Skip to content

The Surprising Popularity Of Alice In Wonderland In Japan

I was recently listening to Dev Game Club, a podcast I’ve mentioned before, where they were discussing Kingdom Hearts, a game that I recall playing extensively during my childhood. While a lot of their discussion was quite fascinating to hear, I was particularly fascinated by their confusion over the first three Disney worlds you travel to. Considering the game came out in 2002, Tarzan (1999) and Hercules (1997) make sense but they were confused by the presence of Alice in Wonderland (1951) as one of the first worlds. One of them brought up the possibility that Disney’s Alice in Wonderland might be more popular in Japan than in the West. Thinking back, I do recall seeing numerous references to Alice in Wonderland in Japanese media. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the surprising popularity of Alice in Wonderland in Japan.

First off, let’s discuss the release of the original novel in Japan. I’ve found conflicting information on when the first Japanese edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was released with one source stating that it was first released in 1899 while another states that it was 1910. Regardless of when it was first released, it has continued to see numerous Japanese translations over the years.

A Japanese edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

With regards to Disney’s animated adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, I’ve been unable to find any concrete information about how it performed in Japan as well as its reception. Supposedly, the film was released in Japan in 1953. However, it’s worth noting that the live-action Tim Burton remake of Alice in Wonderland was very successful in Japan with a box office gross of over $133 million, being the second largest market for the film behind the US. It’s also worth noting that its much less successful sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass, also proved to be quite popular in Japan, being the third largest market behind the US and China.

Beyond that, the story of Alice in Wonderland has been adapted and referenced in numerous Japanese media. Beyond more obvious adaptations like Pandora Hearts, Alice in Borderland as well as the 1980s anime adaptation named Fushigi no Kuni no Alice, numerous manga and anime series also make references to Alice in Wonderland such as episodes of Black Butler, Ouran High School Host Club and Code Geass all making reference to the story and characters. It’s also worth noting that these references can sometimes be minor such as all of the villains of Project ARMS being named after Alice in Wonderland characters and having a character in Serial Experiments Lain, a series whose premise involves characters going into cyberspace, be named Alice.

A shot of the Ouran High School Host Club cast dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland.

So the question becomes why has Alice in Wonderland connected so strongly with Japan? Something that I see brought up again and again are comparisons between the denizens of Wonderland and yokai, spirits/monsters that can be friendly, actively harmful or simply mischievous. It’s certainly not difficult to imagine the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar or The March Hare as being one of these entities and it’s possible that Alice in Wonderland managed to unwittingly tap into this aspect of Japanese mythology. However, this alone would not explain Japan’s fascination with Alice in Wonderland and it’s also been theorised that displays of English culture along with the cute aesthetic may also prove attractive to a Japanese audience.

Japan’s interest in Alice in Wonderland really fascinates me and has allowed me to reexamine some Japanese media in a new light. Let me know your thoughts on the surprising popularity of Alice in Wonderland in Japan, what Japanese media you’ve noticed Alice in Wonderland references in, why you think Alice in Wonderland proved to be popular in Japan, whether you know anything about the release and reception of the 1951 Disney animated film in Japan and any additional information you might have on the topic.

Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!

Leave a Reply