ABSTRACT
I have argued that cartoons and vaudeville dialogue occupy a place at the periphery of common culture in Japan and criticize the all-pervading middle-class smugness of the era of economic prosperity from their particular vantage point. I have discussed why Japanese comic strips, which began as an imitation of their U.S. counterpart, deviated from the U.S. pattern and developed into an art form which can voice resentment and criticism, and suggested that picture-card showmanship and the lending libraries were a crucial influence. I turn now to mainstream common culture, as represented by the Great River Drama on television.
