本文主要以現代舞於日本的萌發與演進為主軸，企圖呈現一個異於歐美現代舞發展模式 的歷程所產生之藝術形式，並兼論其中的意涵及其對台灣早期現代舞歷史的影響。參照曼寧 （Manning 2006[1993]）與博特 (Burt 1998)等人對於歐美現代舞研究的觀點與分析方法，筆 者以日本近代歷史為脈絡，耙梳日本在與歐、美文化接觸的過程中，所引發的重要哲學、政 治與文化思潮，以及十九世紀下半期起快速擴張的國家主義，對日本現代舞發展之影響，藉 此推論現代舞在日本所形成的內涵、意義與表現技術，所反映出全球化下的獨特現代性。 筆者議論，現代舞雖被認為是以身體自由與追求自我為其藝術法門，然而這樣的論點乃 是建立在一個以歐洲現代化歷史中個人主體性逐漸揭露的前提下。這篇文章從日本近代化的 歷史進程為背景，說明日本近代化與歐美最大不同之處，在於前者不是由個人主導，而是由 上往下，以獨立國家而非個人現代性為終極目的。這樣的啟蒙造成日本思潮與憲政中矛盾的 權利觀，也使得真正的自由主義在日本過去的社會成為一個不完滿的理想。由文學家所倡導 的新劇和新舞踊運動，則強調了自我探求，為日本獨特現代性經驗中的「新」（newness）注入了實質的內涵。特別是大正時期的民主與自由、開放，以及有限但流通的全球化網絡，促進了日本現代舞先驅實驗與創新。然而昭和年代以來持續擴張的軍國主義征伐，卻將日本社會推向特定意識型態，而對舞蹈的藝術創作產生壓抑與衝擊，從二次世界大戰時石井漠等人的慰問巡演來看，身為日本國民與身為日本現代的舞踊家，是一個糾葛的現實。筆者也將省思，在全球現代化與國家主義的激盪下，日本的「新舞踊」性格，對於台灣早期現代舞萌發的意義所在。

This paper is intended to present the development of Japanese modern dance as a differentiated mode from other Western modern societies. The differentiation is due to the philosophical, political and cultural adaptation and resistance, embraced under the framework of ‘nationalism,’ that Japan had undergone during contacts with European countries, mainly German, under the trend of globalization before the middle 20th century. The author adopts Manning’s (2006[1993]) and Burt’s (1998) viewpoints and analytic approaches to explore the unique Japanese modernity and its essential imprint on modern dance in Japan and Taiwan, as the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. Through the diachronic exploration of the process of Japanese modernization and the resistance/modification to it, the author argues that, unlike the European history, the Japanese modernity was intrigued by a strong nationalistic rationale, which often caused the conflict between the right of individual and the right of the nation. Although the struggle could be negotiated by the epistemology of human existence, such as the Japanese notion of ningen, it blurred rather than clarifying the essence of modern dance in the nationalistic Japan pre- 1945. As a whole, the newly formulated performances such as shinbuyō ,‘new dance,’ modern dance, as well as the comforting dance undertaken during the reign of military-nationalism, reflected this complicated mixture of Japanese modernity in dance, which allowed liberation and power both choreographed in the same dancing body.