A Japanese Story: The Domestication of Thermae Romae

Abstract

The 2012 Japanese movie Thermae Romae looks at the story of Lucius, an ancient Roman bath architect who through twists of fate time travelled to modern Japan on multiple occasions. Inspired by the bath technology of the modern Japanese people, Lucius would build many innovative bathhouses in ancient Rome, and his bath-building would eventually rope him into the political intrigue between Ceionius and Antoninus Pius, possible heirs of Hadrian. Thermae Romae is a peculiar case of Classical reception, as it was produced and found success in the Japanese society, where Classics is relatively unfamiliar to the general public. This paper discusses the incorporation of ancient Rome in the movie from the perspective of Domestication, and argues that the success of the movie can be attributed to its Japanisation of ancient Roman elements, which catered to the emotional and social needs of the Japanese society at the time of its release.