Madama Butterfly: Western Art, Cultural Mobility, and the Construction of Asian Identity from an Orientalist Perspective

Abstract

The Italian opera Madama Butterfly, which was created in the early 20th century, is one of the representative works of Western art that integrates Eastern elements. This paper examines the evolution of Madama Butterfly in its global dissemination and explores how power dynamics within a colonial context have shaped Western perceptions of Japan and its cultural hierarchy. It focuses on the shaping, dissemination and reproduction of the image of Asian women in Western art works, revealing how they have been symbolized and commodified, gradually solidifying into stereotypes of submission, sacrifice, and tragedy to align with Western aesthetic and cultural expectations. At the same time, it explores how Madama Butterfly has been reinterpreted in different historical stages, especially in the context of the awakening of Asian cultural subject consciousness, how Japan and other Asian countries reflect on and challenge the image of the East created by the West through reinterpretation and adaptation. The study reveals that the dissemination of Madama Butterfly not only reflects Western cultural hegemony in shaping Asian identities but also underscores the dynamic nature of cultural exchange. In the process of globalization, Asian nations are increasingly transitioning from passive recipients to active cultural agents, driving the reconstruction and critique of Orientalist narratives.