This volume addresses the historical development of Japanese cinema, and the confluence of traditional arts, sociopolitical trends, and Western technology. Previous studies of Japanese cinema concentrated on stylistic development, or on a particular era; but Standish (film studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, U. of London) discusses the subject in terms of modernity and the Shochiku Tokyo Studios, nationalism and empire, the state, humanism, transgression, and genres and gender. The book includes a select filmography and bibliography.