Paper short abstract

This presentation examines "Temptation on Glamour Island" (1959) by Yuzo Kawashima as a layered adaptation. Based on a play by Tadasu Iizawa, the film incorporates the Anatahan Incident and Josef von Sternberg’s work, and this presentation analyzes the process of that adaptation.

Paper long abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to examine the layered process of adaptation in “Temptation on Glamour Island” (1959), directed by Yuzo Kawashima. The film is an adaptation of “Yashi to Onna,” a stage play written by Tadasu Iizawa and first performed in 1956. Both works are rooted in the so-called Anatahan Incident, a real historical event that occurred on Anatahan Island in the Northern Mariana Islands, then under the Japanese mandate system. From 1945 to 1950, one woman and thirty-two men lived together on the isolated island until their rescue, a situation that attracted significant attention in postwar Japan.

The Anatahan Incident also inspired Josef von Sternberg’s film “Anatahan” (1953). Iizawa’s play and Kawashima’s film were thus created through the mediation of both the historical incident and Sternberg’s cinematic representation. In this sense, “Temptation on Glamour Island” can be understood as the product of a layered adaptation process encompassing the real event, Sternberg’s film, Iizawa’s theatrical work, and Kawashima’s cinematic reinterpretation.

Previous studies of “Temptation on Glamour Island” have largely emphasized its political aspects. In particular, Yoshinobu Tsunoo’s analysis compares the film with Iizawa’s play and identifies the repeated depiction of “meaningless death” as a defining feature of Kawashima’s adaptation. Tsunoo further argues that the politically meaningful satire of postwar society articulated in the original play—critiques of the imperial system and the postwar order—was largely abandoned in the film version. While this study provides an important account of the transformation from play to film, it does not fully address the broader adaptation process involving the historical context of the Anatahan Incident and the film’s relationship to Sternberg’s “Anatahan.”

This presentation addresses that gap by placing “Temptation on Glamour Island” at the center of analysis while moving between the Anatahan Incident, Sternberg’s “Anatahan,” and Iizawa’s “Yashi to Onna.” Through this comparative approach, it clarifies how representations shift across media and historical contexts. By also considering Kawashima’s retrospective assessment of the film as a thematically fragmented work, the presentation situates this analysis within discussions of Kawashima’s authorship, reassessing both the political significance and the limitations of “Temptation on Glamour Island.”