Abstract
This paper examines the 1955 production of the Japanese film Floating Clouds [Ukigumo] based on the novel by Fumiko Hayashi and directed by Mikio Naruse, The paper focuses on the creativity of the adaptation process by Yoko Mizuki, the most recognized female screenwriter of the 1950s. The paper reviews her career as a dramatist and radio writer, emphasizing the fact that Mizuki and Hayashi travelled together to Southeast Asia as volunteer correspondents during WWII and alluding to their relationship and creative interactivity. Then, by comparing the script with plot manuscripts (“hako-gaki”) and by referring to private letters addressed to Mizuki, it aims to identify some of the idiosyncrasies of the adaptation process.
