1999 Volume 37 Pages 385-406
Late in February 1863 a play called Switzerland in Japan was performed on a temporary open-air stage in the city Schwyz in Switzerland, which happened to be the first instance of the traditional performances called “the Play of the Japanese” (die Japanesenspiele). It was a kind of Fastnachtspiel (carnival play) and was not necessarily meant to be a friendly sign to Japan but, rather, a criticism to the then ongoing attempt to establish the treaty between Switzerland and the Japanese Edo Government. But it started the tradition of “the Play of the Japanese”. Its basic structure consists of the following facts: (1) the town of Schwyz is called Yeddo (Edo), (2) people of Schwyz are called Japanese, (3) on the temporary stage a play by the court poet of Japan is performed in front of the Japanese Emperor and Emperess. This paper is the result of the investigation on the tradition of this unique play.
