Ballroom
- Place of Publication: Tokyo, Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Date of Publication: 1947
- Introduction by: Stella Li
Ballroom: Dansu zasshi [Ballroom: Dance magazine] consists of three issues published in Tokyo between January and August 1947: the inaugural issue (no. 1, January), a second issue (no. 2, April), and a special final issue (no. 3, August); each issue is some 30 pages long. The first issue was published by the Japan Amyūzumento Byurō [Japan Amusement Bureau]; from the second issue onward, the publication was handled by Bōrūmu-sha. The journal was edited by Hino Fujiyoshi 日野藤吉.
Ballroom focuses on the culture and activities of ballroom dance in Tokyo, providing reviews of dance halls, interviews with dance hostesses, and commentary on the city’s nightlife. Dance music is discussed within this context. Particularly notable is the journal’s abundance of monochrome portraits, caricatures, and photography depicting ballroom dance and dance halls in postwar Tokyo. Interviews and biographical sketches of dance hostesses document their everyday work experience in the dance hall and their personal reflections. Discussions of moral issues surrounding sex and crime appear frequently. In these cases, the journal often defends social dance as a legitimate form of entertainment, emphasizing the regulation of dance halls, the disciplines of dance hostesses, and the cultural value of ballroom dance.
Additional content includes dance diagrams, short stories, and discussion of popular women’s culture such as fashion and cosmetics.
A censorship record is attached to the first issue. A passage suggesting fraternization between U.S. soldiers and Japanese women was ordered to be deleted.
This RIPM Index was produced from copies of the journal held by the Gordon W. Prange Collection at the University of Maryland, College Park.