of “Shoes”: Exploring the Japanese Reception of the Bluebird Film Shoes
We welcome Dr. Yuki Irikura, An Assistant Professor at Waseda University, who will speak about film director Naruse Mikio’s early directorial works.
The year 2025 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of film director Naruse Mikio. He is Celebrated worldwide as one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers—alongside Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi—and renowned for his woman’s films. He joined the Shōchiku Kamata Studio in 1920 at the age of fifteen, starting out as a prop boy, spending many years as an assistant director, and finally making his long-awaited directorial debut in 1930. When watching his films from this period, one notices that “shoes” frequently appear as an image symbolizing the poverty of his characters.
In this lecture, we will focus on Naruse’s early directorial works. Where did this recurring motif of shoes and poverty originate? We will explore this question by examining the reception of Bluebird films in Japan, which were popular among Japanese audiences from the late 1910s to the early 1920s.
- Day & Time：December 19th, 2025 (Friday), 14:00-15:00
- Venue：Lab (2nd floor of WIHL)
- Language：Japanese
- Participation：Free
- Participants：Students, Faculty and Public
- Presented by the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, with support from the Waseda International House of Literature
Lecture
Yuki IRIKURA
An Assistant Professor (non-tenure-track) at Waseda University, Tokyo, and a Part-Time Lecturer at Tsuru University, Yamanashi. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Literature from Waseda University. During her doctoral studies, she conducted research at UCLA as a Yanai Initiative Visiting Graduate Researcher. Her research focuses on the silent film history and women’s film. Her major publications include “Brūbādo fotopureizu saikō: hikaku eigashi kenkyū to josei eno manazashi” (Ph.D. dissertation, Feb. 2024); “Saikō demo saiaku demonai watashitachi: amerika josei eigashi to A24” (Eureka, Jun. 2023); and “Shōchiku kamata satsueijo ni okeru josei no eiga seisaku eno sankaku: joyū ken kyakuhonka Matsui Chieko no katudō o tōshite” (Eizōgaku, Aug. 2022).
Facilitator
Yanai Initiative Committee Member: Sena KANEKO
Contact
Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities: [email protected]
