Molière au Japon. La force joyeuse d’une satire sans cesse actualisable

• Odile Dussud ^[1]
  1. [1] Waseda University

     Waseda University

     Japón

     
• Localización: Studi francesi, ISSN 0039-2944, Nº. 200, 2023, págs. 415-425
• Idioma: francés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • The reception of Molière in Japan is particularly interesting since, of the three great French playwrights of the 17th century, he was the one whose work was adapted, translated and performed the earliest and the most widely all over Japan. He also had a decisive influence on the evolution of Japanese comic theatre, allowing the introduction of the new genre of “comedy”. Without going into details, I will try to give a chronological overview of the translations and performances of his plays from their introduction in Japan all the way to the present day.

    In Japan, Molière appears both singular and malleable enough to have met the public’s new expectations almost without interruption. Thus, the stages of his reception correspond roughly, it seems to me, to the history of the country’s socio-political changes. It was adapted and adopted by modern popular theatre during the fast-paced modernization of the Meiji Restoration. Then, was used as a tool for protest against capitalism and the militaristic regime of the 1930’s, to then switch to take on the stature of a globally respected French classic in the post-war period. Since the bursting of the economic bubble in the 90’s, Molière’s comedies have been performed and adapted on a wide variety of stages, being as energizing as ever in these times of recession and global crises, with its joyful and wholesome funny, piquant satire and acute observation of society.