Use of Dance to Spread Propaganda during the Sino-Japanese War

This study examines how the Japanese used dance to spread propaganda during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1940s. It focuses on three dancers: Choe Seung-hui, Tsai Jui-yueh, and Lee Tsia-oe. All three were natives of either Korea or Taiwan, which were occupied by the Japanese. Both in Japan and in Japanese-occupied portions of China, Japanese dance companies entertained the Japanese army and artisans working in munitions factories. Colonized Taiwanese and Korean dancers participated in these dance companies, giving them a means of passing on their own ethnic cultures, even though they were performing on behalf of the Japanese empire. After the war, these dancers helped to popularize modern dance in their respective countries. However, during the political transitions of the Korean War and the White Terror in Taiwan, some dancers’ activity was suppressed because of their prior cooperation with Japanese imperialism.