Yoichi Nakagawa and Discussions on War Guilt : The Movie Adaptation of Ten-no Yugao and Its Contemporary Criticism

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  • 中河與一と戦争責任 : 映画「天の夕顔」を起点として
  • ナカガワ ヨイチ ト センソウ セキニン : エイガ 「 テン ノ ユウガオ 」 オ キテン ト シテ

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Abstract

Novelist Nakagawa Yoichi (1897－1994) published his most popular novel, Ten-no Yugao [A Moonflower in Heaven], in 1938, during the Japanese-Chinese War. The novel was a great success, and its popularity lasted even after World War II ended in 1945. Ten-no Yugao was adapted to film in 1948 and became a box-office hit. The film featured Mieko Takamine, a big star who belonged to the Shochiku Co., Ltd. film company, and was directed by Yutaka Abe, a master director at the time. Whilst this film achieved commercial success, it was severely criticized by reviewers mainly because Nakagawa was purged from public service by the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces (GHQ) after World War II. Nakagawa was accused of having advocated totalitarianism and praised the war. This paper discusses the purge of Nakagawa after World War II, referring to discussions on his war guilt from the period.

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