Word and Image in Japanese Cinema

This volume examines the dynamic between temporal linguistic narrative and the spatiality of visual spectacle.

Word and Image in Japanese Cinema examines the dynamic between the temporal order of linguistic narrative and the spatiality of visual spectacle, clarifying the cultural imperatives that Japanese cinema reflects. The essays in this volume are also aimed at the understanding and critical reception of Japanese cinema in the West.Word and Image in Japanese Cinema examines the complex relationship between the temporal order of linguistic narrative and the spatiality of visual spectacle, a dynamic that has played an important role in much of Japanese film. The tension between the controlling order of words and the liberating fragmentation of images has been an important force that has shaped modern culture in Japan and that has also determined the evolution of its cinema. In exploring the rift between word and image, the essays in this volume clarify the cultural imperatives that Japanese cinema reflects, as well as the ways in which the dialectic of word and image has informed the understanding and critical reception of Japanese cinema in the West.