Abstract
Kominhokokai (皇民奉公會, the institution in charge of the formation of imperial subjects) established a committee for entertainment affairs in 1941, right before the outbreak of the Pacific War. The committee aimed at setting up wartime models of ”sound and healthy entertainments,” and initiated the reformation of glove puppetry. Native puppet theater performances, having nearly vanished under the suppression of Kominka (皇民化, formation of imperial subjects) movement, then got a new lease on life. This essay examines the whole story of this reformation through its context of theater history, lays emphasis on its leader Huang Deshi, a Taiwanese intellectual and a prominent native-culture advocate at that time, and looks into his promotion, concession and participation of glove puppetry revival, as well as his main concerns in the process of reformation. The author argues that, while Huang successfully fulfilled his mission designated by the colonial government to transform Taiwanese glove puppetry, such success symbolizes far more than an incorporation of a representative of native-culture advocates and the glove puppetry into the imperial wartime mobilization. In fact, the reformation also provided an important opportunity for glove puppeteers to maintain and develop their skills and creativity after the suppression of Kominka movement. Furthermore, the influence of modernization accompanied Kominka movement along the process of glove puppetry reformation, opening a door for crucial aesthetic innovations of postwar glove puppetry. Finally, Huang proposed a Taiwan-centered view of glove puppetry history in his articles on glove puppetry published during the reformation process, pioneering the research of Taiwanese glove puppetry.