Law and literature: the Japanese legal
system as seen through literary sources

Giorgio Fabio COLOMBO
Professor, Graduate School of Law

Introduction
Most of you probably read books for fun
Many of you probably do not study law
The purpose of this lecture is to make you understand thatyou can learn a lot about law from novels, manga, movies,etc.

Recent Developments
In recent years studies in Law and Humanities havedeveloped immensely● While at the beginning the focus was on «literature», now
we have analyses based on «pop» sources as well(Asimow; Mader, 2013)●

Law and Literature

PETER GOODRICH.(1996)
Law in the Courts of Love: Literature and Other Minor Jurisprudences,
London : Routledge

Richard A Ponsner.(2009）
Law and Literature Third Edition,Cambridge, Mass. ,Massachusetts : Harvard University Press

Kieran Dolin. (2012)
A Critical Introduction to Law and Literature,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Law and Humanities

Source: Cardozo School of Law (https://cardozo.yu.edu/), 2020.

Law and...
Michael Asimow. & Shannon Mader.(2013）
Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book, 2nd Edition (Politics, Media, and Popular Culture),
Pieterlen and Bern: Peter Lang Inc.

Richard K. Sherwin（2000）
When Law Goes Pop: The Vanishing Line between Law and Popular Culture
University of Chicago Press

Anthony Chase.(2002)
Movies on Trial: The Legal System on the Silver Screen.
New York:The New Press

Law and Popular Culture

https://www.visualpersuasionproject.com/law_and_popular_culture/popular_culture_and_law/

Born in the USA
Academic Experiments● Law and Society●Anglo-American DominanceWestern Legal Tradition● Literature written in English● So far, little attention to other cultures●○Language barriers○Role of law in society (Common Law/Civil Law)

Intersections of Law and Culture, 2012

Priska Gisler ＆ Sara Steinert Borella .&C. Wiedmer .(2012）
Intersections of Law and Culture . Palgrave Macmillan UK«The issue is even more acutenow, when we are still in the
habit of paying homage to theAnglo-American roots of law andliterature [...] the traditional
strands of law and literature arereiterated, disregarding thespecificity of our different legal
systems and cultures» (Gakeer,2012)

Law in Literature – functions and roles●Social and artistic perceptions about law○External but attentive. Not strictly technical○Representation of social needs – advocacy for a change○

How the law was conceived/how it is perceived○Collective imagination

Law in Literature – Japanese «Context»

Japanese Law in Japanese Literature● Japanese Law in non-Japanese Literature●

Methodological Tools
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Is the author a lawyer? Do they have legal expertise?
Is the author contemporary to the plot?
Is the author Japanese?
How is law used in the story?
How do the characters/readers feel about law?

Chūshingura● Law v. Justice○«Unjust justice» (Dolin)● Law of the nobles● Imagination● Emotional connection
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/
Wataya_Kibei_-_Kanadehon_chushingura_-_Walters_95496.jpg

Sakura Sōgorō
● Law v. Justice● Procedural issues● Law of the commoners● Censorship● Admonishment to power

https://ja.ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00592254_001_

Hanshichi torimonochō● Transition between Edo andMeiji● Perception and legitimacy of«authority»● Essential phase in legal
modernization

Okamoto Kidō ; Ian MacDonald, translator.(2007).
The curious casebook of Inspector Hanshichi : detective stories of old Edo .
Honolulu : University of Hawaiʿi Press

Madama Butterfly● How foreigners looked atJapan● «Flexible» Law

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madama_Butterfly

Akuma no deshi● Author: Prosecutor● A description of Japanese

Law by a Japanese jurist● Limits of the legal system indelivery justice● Problem with confessions

Shiro Hamao ; J.Keith Vincent, translator.(2011).
The Devil's Disciple (Hesperus Worldwide). London: Hesperus Press

Tokyo Year Zero
● An American writing about

Japan in a different time
● Historical research● Based on true events● Law during the Occupation

David Peace. (2008). Tokyo Year Zero (Tokyo Trilogy 1). London: Faber & Faber

Kasha● The author is not a lawyer but

did incredibly good research● Law and social issues● Unique features of Japaneselaw (e.g. koseki)

Miyuki Miyabe . (1999). All She Was Worth . Boston: Mariner Books

Dansu Dansu Dansu● The author is not a lawyer● Law plays a marginal role inthe plot
● Popular perception of someissues in Japanese law(police interrogation)

Haruki Murakami. (2002). Dance Dance Dance . New York: VintageNipponia Nippon● Literature as Law● The legislative text becomespart of the novel● Nationality from a legal andidentitarian point of view

Kazushige Abe. (2001). Nipponia Nippon .Tokyo: Shinchosha

An● Law and social perception

about (discriminated)minorities● Changes in legislation andsociety

Durian Sukegawa ; Alison Watts, translator. (2017).
Sweet Bean Paste . London: Oneworld Publications

Law and Society in Japan●«Bringing the Law closer to the people» (2001Reform)○JuryLaw School (Hōka daigakuin)● Growing interest in popular culture○Film/TV Series
Figure removed due to copyright restrictions“The Third Murder ”（Hirokazu Koreeda , Shinichi Ogawa, Fuji Television
Network, Inc, Toho, GAGA, 2017, Japan)

Figure removed due to copyright restrictions“I JUST DIDN’T DO IT ”
(Masayuki Suo, Chihiro Kameyama , Fuji Television
Network, Inc, Toho, 2006, Japan)“Figure removed due to copyright restrictions““Tokyo Trial” (international co-production TV drama series)”(NHK(Japan)/ Netherlands/Canada co-production, 2016)

Entertainment

Figure removed due to copyright restrictions“Gyoretsunodekiruhouritsusoudanjo ”
Nippon Television Network Corporation

Videogames

Figure removed due to copyright restrictions“Ace Attorney5 ”(Capcom, 2013, for Nintendo 3DS)

Figure removed due to copyright restrictions“Ace Attorney -Gyakutennnosupottoraito -”(Capcom, ADK Holdings Inc., 2013, Japan)

Academia?

Ashley Pearson, Thomas Giddens , Kieran Tranter.(2018).
Law and Justice in Japanese Popular Culture:
From Crime Fighting Robots to Duelling Pocket Monsters .
London, Routledge

Conclusions●Fascinating area of research

But not just fascinating (divertissement)● Need to study more○

Reception studies● Interdisciplinariety○○

Comparative Law and Comparative Literatureご清聴ありがとうございました
colombo@law.nagoya-u.ac.jp

https://nagoya-u.academia.edu/GiorgioFabioColombo

For CREDIT students only: REPORT questions● Why it is useful to use literary sources to study the legal system?
● Why were ghost stories used as a form of social criticism during the Edo
period?
● Were you already familiar with one or more of the literary works referred toduring the lecture? If yes, which one? Did the lecture change your perspective
on such work?