The Tale of King Kuroshima (Kuroshima-o monogatari) at the 2022 Uchinaa shibai appreciation workshop.
(Photo provided by National Theatre Okinawa)

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Developments in Japan and Overseas

A Retrospective on the Fiftieth Anniversary of
Okinawa’s Reversion to JapanThe Rich World of Uchinaa Shibai, a Theatre
Reflecting Okinawa’s Turbulent History
Uchinaa shibai (in Japanese, Okinawa shibai) is a form of drama that arose
among the Okinawan people after the Ryukyu Kingdom was dissolved andperforming arts previously seen only at court spread into the public realm.
Rooted in traditional culture but exploring familiar, resonant themes,
Uchinaa shibai became hugely popular, and many masterpieces were
written in the two genres of hogen serifu geki and Ryukyu kageki, or “dialect
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theatre” and “Ryukyu lyric drama,” respectively. However, particularlyaround the time of the Second World War, Okinawa was placed in highly
straitened circumstances, and Uchinaa shibai was not shielded from theeffects of Japanese and US politics in turn.
Nevertheless, Uchinaa shibai overcame these great challenges tosurvive to the present day. Although it has often been overshadowed inpublic attention by the other traditional Ryukyuan performing arts, on theoccasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, let us
explore the history and nature of this theatre of the people.

〈History〉

The Birth and Evolution of Uchinaa Shibai,
a Theatre for the People
Hosoi Naoko

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Uchinaa shibai is a form of popular theatre born of the dissolution of the
Ryukyu Kingdom in the late 1870s. Based on traditional culture and using
Okinawan language and music, it was created by the people of Okinawa as “ourtheatre.” Despite coming perilously close to disappearing during Okinawa’s
modern history, it remains beloved today. On the occasion of the fiftiethanniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, this retrospective outlines thehistory of Uchinaa shibai.

Okinawa’s Traditional Culture
The traditional culture of Okinawa is
the intangible culture of the age of the
Ryukyu Kingdom, created mainly as atool of Ryukyu court diplomacy andrefined and developed over centuries.
North Hall of Shuri Castle (prewar), where the
Ryukyu court received emissaries.
(Photo provided by Naha City Museum of History)

The Ryukyu Kingdom maintained
relations with both China and Japan.

Emissaries

from

China,

known as sakuhoshi, werewelcomed
manceswith

perfor-calledukanshinudui (Ja. okansen odori).
Ukanshinudui

includedkumi udui (Ja. kumi odori),

Detail from Emissary Procession (Sakuhoshi gyoretsu no zu)
showing chief emissary and vice-emissary.
(Collection of Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum)a form of theatre combining
song, dialogue, and dance;
buyo, classical dance; anduzagaku, chamber music of
the Chinese Ming and Qing
dynasties. With respect toJapan—specifically,thedaimyo of the Satsuma

Detail from Ryukyuan Dance and Music Scroll(Ryukyujin bugaku omakimono) showing uchi kumi udui.
(Collection of Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum)

Domain—meals served as

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tribute were accompaniedby To udui (Ja. To odori),faithful copies of Chinese
plays performed in Chinese,
as well as buyo and uzagaku.
The performers of this

Detail from Ryukyuan Dance and Music, With Folk Dances(Ryukyujin bugaku narabi ni odori no zu) showing music being
performed (Collection of Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art
Museum)period were Ryukyu nobles
who learned these arts as needed. There were no professionals dedicated solely toperformance.

The Dawn of Public Performance and Theatrical Venues
In mainland Japan, the traditional domains were replaced by prefectures in 1871,
but things proceeded differently in the Ryukyu Kingdom. First, in 1872, thekingdom was redesignated the “Ryukyu Domain,” although the Ryukyu court
was preserved. Then in 1879, the Ryukyu Domain was abolished and Okinawa
Prefecture established in its place. The policies pursued by Japan with respect to
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the Ryukyus between 1872 and 1879 arecollectively called the “Disposition of the
Ryukyus” (Ryukyu shobun). Part of thisprocess was the dissolution of the Ryukyu
court, stripping the nobility who served
there of their vocations. To udui was lostalong with the court, but some of theformer nobles trained in the performanceof ukanshin udui eked out a living by continuing to perform in secret at restaurants
and similar venues. They also taught thesearts to other former nobles. In 1882,

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Request from the Nakamo Theatre to stage
a play (1897). Due to claims that theatre
corrupted public morals, permission was
required to stage public entertainments. (Photoprovided by Naha City Museum of History)

Okinawa was brought into step with theJapanese mainland by the promulgation ofstrict regulations on public performancesof dramatic works. At the time, however,public performance itself had yet to be established in Okinawa, which led to an
unusual situation in which it was born and developed within a preexisting regulatory framework.
By 1883, “kamajii theatres” had made their appearance. Kamajii werestraw bags used to hold rice and other dry goods, and enterprising producers
used these as makeshift walls to enclose performance spaces. Located near
Shian Bridge in Naha, these kamajii theatres were crude, roofless performancevenues charging minimal entrance fees. They were also where the performing
arts of the Ryukyu court were revealed to the common people for the first time
and the inception of public performance in Okinawa. In the 1890s, more permanent theatres began to appear. The first solid, tile-roofed theatre was the
Nakamo Theatre in Naha, which was built on land reclaimed from the Kumoji
River in 1891.

Popularization and the Formation of Uchinaa Shibai
Although the performing arts of Okinawa had begun as tools of Ryukyu courtdiplomacy predating the Ryukyu Disposition, finding a new audience in thecommon people led to a process of gradual popularization. In the field of dance,
the first generation of performers—those who had learned directly from the original performers of ukanshin udui—revolutionized the art, creating dances thattook up themes from everyday life, as well as group dances. These became known
collectively as zo udui (Ja. zo odori).
The popularization of kumi udui was driven by the second generation of performers. Broadly speaking, two approaches were pursued. The first was to retain
the existing character of kumi udui—its dialogue, lyrics, and choreographic gestures—while changing the key themes from “loyalty” or “obedience” to stories
about parents and children or relationships between lovers. This approach would
eventually produce Ryukyu kageki, “Ryukyu lyric theatre,” one of the major
genres of Uchinaa shibai.
The other approach was to perform in a realistic style using colloquial language, which was not an element of traditional kumi udui. This approach resulted
in hogen serifu geki, “dialect theatre,” another major genre of Uchinaa shibai,

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which directly incorporated new elements inspired by the political plays calledsoshi shibai then arriving in Okinawa from the Japanese mainland as well as the
Shinpa (“New School”) plays and kabuki that Okinawan performers saw inmainland Japan and Taiwan.
Of these two approaches, Ryukyu lyric drama may seem easier for performers to experiment with, since it used the existing elements of kumi udui. In fact,
however, dialect theatre was the first to emerge.

The Dialect Drama BoomThe first play to arrive in Okinawa from the Japanese mainland is said to havebeen a soshi shibai play staged in 1896. Soshi shibai were based on new politicalbeliefs like the Liberty and People’s Rights movement, combining verbal elucidation of these philosophies with bodily action to create a form of theatre. The
actors were amateurs and their technique crude, but their works had a certain
realism and rough-hewn power. The realistic effects involving fake blood and therapidly changing programs came as a shock to the audiences of the day, as can be
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seen in contemporary newspaper accounts and memoirs by performers. With
their colloquial dialogue and realistic performance style, soshi shibai demonstrated for the people of Okinawa a type of theatre that was utterly different fromkumu udui and classical dance.
From around 1898, dialect theatre gradually rose in popularity while kumi
udui and classical dance began to disappear from theatrical programs. In 1903,
an organization called the Kogekikai (“Theatre Appreciation Society”) was
founded by performers with the stated goal of improving the quality of theatricalprograms and the social standing of the performing fraternity. Members of the
Kogekikai took turns visiting the Japanese mainland and Taiwan, bringing backplays to perform in Okinawa. The Kogekikai played a critical role, with Uema
Seihin, in particular, mirroring the efforts of mainland figures striving to create
a new theatre by introducing mainland plays without any adaptations for
Okinawan audiences.
Uema’s Okinawa-za theatre competed with the Kyuyo-za, which was run
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by the three Tokashiki brothers, Shugi, Shuryo, and Shurei. For a nine-year
period starting in 1906, plays taking Ryukyuan history as their theme enjoyedmassive popularity, inaugurating what might be called the “Age of Dialect
Theatre.” The first of these historical plays is said to have been Record of theOrigins of Hokuzan (Hokuzan yuraiki), produced by the Tokashiki brothers in1902.

Tragic Female Protagonists: The Birth of Ryukyu Lyric Drama
In Okinawa, Ryukyu lyric drama is known simply as “lyric drama” (kageki). It issaid to have been born of uchi kumi udui (Ja. uchi kumi odori), one of the choreographic elements making up kumi udui. These dances were performed by a contrasting pair of performers—for example, actors playing male and female characters. Traditionally, the songs accompanying these dances were performed byadditional musicians, but from around 1900 dancers began singing the songs
themselves, creating a form of comedy. Under the influence of the dialect theatreboom, however, these performances became longer and more tragic. Finally, in
1910, the genre’s first tragedy with a female protagonist was staged. This was thebeginning of Ryukyu lyric theatre, and tragic stories and female protagonists
remained key to achieving popularity in the genre.
For a time, the world of Okinawan theatre became a three-way contest
between the Tokashiki brothers’ theatre, now renamed the Meiji-za; theOkinawa-za, and the newly completed Naka-za. The “three great lyric dramas,”which are performed even today, are said to be Aka in Tumai (Tumai Aka)
(written by Ganeko Yaei and first performed in 1910), Peony in the Deep
Mountains (Okuyama no botan) (written by Iraha Inkichi and first performed in1914), and Hando-gwa of Iejima (Iejima Hando-gwa) (written by Majikina Yuko
and first performed in 1924). Yakushido Temple (Yakushido) (also written by Iraha
Inkichi and first performed in its present form in 1912), which added humor andlively spectacle to the motifs of Aka in Tumai, was also highly popular, and issometimes added to the above list to create the “four great lyric dramas.”

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Family photograph of Ganeko Yaei, author of Aka Iraha Ink ichi and Tok ashik i Shur yo in s tagein Tumai (circa 1909). (Photo provided by Naha City costumes. (Photo provided by Naha City Museum
Museum of History)of History)

Pressure on Uchinaa Shibai
The first external pressure on Uchinaa shibai was the imposition of Japanese
mainland regulations on theatre without any consideration for Okinawa’s unique
circumstances. As noted above, in Okinawa the development of public performances was preceded by the regulations that constrained it. The first set of regulations in 1882 was followed by more regulations in 1886, 1891, 1892, and 1929.
However, the impact of these rules and regulations paled beside that of thenegative campaign waged against Uchinaa shibai in the newspapers. This
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surprisingly tenacious campaign focused its attacks on lyric drama in particular,
which had won many female fans. The level of the drama was criticized, and male
actors were castigated over their relationships with women. Whether these accusations were true or not, the attacks strongly emphasized elements that a traditional perspective would view as social harms. In some regions, women werebarred from theatres altogether. Nevertheless, the protracted nature of this negative campaign and the stream of new regulations and prohibitions is proof thatpublic performances continued regardless. Uchinaa shibai enjoyed the unfaltering support of the people.
In the second half of the 1930s, the campaign to increase use of the Japanese
language entered a new stage, with measures once confined to schools expanded
throughout the community. At the regional
level, groups of young women were assembled
for the campaign, which took mothers raisingchildren as its first target. From 1937, these160

efforts merged with the “Japanization” movement (targeting Korea, Taiwan, and Okinawa)
and intensified so greatly that they become
known as the “movement to annihilate dialects.” It was true that people who traveledfrom Okinawa to the mainland to study orwork faced discrimination if they could not
speak Japanese fluently, and so there had
been movements actively promoting Japanese even among the people of Okinawa. But
Japanization went beyond matters of language, demanding that important elements ofeveryday life conform to mainland patterns.

Makishi Kochu during his time with the Matsu
theatre troupe. Makishi was designated oneof the four holders of this Intangible Cultural
Property. (Photo from Photo Album of the Great
Ryukyus, provided by the Naha City Museumof History)

In Okinawa, people were forced to change
their surnames to Japanese ones and werebarred from building new tombs in the turtle-back form traditional to the Ryukyus. Thetheatrical world was not exempted from these policies, and from 1942 all plays
were required to be performed in standard Japanese. This imperiled the very
existence of Uchinaa shibai, which was performed in Okinawan. Being robbed ofits language was a far greater blow than the prohibitions and negative campaigns
that had come before.
Meanwhile, with increased movement of people, such as the waves of immigration that began in 1899 and evacuations to the mainland during the war, traveling Uchinaa shibai troupes appeared, and classical Ryukyuan dance took root
where performers settled.

Uchinaa Shibai’s Postwar Revival
In 1945, at the beginning of the periodof Amerika-yu or US rule, the military
government formed a fifteen-member
Okinawa Advisory Council as a consultative body. At its first meeting inAugust 29, the council suggested that
the

list

of

elevenadministrative

161
A green room right after the war. Collection of
Keystone Studios. (Photo provided by Naha City
Museum of History)

An excited audience at an Uchinaa shibai performance in decades past.
(Photo provided by Naha City Museum of History)
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departments proposed by the military government be augmented with a Department of Arts and Monuments as well a Department of General Affairs. The
former, the council said, was needed to “stabilize the hearts of the people, update
their lifestyles, and improve their tastes.” The proposal was accepted, and the military government ordered the formation of these thirteen departments.
The first head of the Department of Arts and Monuments was Toyama
Seiken, a former elementary school principal who was also a member of the
Okinawa Advisory Council. On September 6, at the council’s sixth meeting,Toyama requested support from all regions for “the commencement of tours byperforming arts troupes, with particular emphasis on Okinawan song anddance,” with “promotional announcements” during intermissions seeking to“stabilize the hearts of the people, update their lifestyles, and improve theirtastes.” Although it was a consultative body, the Okinawa Advisory Council also
played an executive role. Under its direction, the Department of Arts and Monuments reached out to Uchinaa shibai performers and had them form the162

Okinawan Performing Arts Federation. It formed screening panels and held
auditions, from which fifty actors and musicians were issued certifications as
performers. These certified performers were divided into three traveling troupes
named “Matsu,” “Take,” and “Ume,” meaning “Pine,” “Bamboo,” and “Plum,”
respectively. At first, each troupe had around 16 members, but their numbers
eventually rose to around 40 performers each. The Uchinaa shibai performers of
this period were thus public servants, a fact that was not lost on the public, whichsometimes criticized the troupes for charging entry fees on top of their government salaries.
The three troupes divided the prefecture up between them and traveled theirroutes giving performances. For the people of Okinawa, Uchinaa shibai was apart of everyday life. Many new open-air theatres were opened, with 44 said to be
operating by 1948. With just three troupes to perform in those 44 theatres,
demand was greatly underserved. Audiences wanted more performances, andactors and musicians without formal certification demanded recognition.
The Department of Arts and Monuments, which had authority over thesematters, became part of the Okinawa Civil Government, the successor to theOkinawa Advisory Council, and was then absorbed into the Department of Education in April 1948. Minutes from a meeting of department heads held in
October that year record comments from the chief of police asking, after somecomments about public morals, whether it would be acceptable to add two new
official theatrical troupes named “Crane” and “Rebirth,” bringing the total to
five. Governor Shikiya Koshin ordered the heads of the General Affairs Department, the Police Department, and the Public Health Department to explore thematter. What happened next cannot be followed from records alone, but before
the end of the year, the forming of theatrical troupes was opened to all, and a
stream of new troupes appeared on the scene.

The Decline of Uchinaa Shibai
Once the doors were opened and anyone could form an Uchinaa shibai troupe,
the genre flourished for a time. There were contests sponsored by newspapers andeven theatrical festivals. Before long, however, both performances and troupes
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Okinawa TV’s Wednesday Theatre (Suiyo gekijo) (1960s). From left: Iraha Akira, Ogimi Kotaro, Yagi Masao.
(Photo from Photo Album of the Great Ryukyus, provided by the Naha City Museum of History)
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Okiei movie theatre flying the US and Japanese flags (January 1, 1953).
(Photo provided by the Naha City Museum of History)

164

began to plunge in number. One factor in this decline was the beginning of television broadcasts in Okinawa in 1959 and radio broadcasts of Uchinaa shibai in
1960. In the early days of Okinawan broadcasting, stations aired recordings of
Uchinaa shibai, or filmed performances in theatres and broadcast them as live
programs. Audience figures were said to be particularly dismal on days whenthese broadcasts were held.
Struggling to retain their audiences, Uchinaa shibai venues reinvented themselves as film theatres, only to see films, too, face pressure from the rise of television. The Okiei, a film theatre that opened in 1951, changed direction in 1965. It
transferred its distribution rights to other theatres, renovated its theatre for live
performances—complete with a revolving stage—and set about attracting audiences with all-star performances featuring luminaries of the Uchinaa shibai
scene. This created a vicious circle for other troupes: bereft of their stars, they hadeven less ability to draw an audience, and without the necessary funds to build
venues with staging facilities as advanced as those of the Okiei, they continued tolose customers to the larger theatre. For the Okiei, the all-star initiative had been

National Theatre Okinawa (Photo: Ayada Shoichi)

a last-ditch effort to escape certain doom,
but one of its side effects was to weaken
Uchinaa shibai as a genre. Finally, in 1977,
the Okiei’s own productions of Uchinaa
shibai came to an end as well.
Meanwhile, in 1967, the Governmentof the Ryukyu Islands—Okinawa’s administrative body from 1952 to 1972—haddeclared the five surviving kumi udui by
Tamagusuku Chokun Important Intangible Cultural Properties, naming sevenactors and seven musicians as their holders. The performers named included celebrated Uchinaa shibai stars like Tamagusuku Seigi (1881–1971), Majikina Yuko
(1889–1982), Oyadomari Kosho (1897–1986), and Miyagi Nozo I (1906–1989),
who by the declared holder of kumu udui as an Important Intangible Cultural
Property at the national level in 1972. This speaks to the physical affinities
between performing kumi udui and Uchinaa shibai.

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Uchinaa Shibai After Reversion
In 1972, the year that administrative authority over Okinawa reverted to Japan,
kumi udui was declared an Important Intangible Cultural Property at thenational level. Okinawa Prefecture passed its Prefectural Ordinance for the Protection of Cultural Properties the same year.
According to the Okinawa Prefectural Cultural Promotion Division, in
1989, Ryukyu lyric theatre was recognized as a Prefectural Important Intangible
Cultural Property on the grounds that it was “a theatrical form unique to
Okinawa in which dialect texts were set to the melodies of existing folk songs
and sung by the actors themselves,” making it “invaluable cultural heritage, bothon artistic grounds and in terms of the history of the performing arts.” Designated as holders of this property at the same time were Miyagi Nozo I, Ogimi
Kotaro (1919–1994), Makishi Kochu (1923–2011), and shamisen player and singer
Noborikawa Seijin (1932–2013). A Ryukyu Lyric Theatre Preservation Society
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was also established. All four of the holders of this cultural property performed
not only Ryukyu lyric theatre but also dialect theatre, and should, in effect, beviewed as holders of the cultural property of Uchinaa shibai.
In 1990, the Okinawan Prefectural Theatre was established on the second
floor of Naha Higashimachi Hall as a permanent venue for local performing arts
(it was closed in 2009), and in 2004, the National Theatre Okinawa (managed by
the National Theatre Okinawa Management Foundation) was opened as Japan’s
sixth national theatre. The theatre has had an artistic director since 2010, andKinjo Shinji, who became the theatre’s third artistic director in 2022, has had
a close connection to classical Ryukyu dance since early childhood. He is alsofamiliar with Ryukyu lyric theatre and was among the theatre’s first class of kumi
udui trainees.
Japan’s Basic Act on Culture and the Arts, promulgated in 2001, and the
Okinawa Prefectural Ordinance for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts
resulted in government support that has been a boon for Uchinaa shibai.
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However, for actors, in particular, being designated as a holder of an Intangible
Cultural Property can become a status symbol, and at present it seems that whatever tailwinds exist are being enjoyed by Ryukyu lyric theatre alone. Uchinaa
shibai has long been loved by the people of Okinawa as “our theatre,” but whether
its full diversity can be preserved and nurtured remains to be seen.
Note: I thank the Okinawa Prefectural Cultural Promotion Division for the materials it
provided during the writing of this essay.

Hosoi, Naoko
Professor at the Department of Intercultural Communications, Rikkyo University. Specializes
in theatre studies and East Asian theatre, performance, and performing arts. Recent topics
she has written on include the modernization and globalization of the entertainment
market in the East Asian cultural sphere. Doctor of Letters. Her publications include See/
Show: Performance, Performers, and Performing Spaces in Sichuan and Fujian Theatre (Miru/
Miseru: Chugoku Shisen/Fukken no hyoen ni miru “enjiru” koto/hito/kukan) (Shunpusha, 2020).
(Translation: Matt Treyvaud)

〈Interview〉

An Unscripted Oral Tradition: Uchinaa Shibai Today
Kinjo Shinji (Performer of Ryukyu performing arts; artistic director, National Theatre Okinawa)
Senaha Takako (Uchinaa shibai actor)

The Birth of Uchinaa Shibai
Is it fair to say that Uchinaa shibai has been for the people since it first emerged
as a traditional performing art?

Kinjo: Before Uchinaa shibai was the age of kumi odori.(1) This was one of thecourt performing arts of the Ryukyu Kingdom. After the domain system wasabolished and replaced by prefectures, the kingdom collapsed and kumi odori
performers were dispersed far and wide. But there was no point trying to stage
kumi odori in Naha playhouses, because the general audience wasn’t interested,so Uchinaa shibai was born as a form of drama with more connection to everyday life.
Uchinaa shibai is always performed in Uchinaaguchi [the Okinawan language], and the costumes are Okinawan as well. It has its own unique conventions, but it has also changed along with the times. Long before we were born, inthe period before the war and for a few years afterward, Senaha-sensei and hercolleagues performed in theatres with no curtains and no lighting. Uchinaa
shibai was closely related to everyday life, something you would casually go andwatch with friends. Today, seeing a play at the National Theatre means buying
expensive tickets and dressing up nicely,
but back then you could even bring food to
eat while you watched.
Senaha: That’s true. Everyone brought
plenty of food. The audience and the performers would get together after the show.
“This part was good, but listen—that otherpart, you should do it more like this,” they’dsay, and we’d fix it for them next time.

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The Taisho Theatre, where Senaha first took
the stage (Photo provided by Naha City
Museum of History)
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Kinjo Shinji and Senaha Takako(Photo: Ayada Shoichi)

Kinjo: Back then, there were performances every
day, after all. Now the longest run is two or threeshows at most. The stage equipment haschanged, too. The way the performances are presented has changed in step with the audience.
Senaha: In those days, everyday life was conducted in the Okinawan language, so the lines
in Uchinaaguchi came out naturally. There wereno scripts, only oral instructions: “First do this,and then do that.”
Kinjo: You discussed it in advance, and thewords [lines] came naturally.

Senaha: Yes. You would remember that. Then you would think up better, morepolished lines for yourself. That’s the sort of theatre it was.
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Kinjo: Paper itself was precious then, so memorization was the only way to go.
Senaha: After the war, there were no clothes, nothing—just burned-out ruins.
We would find parachutes thrown away by the Americans and decorate themwith bingata designs using American paint. When we put those clothes on, they
were dry and stiff, and the color would gradually flake off until they were halfbare. We had to make our own wigs, too.

It All Started with Classical Dance: “I Didn’t Know To Be Scared”
Senaha-san, you first took the stage at the age of ten, before the war ended.
What was it like entering the theatrical world alongside adults?

Senaha: I never had time to play. I’ve given my whole life to the theatre. I wasborn in Kumoji, Naha. I had three brothers, and my father died just after I
turned three. My youngest brother was still a baby, and my mother had to workwith him strapped on her back. I was left with a few different members of myextended family. One of them was my uncle, who was a koto teacher. He had nochildren, so he said, “I’ll take her and teach her koto.” Alongside koto, he alsotaught classical dance. I said, “I’m not playing koto, I’m going to dance!” Once I
started learning, I was taken to perform at family celebrations and events likethat. “You’re really talented, you can do anything,” people would say. I was inconstant demand.
That was very early to start learning koto and classical dance.

Senaha: There was a theatre called the Taisho Theatre, run by a man called
Takayasu Koshun. One of its actors, Oyadomari Gensei, who was in the same
grade at school as my older brother, was looking for child actors. One day hecame to meet me at school and took me to the Taisho Theatre. I’d never seen aplay, so I had no idea why he was taking me to such a big place. He said, “You’relearning classical dance?” I said, “Yes.” “Alright, from now on you’ll dance on
this stage.” “Okay.” I didn’t know to be scared. I went right out onstage. That waswhere it started. I looked forward so much to going out in front of people. Everyone adored me. Then the war started, and my koto-teaching uncle said he wasgoing to the mainland. He was going to take me, too, but my mother said, “No,I’d miss her.” He went alone, and then died in the Konan Maru(2) incident. If I’dgone with him...

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A Vision of Femininity That Differs From Today’s
Senaha-san, when live theatre restarted shortly after the war, you were chosen
to play Chiraa, the heroine of Peony in the Deep Mountains (Okuyama no botan).
(3) The idea of femininity in Uchinaa shibai, as also seen in characters from The
Musician’s Love (Ongakuka no koi),(4) like the juri (a courtesan of Tsuji(5)), is thatthey are vibrant even if their social position is low. Where does the appeal ofcharacters like this lie?

Kinjo: That’s a difficult one. First, the position of women was different from how
it is today. The male chauvinism of the times still lingers in these plays. As aresult, when modern audiences watch Uchinaa shibai, they see a lot of men who
seem like terrible people. But they weren’t seen as terrible back then. In The
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Senaha (right) in Peony of the Deep Mountains (1966)(Photo provided by Senaha Takako)

S e n a h a ’ s 19 5 4 A c t o r s ’
Association membershipcard (Photo provided by
Senaha Takako)

Musician’s Love, the male protagonist spends
months with the juri, even though he has awife. But his wife and the juri aren’t on bad
terms, the man doesn’t apologize, and in theend everyone lives together.

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Senaha: People with high social standing
couldn’t do that. One official who had waswith a juri lost his job at Shuri Castle anddied. But for the common folk, this was seen
as unremarkable, and there are many plays
like this. Nowadays, of course, audiences arelikely to say, “What?!”Kinjo: Then and now, women have always
made up a majority of the audience for
Uchinaa shibai. I imagine that the works
produced were ones that women could
empathize with. People in similar situations could cry along with the characters.
Kinjo Shinji in Peony of the Deep Mountains(2015) (Photo provided by National Theatre
Okinawa)

Senaha: After the war, there were many real-life dramas as people who had been
torn apart by war found each other again. Lovers reuniting, saying “You’re alive!”
As I often say to Shinji, we should make new plays. Wouldn’t it be good to have

plays about how the world haschanged?
Kinjo: They would still be Uchinaa
shibai, so they would have be performed in Uchinaaguchi, with
Okinawan costumes, following
the form’s conventions. With
those ground rules, what kind ofstories would we see?
Senaha: In one postwar play I
loved called A Foreign Mother(Ikoku no haha), there’s one scene
set in China where a parent andchild part in tears. It has dialogue
in Chinese. I didn’t realize you
could make a play like that. But it
was only staged once. The script
has been lost too.

Scene from The Musician’s Love (Photo provided by
Ginoza Village Cultural Center Garaman Hall)

171

Kinjo: I never heard of that before. Was it written by Ogimi Kotaro? If it was after
the fifties or sixties, there might be some footage.

Scripts with More Than One Right Answer
Tell us about the scripts for Uchinaa shibai.

Kinjo: By the 1990s, my generation was already performing from scripts, but they
were very rough. There would be stage directions like, “Say something like this,”and the actors were free to come up with the rest. So every actor come up with
their own words. The problem was, if the generation after us tried to perform fromthose scripts, they probably couldn’t do it. So, now I make more detailed scripts,
but I always make sure to remind the actors that there’s more than one “rightanswer.”Theatre in Japan

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For example, I might change dialogue based on who is playing a certain role:
That actor could say these lines, but this one couldn’t memorize the whole thing, so
I’ll pare it back to the bare minimum... In the case of musical theatre, the songs
are set, so you can’t expand them, but as for the dialogue, I might think, This
actor can speak briskly and keep the pace up, and add more lines. So the script isdifferent for every production. Even for the same play, if the actors change, theapproach changes too.
Senaha: That’s what makes theatre interesting.
Kinjo: If Senaha-sensei is performing this role, then she’ll move like this—that kindof thought does go into it.

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Senaha: People today don’t speak Okinawan as much, so it’s like just reading abook, and the lines feel too fast. I’d like to see more emotion. When I see a young
actor doing a good job, I think, There, we did it, we did it, as if it were my own
accomplishment. I’m already ninety, and I’ve spent my life in theatre, so everyone
keeping theatre alive is dear to me.
Kinjo: The lines audiences laughed at fifty years ago don’t get laughs any more.
You have to change how things are said, use different words—you don’t know
where people will laugh until you try.
Senaha: Laughter and tears, one after another—that’s theatre. When I was stillplaying child roles, I had a scene where my character goes to visit her long-lost
mother with a baby on her back, but is driven away. It reminded me of my own
situation, and it made me so sad that I started bawling—runny nose andeverything. I couldn’t even speak. Soon I had the audience crying as well. When I
got backstage, my older colleagues scolded me. “How can you speak your lines if
you’re crying? Make the audience cry by pretending to weep—that’s what being
an actor is.”Playing the Upside-Down Ghost
Senaha-san, you’re also known for your work in supernatural and horror plays.

Scene from The Upside-down Ghost(Photo provided by Uchinaa Shibai Research Society

I understand that you appearedin many ghost stories at the
Okiei Theatre.(6) Did you makethe audience very scared?

Senaha: I wasn’t scared, though[laughs].
Kinjo: But I gather the audience
was terrified. Back then, Senahasensei usually played the leadrole. There are many horror
plays in the Uchinaa shibai repertoire, like The Upside-Down Ghost (Sakadachi yuri).(7) This play features aheadless mannequin turned upside down, and the actor pops their head up frombelow. The “upside-down ghost” is said to have appeared in Makan Road
(Makanmichi), Naha.
Senaha: Everyone was too scared to do it, but I said, “I’m not scared—it looks likefun. I’ll do it.” I thought about ways to scare people.

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Kinjo: The women that become ghosts either die or are killed in the first half ofthe play. I believe that you have strong feelings about how your characters are
killed, how they die. You have fun with it, don’t you?
Senaha: Ahaha! I’ve played every kind of role, male and female. The troupes were
small—ten people would be a lot—so I had to play several roles.

The Pleasure of Discovering How Okinawa Used to Be
Kinjo: Uchinaa shibai are closer to reality than kumi odori. With kumi odori, thegestures are exaggerated versions of the real thing. They’re formalized. For
example, if a character draws their sword in the play, you might think they would
simply pull it out, but it’s more complicated than that—first, they hold the sword
like so, and then they pointedly adopt a stance like so. When performing Uchinaa

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shibai, I was fascinated by the feeling of approaching people living in various
earlier ages. To wash our hands today, we turn on the tap to make the water run,but in an Uchinaa shibai, there are no scenes like that. You mime getting waterfrom a well and putting it into a tub. Today, if we peel a sweet potato, we bringtissues, but at the time they put them in a baaki [bamboo colander]. As an actor,
you are uncovering an older Okinawa that still lingers on in the performing arts.

Rising Interest in Uchinaaguchi
Senaha: What I have high hopes for now is TV shows that teach Uchinaaguchi. If
we teach Uchinaaguchi to children, I think more people might come to see plays.
Kinjo: Okinawa has seen a recent movement to use Uchinaaguchi more widely. At
school, my children even express thanks for their lunch in Uchinaaguchi.

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Senaha: My grandchildren say to me, “What’s that? What are you saying,Grandma?” I tell them what it means and recommend that they watch someplays.
Kinjo: Our recent performances have all been subtitled. I think we are graduallyseeing more audience members from younger generations, or outside Okinawa
prefecture. As part of my job, when the theatre stages a production, I stand in thelobby greeting patrons beforehand and saying goodbye as they leave, and theyoften say things like, “The subtitles said such-and-such, but what did that character say in Uchinaaguchi?” or “About that dialogue in that scene—can you tell me
how to pronounce those words properly, what they mean?” It’s wonderful to see
people take an interest in language.
What is the National Theatre Okinawa doing to raise awareness of Uchinaa
shibai?

Kinjo: Alongside our regular productions, since 2015 we have held an “Uchinaa
shibai appreciation workshop” once a year. It’s very inexpensive and meant for
beginners. We try to include plays that even children can enjoy, so in September
2022 we did The Tale of King Kuroshima (Kuroshima-o monogatari). In the past,we have done Bakeneko (Kaibyoden: Bakeneko—Yamada Nundunchi), and Taleof the Irises (Shobu nu yurechi). We also do one play per year aimed at audiences
already familiar with the genre. In March 2023, we will stage a historical playcalled Prince Tamagawa (Tamagawa Oji(8)) (Playwright: Taira Ryosho, Director:
Kinjo Shinji). The dialogue in a historical play is difficult and quite different fromeveryday conversation. When we stage a difficult play, we make sure the first halfof the program is something light and easy. Uchinaa shibai are generally presented as double features. We combine historical plays with light farces or cheerful dances. For our March production, we’ll be staging Iraha Inkichi’s musicalfarce Feelings (Umui) (Director: Kinjo Shinji), with Senaha-sensei appearing in it.

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Tale of the Irises at the Uchinaa shibai appreciation workshop (2017) (Photo provided by National Theatre Okinawa)Young Performers Onstage
How well are the younger generation mastering difficult songs or dances foron-stage performance?

Senaha: Many Uchinaa shibai are musical plays, with songs as well as dialogue.
The actors study how to project, how to tighten their voices, how to make their
voice cry in tragedies. You have to know how to sing, speak, and move, which is
challenging. People who do classical dance carry themselves completely differently, too. You can tell right away. They’re more supple in how they stand andmove. Even when they stand in one place, they’re completely relaxed. People
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without that classical dancebackground are stiffer.

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Kinjo: I tell younger actors
over and over again, the firststep is to memorize the FourGreat Works of Ryukyu Lyric
Theatre.(9) Not just the maleparts but also the female
parts, even if you’re a male
actor. I think those four
works are the foundation ofthis theatre. And once you
master one play, you’ll findthe same songs used inothers, so they are useful inmany places. Sometimes
young actors get together andsay, for example, “Today let’s
do Yakushido,” draw straws to
divide up roles, and practice
Performance of Yakushido, one of the Four Great Works of
Ryukyu Lyric Theatre (Photo provided by Uchinaa Shibai
the plays with each other.
Research Society)
They only look at the script
when they get lost.
I think that younger actors should play the biggest roles they can while
they’re still young. While in your twenties, you shouldn’t be satisfied with reaching your personal “100%”—you should play roles a little beyond your level. That
will take you to the next step. Today’s young actors will have to teach the generation that follows them, so we need to teach them how to teach others.
Senaha-san, you have been performing in A Musician’s Love for decades, as thejuri for a long time and in recent years as Paapaa (the old dame of Tsuji). Whatis it like working alongside young people?

Senaha: I often tell young actors about their part and how they should perform it.
For example, a juri is a woman who works in a place where men come to enjoy
themselves, so she understands how men feel. The thing about men is—I say thiswith a man right here, but anyway [laughs]—they’re looking for a person, a placethat will care for them and make them feel safe. I’ve been around a long time, so I
understand this role. The juri is an expert in giving men that feeling of being
cared for, of validating their
feelings, so you have to play Senaha in Aka in Tumai (Tumai Aka), one of the Four Great Worksof Ryukyu Lyric Theatre. At right is Iraha Sayuki. (Photo provided
her completely different from by Senaha Takako)
the protagonist’s wife. Thereneeds to be a distinction
between professionals andamateurs.
What about Paapaa?

Senaha: Paapaa is part of theoldest generation of juri, so
she knows everything. She
can size men up. She’ll say,“Don’t let this one go.” I
watched my own mentors
play her way back when.

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Kinjo: Paapaa must be playedwith a sense of the clownish.
Senaha: Personally, I am a bitof an uumaku (rascal), so I
have more fun playing characters that make other characters cry, rather than characters that do the crying.
When I played a ghost, I
would tell the person playing

Performance of Hando-gwa of Iejima, one of the Four GreatWorks of Ryukyu Lyric Theatre (Photo provided by Uchinaa
Shibai Research Society)
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the role of my killer, “Pretend to lift me up,” and then onstage I would leap up
suddenly, which startled them as well as the audience. When I had a role where
my kamoji (hairpiece) was cut, I would make that mechanism myself.
Kinjo: The sword strikes the kamoji and it looks like the hair flies away. And you
made the mechanism yourself.
Senaha: It looked like it was really cut. That’s the most enjoyable thing, the mostinteresting part. Whatever role I play, I enjoy it. Even at home, I’ll be thinking myhardest about how to play a certain role next time, and my grandchildren will
say, “What are you doing, Grandma?” I tell young actors, “You’re an actor, so takeany role you can. You mustn’t turn roles down because you’re afraid.”
Kinjo: I remember that when I visited you at home, you were writing out dialogue
and memorizing it.
Senaha: Yes. I’m crazy about theatre [laughs].
178(Reporting/writing: Kakihana Rieko)

1. Kumi odori is a form of music and dance theatre created by Tamagusuku Chokun, an
official of the Ryukyu Kingdom with responsibility for dance performances, to entertain
emissaries from the Chinese emperor. Today it is a National Intangible Cultural Property.
In 2010, it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage register.
2. The Konan Maru was a passenger ship offering regular service between Osaka and Naha.
In 1943, it was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, killing 650 passengers, including
civilians.
3. Peony in the Deep Mountains (1914; Author: Iraha Inkichi) is one of the “Four GreatWorks of Ryukyu Lyric Theatre.” It is about the love between Sandee, the son of a noble
family, and Chiraa, a commoner. They have a son together, and Chiraa goes into hiding
so that her humble birth will not prevent his advancement. Twenty years later, her nowadult son comes to visit her.
4. The Musician’s Love is a historical work of Ryukyu lyric theatre by Iraha Inkichi.
5. Placename in Naha. In the licensed quarters established here in 1672, Chinese emissaries
and Ryukyu nobles were entertained by juri, women skilled in the performing arts. There
were around 180 such establishments in Tsuji in the 1930s, but on October 10, 1944, theneighborhood was burned out by aerial bombing.

6. In 1965, the Okiei film theatre was renovated with a revolving stage and reopened as the
Okiei Theatre. Its all-star performances featuring popular Uchinaa shibai actors attracted
many actors.
7. A horror play by Tokashiki Shuryo, first staged around 1914. In the play, a beautiful
woman sees that her ailing husband is tortured by jealousy of her, and cuts her own nose
off to prove her love. However, the husband falls out of love with her, kills her, and drives
stakes through her legs. She returns as an “upside-down ghost” to seek revenge.
8. A historical play by Taira Ryosho (1893–1979). It depicts the turbulent life of Prince
Tamagawa, sixth son of King Sho Ko, and the suffering of the Ryukyuan people under
the resulting political turmoil.
9. The “Four Great Works of Ryukyu Lyric Theatre” are said to be Peony in the Deep
Mountains, Hando-gwa of Iejima (Iejima Hando-gwa; 1924; Author: Majikina Yuko); Aka
in Tumai (Tumai Aka; 1900; Author: Ganeko Yaei); and Yakushido Temple (Yakushido;
1912; Author: Iraha Inkichi).

Kinjo, Shinji
Born 1987 in Tomigusuku. In 1991, began studying under Tanida Yoshiko and Kinjo Mieko of
the Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai dance academy. In 2007, graduated from the first incoming
kumi odori class at the National Theatre Okinawa. In 2008, while studying at Okinawa
Prefectural University of the Arts (Major: Ryukyu Performing Arts), won the highest prize in
the Ryukyu Classical Dance category at the Ryukyu Classical Performing Arts Competition.
Teacher in the Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai. Holder of the Prefectural Intangible Cultural
Heritage “Ryukyu Lyric Drama.” Member of the Uchinaa Shibai Research Association. In April
2022, accepted post as artistic director of the National Theatre Okinawa.

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Senaha, Takako
Born 1933 in Naha. In 1943, debuted as a child actor with the Shinraku-za troupe at the Taisho
Theatre. Shortly after the end of World War II, entered the Matsu theatre troupe, transferringto the Ume troupe after around a year. Worked with the Okinawa-za and Tokiwa-za troupes
before founding the Mitsuwa-za troupe in 1954 with her husband Matsumora Koei. Acted in
the Okiei Theatre, which started in 1965, from its third production, Aka in Tumai (Tumai Aka).
Spent the next twelve years until the Okiei Theatre was disbanded as one of its leading
actors. Holder of the Prefectural Intangible Cultural Heritage “Ryukyu Lyric Drama.” In 1984,
received the Encouragement Prize in the Theatre category of the Okinawa Times Arts
Awards. In 2005, won the Grand Prize in the same category. In 2013, honored by Okinawa
Prefecture as a Person of Cultural Merit. Still performing on many stages.
(Translation: Matt Treyvaud)

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The Remarkable Postwar
Success of the All-Female Otohime Theatre Troupe
Kakihana Rieko (Editor of the Theatre Yearbook)

December 25, 1945. Uchinaa shibai stars languishing in internment camps acrossthe burned-out wastelands of Okinawa are assembled at Ishikawa (modern-day
Uruma) to put on a Christmas show in conjunction with a US military camp. The
show is one of the cultural initiatives undertaken by the occupying US forces.
Staged on sloping ground amid the ruins of Iha Castle, the open-air performances overflow with the energy of an Uchinaa shibai revival, and the audience
responds with great enthusiasm.
One of the groups performing in the show was an all-female dance troupe
led by Uema Ikuko (1906–1991). The young dancers’ vibrant performance of the180

zo-odori “Tanchame” won thunderous applause. That moment was the birth ofwhat would become the most popular theatrical company in Okinawa, with
Uema as its first leader: the Otohime Theatre Troupe.
The Otohime Theatre Troupe was formally founded in April 1949. With theapproval of the Okinawa Civilian Administration under US military rule, thetroupe’s

21

founding

members staged a production of Aka in Tumai(Tumai Aka), one of the
Four

Great

Works

of

Ryukyu Lyric Theatre. They
entertainedinternees

across Okinawa, performing in hastily constructed
open-air theatres for audiences of villagers who had
been swept up in theHazama Yoshiko, “Okinawa’s Danjuro,” performing in Aka in Tumai.
From Hazama Yoshiko, The Eternal Tarugani (Eien no Tarugani)First Theatre Contest pamphlet.
(Photo provided by Senaha Takako)

maelstrom of war. By night, they bedded down in thesame theatres. The troupe lived together all year
round, working together from morning till night tocreate their plays. Some audience members are said
to have paid the entry fee in vegetables.
Determined to satisfy the huge demand fortheatre they had discovered, the Otohime Theatre
Troupe developed a revolutionary
system in which every member of thetroupe both acted and wrote. Within ayear of its founding, the troupe had arepertoire of 50 plays, from lyric
theatre and period pieces to contemporary works. At the height of thetroupe’s popularity in the 1960s, its
repertoire exceeded 160 plays per-181

formed by more than 50 actors as thetroupe visited every one of the 120 theatres scattered across Okinawa.
In 1951, less than two years after

1956 production of The Tale of Tsukishiro. At rightis Hazama Yoshiko, playing the Spider Spirit. From
Hazama Yoshiko, The Eternal Tarugani

its founding, the Otohime Theatre
Troupe was chosen from among the 27
theatre companies officially recognizedby the Okinawa Civilian Administration to perform in Hawai‘i. In 1955, thetroupe won first place at the Ryukyu
Shimpo’s first Theatre Contest1 with
Palace of the Princess (Uminaibi Udun),a work based on Ueda Akinari’s Talesof Moonlight and Rain. In the contest’s
third year, the troupe won first placeagain with the fantasy play The Tale ofWriter Kawabata Yasunari visited the Otohime Theatre
Troupe at the Ishikawa Theatre in June 1958. At far rightin the front row is Uema Ikuko, first leader of the troupe.
(Photo provided by Okinawa Prefectural Archives)
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Theatre Company Unai, The Tale of Tsukishiro (2009). Company leader Nakasone Ritsuko is at far left in thephoto on the right. (Photo provided by Theatre Company Unai)

Tsukishiro (Tsukishiro Monogatari),2 written by Kaneshiro Michiko based on
Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast. The star of this production was Hazama
182

Yoshiko (1928–2001), who succeeded Uema as the troupe’s second leader and waspraised as “Okinawa’s Danjuro.”
The Otohime Theatre Troupe’s reputation as one of the finest performing
companies in Okinawa soon reached the Japanese mainland, and many cultural
figures visited to see the troupe perform. Among those who praised Otohime’s
performances were writers Kawabata Yasunari and Inoue Yasushi and playwright Uchimura Naoya (third chair of the Japanese Centre of International
Theatre Institute).
In the 1960s, with the spread of TV broadcasts, demand for Uchinaa shibaifell, and troupes began to disband. Apart from a small hiatus, the Otohime
Theatre Troupe alone survived alongside its fans. Today, Theatre Company Unai
(unai means “sisters”), founded in 2004, continues to uphold Otohime’s traditionof all-female dramatic performances.
The current leader of Unai is Nakasone Ritsuko,3 who left her job at a Naha
department store to join Otohime nearly sixty years ago. Past eighty years of age,she continues to perform regularly. Regarding the accepting, female-only atmosphere that Otohime cultivated, Nakasone says, “You can speak your mind freely,

without feeling out of place. Male actors would probably hold back when dealing
with married women, but speaking woman-to-woman lets us get right to theheart of the matter. Even performing the same play, our productions are completely different than those of companies with male actors. Years ago, a man
watching our rehearsals commented that he envied women, because we canperform with all our heart.”
Today, Nakasone also teaches theatrical skills as a part-time lecturer at
Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. The precious lives and passion fortheatre preserved by women against all odds through the horrific of Battle of
Okinawa flowered anew in the lineage from Otohime to Unai and are now being
inherited by a new generation of young performers.
1. The pamphlet for the first Theatre Contest included a welcome message from the Ryukyu
Shimpo’s chief editor at the time,
Oyadomari Masahiro, explaining thatthe contest was being held “with thesame intention of raising the level ofthe international theatrical arts as that
promoted by the Ministry of Culture’s
Arts Festival and the International
Theatre Institute.”183

2. After winning a prize at the contest,
The Tale of Tsukishiro was made into acolor film directed by former Shochiku
movie star Obinata Den and screenedat the Naha Theatre from New Year’sDay, 1959. Yanbaru Highway (Yanbaru
Kaido) is another cinematic adaptationof the Otohime Theatre Troupe’s work.
3. Nakasone Ritsuko was born in 1941 in
Motobucho. Attending a performanceof the Otohime Theatre Company’s
Palace of the Princess as a junior highschool student, she was enthralled by
the elegance of the singing voices, thecostumes, and the princess’s kanpu(hairstyle). In 1964, she joined theGreen room in the early 1960s.
(Photo provided by Theatre Company Unai)

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troupe herself. In 2001, when the Otohime Theatre Troupe disbanded after the death ofsecond leader Hazama Yoshiko, Nakasone moved quickly to bring the former members
together again, staging new productions the following year, and then in 2004 founding
Theatre Company Unai. She has been the head of of Theatre Company Unai since 2009.
She is also head of the Tamagusuku-ryu Otohime Ritsuju no Kai. In 2011, she received anaward in the Theatre category of the Okinawa Times Art Awards for her contributions to
the theatrical arts. She is a holder of the Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property “Ryukyu
Lyric Theatre.”
Works Consulted
Inagaki Masami, The Struggles of the All-Female Otohime Theatre Troupe (Onna dake no‘Otohime Gekidan’ funtoki, Kodansha, 1990)
Theatre Company Unai 10th Anniversary Publication, “Flowers of Unai” (Unai no hana,
2015)(Translation: Matt Treyvaud)

184