Digital Commons Network^™

This introduction to a special issue entitled  "Decentering Theory: Reconsidering the History of Japanese Film Theory" considers the problems in how film theory has been conceived, and the potentials and problems in examining the rich history of Japanese film theory. I call the "theory complex" a constellation of complexities in which not only foreign but also Japanese scholars ignore Japanese film theory, and in which Japanese thinkers experience a difficulty in terming their work theory.