{"id":34428,"date":"2025-11-24T17:04:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T08:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/?p=34428"},"modified":"2025-11-27T15:39:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T06:39:28","slug":"%e3%80%90%e6%9c%83%e6%b4%a5%e5%85%ab%e4%b8%80%e8%a8%98%e5%bf%b5%e5%8d%9a%e7%89%a9%e9%a4%a8%e3%80%91%e5%af%8c%e5%b2%a1%e3%82%b3%e3%83%ac%e3%82%af%e3%82%b7%e3%83%a7%e3%83%b3%e5%b1%95-%e8%bf%91-2-2-2-1-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/news-en\/2025\/11\/24\/34428\/","title":{"rendered":"\u3010Yanai Initiative\u3011Open Talk “Naruse Mikio and the Image of \u201cShoes\u201d: Exploring the Japanese Reception of the Bluebird Film Shoes” (December 19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open Talk: Naruse Mikio and the Image of \u201cShoes\u201d: Exploring the Japanese Reception of the Bluebird Film Shoes<\/em><\/h3>\n

We welcome Dr. Yuki Irikura, An Assistant Professor at Waseda University, who will speak about film director Naruse Mikio\u2019s early directorial works.<\/p>\n

The year 2025 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of film director Naruse Mikio. He is Celebrated worldwide as one of Japan\u2019s greatest filmmakers\u2014alongside Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi\u2014and renowned for his woman\u2019s films. He joined the Sh\u014dchiku 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 \u201cshoes\u201d frequently appear as an image symbolizing the poverty of his characters.
\nIn this lecture, we will focus on Naruse\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n