Contextualising The Mikado

Stephan Seiler

The playwright and composer

William Schwenk Gilbert made a huge contribution to making the Savoy operas what they are. He directed the first productions and often contributed towards the costume and set designs. He was knighted in 1907.
Arthur Sullivan besides contributing witty operatic parodies and melodies to the Savoy operas, he wrote numerous songs, a grand opera and many more. He was the conductor of the Leeds Festival for almost 20 years and a friend of Royalty. He was knighted in 1883.

The action of the play is set in a little Japanese town called Titipu. This is a small suburban town with pretensions of grandeur. It is so small that the title of Lord High Everything Else is given to just one man. We know that Titipu is a made up Japanese place because of the names such as Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum. Gilbert and Sullivan gave the characters these names because of the Japanese stereotype of that time. Not a lot was known about the Japanese, so such names were made up. The only actual Japanese element of the play is the Mikado, because that is the title of the Emperor of Japan.
The play does not have to be set in any specific period. It could be set in the 1880s, the time when it was written. It could also be set in the modern world. Of course, the people putting on the play would have to adapt to the modern Japanese culture that is very high in scientific technology.
Personally, I would set the operetta in 1880s Japan; this is because the humour and the actions of the play are still funny, and the comedy would still appear to a modern audience.
The operetta would appeal to a 1880s audience because of the full range of characters of different social classes, just like the audience. This is because all classes were invited to see the play, but the people who were more upper class got the better seats. The lower class citizens got the standing positions.

The society of the piece ranges from the Emperor of Japan, the Mikado, the highest of status, to Ko-Ko, who is previously a cheap tailor, and in the play he is given the title of Lord Executioner

In the 1880s, Victoria was queen. During the Victorian time period the Industrial Revolution boomed Britain. This made technology more advanced (for that time.) Electricity was more and more in use and more things were invented to use its full potential such as lights for the stage.
The Meiji Era begins in Japan in 1867, which ...

The society of the piece ranges from the Emperor of Japan, the Mikado, the highest of status, to Ko-Ko, who is previously a cheap tailor, and in the play he is given the title of Lord Executioner

In the 1880s, Victoria was queen. During the Victorian time period the Industrial Revolution boomed Britain. This made technology more advanced (for that time.) Electricity was more and more in use and more things were invented to use its full potential such as lights for the stage.
The Meiji Era begins in Japan in 1867, which makes Japanese culture more easily available to Western Europe and increases the West's cultural influence in Japan.
The reason why the Mikado was so successful was that, in the 1880s, the Japanese culture was almost unheard of, which is why people wanted to know more about it. Because of the Japanese exhibition in Knightsbridge, Victorians could get a taster to what Japanese culture is like, and The Mikado, gives the Victorian an idea on what Japan was like as well even if it was very different in reality.
But in the Mikado, most elements are stereotypical jokes to what Japan is really like. Gilbert and Sullivan tried to match the operetta to what the Japanese culture is really like but did not succeed 100% because of the names and the language,

“Miya Sama Miya Sama”

Queen Victoria held the title as Empress. She was in fact empress of India. This was a comparison to the Mikado. Therefore, all the jokes are about the British. They are simply dressed in Japanese costume and setting.
The Mikado productions have angered certain people from the start of its staging. In 1885, a Japanese ambassador to England objected that the piece made a mockery of his ruler. The British government banned The Mikado performances for six weeks in 1907, fearing that the play might offend the Crown Prince Fushimi on his state visit. But in fact, the operetta satirized Britain, not Japan.
Gilbert could have used Japan to criticize England, projecting his country’s faults onto a distant land and people (Japan). I think the Mikado skewers the corruption of British government. It also attacks annoying habits of the English masses, such as singing badly and dyeing hair unconvincingly. An argument is that Britain was not that corrupt at that time. This Operetta is a comedy, so Britain isn’t put down too badly.
The reason for setting the operetta in Japan was the fashion. Japanese culture was highly fashionable. Even though the insults seem like they are aimed for the Japanese, they aren’t. Gilbert and Sullivan were more interested in so called Japanophilia, than anti – Japan.