Theatre Yearbook 2019
Theatre in Japan
Published in March, 2019Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute (ITI/UNESCO)
c/o Kokuritsu Nohgakudo (The National Noh Theatre)
4-18-1 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0051, JAPAN
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from this work should be sent to the Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute.

Commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
Government of Japan in the fiscal 2018
under the Program for Nurturing Upcoming Artists Leading the Next Generation
Editor-in-chief Tanokura Minoru
Director in charge Sota Shuji
Editor Goto Ayako, Kondo Tomoko,
Takeshita Tsutomu, Fukazawa Yuichi
Editorial Staff Aoyagi Atsuko, Iki Terumi, Kato Eriko,
Kawaguchi Chihiro, Hayashi Hideki, Homma Fuyuko,
Nakajima Kana, Nakayama Toyoko
Translation William Andrews, Sumida Michiyo,Mark Oshima, James Ferner, Sato Michiyo
Proofreading Tove Bjoerk, Galia Todorova Petkova,
Rosalind Fielding
DTP Staff Nakamura Tomoko
Art Direction and Design Kubo Saori
Plate-making Yubido Co., Ltd.
Yamamura Printing Co., Ltd.
Printing Sankyosha Co., Ltd.
Binding Wincam Co., Ltd.
Printed in Japan

Foreword
The Japanese Centre of the International Theatre Institute is a non-governmentalorganisation under the umbrella of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and is also a member of an international network comprisedof National Centres and professional organisations in approximately ninety countries andregions constituting the International Theatre Institute (ITI).
The preamble of the UNESCO Constitution begins with the following famous phrase:‘Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peacemust be constructed.’ In Article 3 of the standing rules of the Japanese Centre of theInternational Theatre Institute, the purpose of the Centre is stipulated as follows: ‘tocontribute to the development of culture and realisation of peace in Japan by deepening
mutual understanding and facilitating the creations and exchanges of theatre and dance
based upon the purpose of the UNESCO Constitution.’
Theatre and dance are excellent media that enable us to take interest in one anotherand to think about people and society by sharing time and space together. Even in today’ssociety, where the means of communication have developed and the volume and speed of
distributing information have increased dramatically, the role of theatre and dance that help
us gain multifaceted and deep insights will not diminish.
The Japanese Centre has continued to publish the Theatre Yearbook since 1972. Startingfrom 1997, it has been published in two separate volumes, namely ‘Theatre in Japan’ (in English)
for readers outside Japan and ‘Theatre Abroad’ (in Japanese) for domestic readers. From 2011, theCentre has been commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to carry out the publication
project under the ‘Programme for Nurturing Upcoming Artists Leading the Next Generation’.
Furthermore, reading performances have been presented every year since 2009 to
introduce remarkable plays from around the world as part of the research and study activities
to promote international theatrical exchange. In 2018, the ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones’series was carried out for the tenth consecutive year and two new plays from Israel/
Germany and Canada were translated and introduced to Japan for the first time.
We hope that the publication of the Theatre Yearbook will be utilised widely to lay afirm foundation for actual activities to gain knowledge on the relationship between Japan andthe world, to deepen the understanding between Japan and other countries and regions by
positioning Japan within the global network, and to realise cultural development and peace.
We look forward to your continued support and co-operation to the activities of theJapanese Centre of the International Theatre Institute in the years to come.
March 27, 2019
In commemoration of the World Theatre Day

Nagai Taeko
President
Japanese Centre of International Theatre InstituteCONTENTS
005 Shots from the Performing Arts in Japan in 2018

The Japanese Performing Arts in Japan in 2018
034 Noh and Kyōgen Nishi Tetsuo
040 Kabuki and Bunraku Mizuochi Kiyoshi
051 Musicals Hagio Hitomi
060 Contemporary Theatre Yamaguchi Hiroko
069 Children’s and Youth Theatre and Puppet Theatre Yokomizo Yukiko
078 Japanese Classical Dance Hirano Hidetoshi
092 Ballet Urawa Makoto
100 Contemporary Dance and Butoh Tsutsumi Hiroshi
112 Television Dramas Nakamachi Ayako

Developments in Japan and Overseas
122 Remembering Asari Keita:
A Master Living in the Irrational Contradictions of Art and Business / Uchida Yoichi
135 An Interview with Mr. Kobayashi Yasuhiro of the Performing Arts Section,
Secretariat for Japonismes, The Japan Foundation
On the influence of Japonismes 2018 in Presenting Traditional to Cutting-Edge Performances / Katsura Mana

Special Feature
154 A Report on ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 10’
Two Plays from Germany and Canada Linked to Conflict Zones– Common Ground and This Is War / Niino Morihiro
164 Companion Volume ‘Theatre Abroad 2019’ in Japanese
166 ITI Centres
Names are presented in the style of the person’s country of origin.
For Japanese names, the order is family name followed by given name.
Play titles and company names include those supplied directlyby the respective companies and are not the responsibility of the translator.

日本の
舞台芸術
を見る

Shots from the Per forming Ar ts in Japan
in 2018

Noh and Kyōgen

Negi Yamabushi (The Shinto Priest and the Mountain Priest) Yamamoto Tōjirō © National Noh Theatre

The 229th program in Ibaraki City’s project Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Implementation of its Municipal
System / New Work for Kyōgen Ibaraki Dōji (The Ogre’s Child) Shigeyama Senzaburō / Ibaraki Foundation of Culture© Ibaraki Foundation of CultureUmewaka Minoru 4th Name-Succession Noh Okina Tanzan
Shiki and Hiyoshi Shiki Styles Umewaka Minoru 4th /Umewaka Kai © Maejima Yoshihiro

Asami Masakuni Kiju Kinen Program (celebrating his attaining
the age of 77) Ōmu Komachi (The Legend of Ono no
Komachi’s ‘Parrot Reply’) Asami Masakuni / Yoyogi Kashō Kai© Takahashi Ken

Noh and Kyōgen

13th Memorial Program for Uzawa Hayao Dōjōji (The Legend of the Serpent Demoness and the Temple Bell) Kanze Tetsunojō /Uzawa Yōtarō no Kai © Maejima Yoshihiro

Commemorative Program of the National Theatre's 50th Sumidagawa (Sumida River) Issō Hisayuki in May 2015
Anniversary Kazuraki Kagura (The Goddess Kazuraki with © National Noh Theatre
Kagura Dance) Kanze Motonori in November 2016 © National
Noh TheatreKabukiKanjinchō (The Subscription List) Ichikawa Somegorō (left) Matsumoto Kōshirō (centre) Matsumoto Hakuō (right) © Shochiku

Sekai no Hana Oguri Hangan (The Tale of Oguri Hangan) Onoe Kikugorō (right) © National TheatreKabuki

Sukeroku Kuruwa no Hatsu Zakura Kataoka Nizaemon © Shochiku

Narukami Fudō Kitayama Zakura (Narukami and Fudō) Ichikawa Ebizō © Shochiku

KabukiZōho Futatsu Domoe (The New and Improved Story of the Thief Ishikawa Goemon) Onoe Kikunosuke (left) Nakamura
Kichiemon (right) © National Theatre

NARUTO Nakamura Hayato (left) Bandō Minosuke (right) © Shochiku

Bunraku

Sesshū Gappō ga Tsuji – Gappō Sumika no dan (The Tale of Tamate Gozen – Gappō’s House)© National Theatre and Ningyō Jōruri Bunraku-za

Yoshida Tamasuke V Name-succession program Honchō Nijūshi Kō - Kansuke Sumika no dan (The Japanese Twenty-Four
Examples of Filial Piety - Kansuke’s House) © National Theatre and Ningyō Jōruri Bunraku-za

Bunraku

Rōben Sugi no Yurai – Nigatsudō no dan (The Origin of the Cedar Tree of Rōben – The Nigatsudō Hall of Tōdaiji Temple)© National Theatre and Ningyō Jōruri Bunraku-za

Kamakura Sandaiki – Takatsuna Monogatari no dan (Three Generations of Kamakura Shōgun - Takatsuna’s Battle Tale)© National Theatre and Ningyō Jōruri Bunraku-za

MusicalsMarie Antoinette Toho Theatrical Div. © Toho Theatrical Div.

History of Japan SIS Company. © Miyagawa MaikoMusicals

THE Poe Clan Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe © Takarazuka Revue © Moto Hagio / Shogakukan

Mary Poppins HoriPro Inc./Toho/Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. /Umeda Arts Theater

Bullets Over Broadway Toho Theatrical Div. © Toho Theatrical Div.

WOMAN of the YEAR Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (Tokyo) / Umeda Arts Theater © Mori Yoshihiro

Contemporary Theatre

Oh, Even So, Even So: The Dumb Waiter of Many Orders THEATRE OFFICE NATORI © Sakauchi Futoshi

Night Never Gets Darker Saitama Arts Theater © Miyagawa Maiko

The Misunderstanding New National Theatre, Tokyo © Hikiji Nobuhiko

Antigone PARCO CO., LTD. © Abe Akihito

Contemporary Theatre

TERROR PARCO CO., LTD./Hyogo Performing Arts Center © Hikiji Nobuhiko

The Air Ver. 2: No One Shall Write Nitosha © Homma Nobuhikook, so long. GOTANNDADAN © Maeda Shiro

Heritage Gekidan Chocolatecake © Ikemura Takashi

Contemporary Theatre

Nuns KERA MAP © Hikiji Nobuhiko

Me and War Ryuzanji Company © Yokota Atsushi

Children’s and Youth Theatre and Puppet Theatre

The Wonderful Wizard of OZ Shadow Play Theatre KAKASHIZA © Umemura TakakoChildren of the Sea ACO Okinawa © Lim, Young-hwan

Children’s and Youth Theatre and Puppet Theatre

Scrum and Crash: Children's Second Plan is Ready KAZENOKO Theatre Company © Nakajima Shirusu

The Story of the Seagull and the Gang of Tomcats Puppet Theatre Puk © Agata Seiji

Japanese Classical Dance

Kiyomoto: Hokushū Hanayagi Mariko © Video Photo Saito

Sōfūgaku: Omoi Takigawa Mizuki Yuka / Mizukiryū Tokyo
Mizuki Kai © Kotobuki ShasinJapanese Classical Dance

Hanayagi Tamaito and Izumi Yūki Recital Kiyomoto: Yoshinoyama Hanayagi Tamaito (left) Izumi Yūki (right) / Tamayū no Kai© Takada Etsuo

Geimaruza Kenkyū Kai Nagauta: Funa Benkei Hanayagi Ōhisui / Geimaruza © Mai Video

Ballet

HOKUSAI Tani Momoko Ballet © STAFF TESSThe Sleeping Beauty Jinushi Kaoru Ballet Company © Fumio Obana

Ballet

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon© New National Theatre, Tokyo
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland New National Theatre, Tokyo © Shikama Takashi

Swan Lake Tokyo City Ballet © Shikama Takashi © Fondation Foujita / ADAGP, Paris & JASPAR, Tokyo 2018

Contemporary Dance and Butoh

ROMEO & JULIETS Noism1×SPAC © Kishin Shinoyama

Saitama Dance Laboratory Vol.1 Atelier Class Showing solos Saitama Arts Theater (Saitama Arts Foundation) © matron2018

Contemporary Dance and Butoh

UNETSU - The Egg Stands out of Curiosity (re-creation) Sankai Juku © Sankai Juku

“The Firebird” from Sumida Summer Concert 2018 -Chance to Play- Yukio Suzuki with the New Japan Philharmonic © K.MIURA

Is it worth to save us? KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre / HiWood © bozzo

Pierrot Lunaire Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre / Tokyo Metropolitan Government / Arts Council Tokyo / KARAS © Oguma Sakae

Contemporary Dance and Butoh

START ME UP CONDORS © HARU

GAKA Tomoko Mukaiyama © Anke Teunissen

日本の
舞台芸術
を知る
Th e J a p a n e s e Pe r fo r m i n g A r t s
i n 2018

ˉ GENNOH and KYO

Noh and Kyōgen

A Rich Variety on the Noh Scene
Nishi Tetsuo
Award Winners and Certifications
Certification as a ‘Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Property’

Kakihara Takashi was awarded the certification, ‘Preserver ofImportant Intangible Cultural Property’ – Individual Certification(so called, National Living Treasure). He is a performer on theŌtsuzumi (hand-held hip drum) of the Takayasu Ōtsuzumi School.
Born in 1940, he was the eldest son of Kakihara Shigezō and he034

received instruction from his father as well as from Yasufuku Haruo.
At present, he is the 45th person to have received this designation.
Japan Art Academy Membership

The Japan Art Academy selected eight persons whose artistic
activities have displayed remarkable achievements as newmembers. From the Noh world, Yamamoto Tōjirō, Kyōgen performer of the Ōkura School, Yamamoto Tōjirō was chosen to
receive this honor. Born in 1937 in Tokyo, the eldest son of
Yamamoto Tōjirō 3rd, Mr. Yamamoto received instruction fromhis father. He is a recipient of: the Award for the Encouragementof the Arts of the Minister of Education, Science and Culture, theJapan Art Academy Prize and the Kanze Hisao Memorial Hōsei
University Noh Theatre Award among others. He has also received
the certification, ‘Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural
Property’ – Individual Certification (National Living Treasure).

Award for the Encouragement of the Arts

The Award for the Encouragement of the Arts of the Ministerof Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for the year2018 was presented to Sugi Ichikazu (March 7th). A Nohkan (traverse bamboo flute) performer of the Morita School, he was born in1953 and received instruction from his grandfather, Sugi Ichitarōas well as from Morita Mitsuharu.
Membership in the Nohgaku Performers Association

In July 2018, the Nohgaku Performers Association conferredmembership on 45 Nohgaku performers along with the designation, ‘Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Properties’(Collective Certification).
035

Grand Prize at the Arts Festival of the Agency for Cultural Affairs

The Grand Prize at the Arts Festival of the Agency for Cultural
Affairs was awarded to the Takashi Takeda Memorial Nohgaku
Foundation for the achievement of shite performer Takeda
Yukifusa in Sekidera Komachi (Ono no Komachi at Sekidera
Temple), as well as to Kyōgen performer Zenchiku Takashi for his
success in the Ai-Kyōgen (Subordinate Comic Character) role in
Tsuchigumo (The Monstrous Ground Spider)
Hōsei University Awards in Noh Theatre

The 39th Kanze Hisao Memorial Hōsei University Noh
Theatre Award was given to Oda Sachiko, a scholar in the field of
Nohgaku, and Katayama Kurōemon, a shite performer of the
Kanze School.
The Saika Award went to Yanagisawa Shinji a journalist in the
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Theatre Yearbook 2019ˉ GENNOH and KYO

field of Nohgaku.

Name Succession
The public name-succession ceremony of Umewaka Minoru
4th (Umewaka Rokurō) was held on March 25th with a performance of Okina (an ancient felicitous and ceremonial work inwhich three main characters: okina an old man character, Senzai(a younger more vigorous character) and Sanbasō (an old man
character played by a kyōgen performer), alternately perform
dances to celebrate long life and prosperity) in the Tanzan Shikiand Hiyoshi Shiki Styles of the Tanzan and Hiyoshi Shrines. Performers included Umewaka Minoru 4th and others.

036

Newly Created Works for Noh (Shinsaku Noh) andContemporary Noh Plays (Gendai Noh)
New Noh –Kanze Yoshimasa, August 29th
Tajimamori (The God of Sweets)
Contemporary Noh Onmyōji: Abe no Seimei(Abe no Seimei: the Master ofDivination)

Umewaka Minoru / Umewaka Genshō,
September 6th & 7th

New Noh –Osero (Othello)

Tatsumi Manjirō, November 24th & 25th in
the Tokyo Manjirō no Kai 10th Memorial
Program

New Noh Oki no Miya
(The Miracle at Oki no Miya)

Kongō Tatsunori, October 6th

New Work for Kyōgen –Ibaraki Dōji (The Ogre’s Child)

Shigeyama Senzaburō October 21st, the229th program in Ibaraki City’s project
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of
the Implementation of its Municipal System.

Performances of Dōjōji
(The Legend of the Serpent Demoness and the Temple Bell )The performance of Dōjōji is a milestone in the career of ayoung Noh performer. However, seasoned veterans also like torevisit the challenge a second or third time or even more.
Performances are listed in chronological order.
Sano Noboru

February 3rd, Traditions Connecting to the Future - Back to
BasicsTōyama Junji

March 25th, Hōshō Kai Special Spring Program

Ban Shintarō

April 22nd, in the Kanze Kyūkō Kai Special Program

Hōshō Kazufusa

May 12th, RYUTOPIA – Niigata City Performing Arts Center
20th Anniversary Commemoration at the Spring Program
for the Appreciation of Noh.

Osada Akira

July 14th, in the Osada Takeshi-shi Sanju Kinen (celebrating
Takeshi-sensei’s turning 80 years old). Kita Ryū Noh no Kai

Ōe Yasumasa

October 8th, in the 110th Anniversary Program of the Ōe
Noh Theatre

037

Nagayama Keizō November 23rd, in the Keifū Kai. Commemorating the 15thyear of its Establishment - Sandai Noh (Noh over three
generations).
Saeki Kikuko

December 22nd, in the Saeki Kikuko no Kai’s Special
ProgramHōshō Kazufusa

December 22nd, The Meiji Restoration 150th Anniversary
Project – Homage to the Difficult Times that Nohgaku has
Undergone

Kanze Tetsunojō December 23rd, the 13th Memorial Program for Uzawa
Hayao at the Uzawa Yōtarō no Kai

Performances of ‘Old Woman Plays’.
The so called ‘old woman plays’ are among the most importantin the Noh repertoire only performed by those who have reached acertain level of age and performing experience. Here is a listing of
performances of the past year by title:

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Theatre Yearbook 2019ˉ GENNOH and KYO

Performances of Sotoba Komachi(The legend of Ono no Komachi at the Stupa)
Daimatsu Yōichi

January 28th, Program Commemorating the 30th year of
Independence

Matsuki Chitoshi

January 20th, Dan no Kai

Awaya Akio

March 4th, Awaya Noh no Kai

Komparu Hodaka

March 21st, Nishi Mikado Komparu Kai Special Program of Noh

Performances of Obasute (The Old Woman Abandoned in the Mountains)
Takeda Munekazu April 1st, in the Kanze Kai’s Special Spring Program
Performances of Ōmu Komachi (The Legend of Ono no Komachi’s ‘parrot reply’)Asami Masakuni

April 17th at the Asami Masakuni Kiju Kinen Program(celebrating his attaining the age of 77)

Okina – in three variant performances*
Komparu Norikazu May 4th, Komparu Ryū Sōke Keishō Hirō Noh (a program toannounce the succession of the title ‘Grandmaster’ of theKomparu School)038* ‘Jūni Tsuki Ōrai’ (The procession of the twelve months), ‘Chichi no Jō’ (amore ancient form of Okina in which the Old Man character uses the Chichino Jō mask rather than the customary Okina mask) and ‘Enmei Kaja’ (inwhich the Kyōgen performer uses the Enmei Kaja mask which is meant tosignify long life). In the ‘procession of the twelve months’ variation, three‘old man’ characters enter the stage together and engage in a poetic dialogue
describing the passing scenery of the twelve months beginning from the firstmonth, ‘Shōgatsu’.

Noh performers and Individuals Related to Nohgaku
who passed away last year.
Kanze Motonori (2017 December 1st) A Taiko (stick drum)
performer of the Kanze School. He was 51.
Kodera Ichirō (2018 January 29th) A Shite performer of the
Kanze School. He was 90.
Kasai Takashi (March 8th) A Shite performer of the Kita
School. He was 76.
Ogawa Akihiro (March 17th) A Shite performer of the Kanze

School. He was 78.
Gondō Yoshikazu (March 30th) A Nohgaku critic. He was 87.
Issō Hisayuki (April 24th) A Nohkan performer of the Issō
School. He was 77.
Kobayashi Seki (May 22nd) A Nohgaku scholar. He was 89.
Aoki Shinji (May 30th) Photographer. He was 73.
Fujita Rokurobyōe (August 28th) A Nohkan performer of the
Fujita School. He was 64.
Inoue Kikujirō (December 5th) A Kyōgen performer of the
Izumi School. He was 77.
Fukui Shirobē (December 17th) A Kotsuzumi (hand-heldshoulder drum) performer of the Kōsei School. He was 88.
Nishi, Tetsuo
Nohgaku Scholar, born in 1937. Graduated from Saitama University. He has
worked for Tokyo-dō Shuppan Publishing House, and as part-time instructor atMusashino University and Bunka Gakuin University. He has also been chief juror
for the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Arts Festival – both Nohgaku and Theatre
departments, on the Selection Committee for Arts Encouragement – classicalarts and theatre departments, and on the committee of experts for the Japan
Performing Arts Foundation (National Noh Theatre). He is a co-author of theNohgaku Daijiten (Encyclopedia of Nohgaku, Chikuma Shobō).

039(Translation: James Ferner)

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KABUKI and BUNRAKU

Kabuki and Bunraku

The Mature Art of Older Stars andthe Activity of Younger Actors
Mizuochi Kiyoshi

In 2018, at the main venue for kabuki, Kabuki-za in Tokyo, whichis commemorating the 130th anniversary of its opening, there were
12 months of performances of kabuki. (The standard run for a production of kabuki is one month, actually 25 days of performances.)
At the National Theatre there were 7 months of performances. At
040

Shōchiku-za in Osaka, the newly rebuild Misono-za in Nagoya and
Hakata-za in Fukuoka there were 3 months of performances. At
the Shinbashi Enbujō there were 2 months of performances. In
addition there were national tours in summer and autumn withthree separate troupes and special performances in old kabuki theatres, which are preserved in many places in Japan.
The biggest event going on for the entire year was the simultaneous name taking by three generations of actors: Matsumoto
Hakuō II, Matsumoto Kōshirō X and Ichikawa Somegorō VIII –father, son and grandson. There were commemorative performances beginning with those at Kabuki-za in January and February, then at Misono-za in April, Hakata-za in June, Shōchiku-za in
July, and Minami-za in November as part of the annual Kaomise(“face showing”) performances. All of the productions attracted
large audiences. Matsumoto Hakuō performed roles for which hehimself and his family line are famous like Matsuōmaru in“Terakoya (The Village School)” and Yuranosuke in the seventh act
of “Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers).” His son
Kōshirō also performed roles in the family tradition like Benkei in“Kanjinchō (The Subscription List)” and Kumagai in “Kumagai
Jinya (Kumagai’s Battle Camp),” but at the same time, opened up
new territory for the Kōshirō tradition by playing roles from otherfamily traditions like the ten roles in “Date no Jūyaku (The Ten
Roles of the Troubles in the Date Clan),” a play where one actor
plays all the major roles in a classic play, a play created by Ichikawa
Ennosuke III and Izaemon in “Kuruwa Bunshō (A Letter from the
Pleasure Quarters),” which is one of the most famous plays in the
distinctive Kansai style of kabuki. Among the performances, there
was the rare event of three generations of actors playing the three
key roles in the performances of “Kanjinchō” at Minami-za with

041

Matsumoto Kōshirō as Benkei, Matsumoto Hakuō as Togashi and
Ichikawa Somegorō as Yoshitsune.
The senior group of top actors are all vigorous and active.
Sakata Tōjūrō is the oldest, being 87 at the time of this writing inMarch 2019, but he participated in all of the commemorative performances for the name taking of the Kōshirō family and spoke inthe “Kōjō” stage announcement. There were actors who showed
how their art has matured by playing roles for which they are
famous. Onoe Kikugorō appeared as Benten Kozō in “Shiranami
Gonin Otoko (The Five Thieves)” and as Seishin in “Izayoi Seishin(Izayoi and Seishin)” and Nakamura Kichiemon appeared playing
the title characters in “Shunkan” and “Kōchiyama” and Danshichiin “Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami (The Summer Festival in
Osaka).” Kataoka Nizaemon clearly distinguished between the twocontrasting villains Daigaku-no-suke and Taheiji that he played in
Theatre in Japan

Theatre Yearbook 2019

KABUKI and BUNRAKU

this classic which was revived in modern times, “Ehon Gappō ga
Tsuji (A Picture Book of the Vendetta at Gappō-ga-Tsuji).” But healso showed his achievements in the important classical roles ofHeiemon in “Chūshingura,” “Sukeroku,” and Gonta in “Senbon
Zakura.” Bandō Tamasaburō showed the pinnacle of his art withhis performance in “Akoya,” but he is also teaching the younger
generation of onnagata female role specialists roles that he has
made famous, teaching Nakamura Baishi, Nakamura Kotarō andNakamura Kazutarō his signature piece “Akoya,” “Osome no
Nanayaku (The Seven Roles of the Osome Hisamatsu Story)” inwhich an onnagata plays seven roles and the Shinpa classic, “Takino Shiraito.”
In the next generation of actors, Nakamura Tokizō performed
042

Masaoka in “Meiboku Sendai Hagi,” one of the most difficult roles
for onnagata, for the first time, and also displayed excellent acting
sk ills in roles like Omiwa in “Imoseyama Onna Teikin,”
Iwanagahime in “Nippon Furisode Hajime” and Izayoi in “Izayoi
Seishin.” Nakamura Jakuemon performed in such plays as “Meoto
Dōjōji” and appeared as Shizu-no-Kata in “Ii Tairō.” In April,
Nakamura Shikan held commemorative performances for his new
acting name as a performance of “Konpira Kabuki” and in addition to showing his scale in historical plays with Kiyomori andShunkan in “Heike Nyogo no Shima” and Matsuo in “Terakoya,” healso developed new roles as with his first performance of the priest
Ryūtatsu who becomes a gruesome ghost in the 20th century play
“Kōdan Yomiya no Ame.” Kataoka Ainosuke demonstrated his versatility with such roles as Watōnai in “Kokusenya Kassen” andBenten Kozō in “Shiranami Gonin Otoko.” In October, Ichikawa
Udanji III commemorated his taking of this acting name with cele-bratory performances at Shōchiku-za.
Among the middle group of mature actors, the activities of the
new Matsumoto Kōshirō were the most striking, but Ichikawa
Ebizō was also very active. He premiered three new plays, “Nihon
Mukashi Banashi (Japanese Folk Tales)” in January and “Sangoku
Musō Hisago no Medetaya (The Rise of Toyotomi Hideyoshi)” and“Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji)” in July. He also performed“Narukami Fudō Kitayama Zakura (Narukami and Fudō)” playing
five of the major roles with fast changes. Onoe Kikunosuke madehis first appearance as “Kamiyui Shinza (Shinza, the Barber),” a role
for which his family is famous, and displayed his dancing abilities
in “Kisen” and “Bunya.” Ichikawa Ennosuke presented the Super
Kabuki II version of the popular manga “One Piece” at Shōchiku-za
and Misono-za and at Kabuki-za, starred in “Hōkaibō.”043

With regard to the young generation, actors in their 20’s and30’s showed great growth in their artistic skills. First, Nakamura
Kankurō and his brother Nakamura Shichinosuke appeared inmemorial performances for their late father, Nakamura Kanzaburō
XVIII, at Kabuki-za in October and at the Heisei Nakamura-za in
November. They both appeared in major classical roles. Nakamura
Kankurō played Tadanobu in “Yoshinoyama,” the white sakepeddler in “Sukeroku,” Sanemori in “Sanemori Monogatari,” andHeiemon in “Chūshingura.” Nakamura Shichinosuke appeared asOjō Kichisa in “Sannin Kichisa,” Agemaki in “Sukeroku,” and Okaru
in “Chūshingura.” Onoe Matsuya played major roles in Asakusa
Kabuki in January and at Hakata-za in February. Nakamura Kotarō
played Princess Yuki in “Kinkakuji” and the title role in “Akoya.”Nakamura Kazutarō played the title role in “Taki no Shiraito,” andall seven roles in “Osome no Nanayaku.”
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The National Theatre continues with its work of taking old andsometimes neglected kabuki plays and adjusting them for audiences today and performing them full-length rather than justfamous acts. In January it put on “Sekai no Hana Oguri Hangan”
with a troupe centered around Onoe Kikugorō, in October there
was “Heike Nyogo no Shima” with a troupe centered on Nakamura
Shikan, in November there was “Na mo Takashi Ōoka Sabaki” witha troupe centered on Nakamura Baigyoku, and in December, there
was “Zōho Futatsu Domoe” with a troupe centered on Nakamura
Kichiemon. All of these productions showed the distinctive touchof the National Theatre and added scenes that have not been performed in a long time to create a new script. In June and July there
was the “Kabuki Kanshō Kyōshitsu (Introduction to Kabuki)” to044

introduce kabuki to newcomers, especially students. In addition, in
June there was a special version of this introduction with an
English introduction on stage, English subtitles for the play andaudio Earphone Guides in several foreign languages. This special
version introduced kabuki to large numbers of non-Japanese.
At the Shinbashi Enbujō in August, there was a new kabuki
version of the popular manga “Naruto” featuring the young stars
Bandō Minosuke and Nakamura Hayato. Also, at Theatre Cocoon,
which is devoted to modern and contemporary theatre, there was a
production of the classic play “Kirare Yosa (Scarfaced Yosaburō)”with a script in modern style and new direction. The production
featured Na kamura Shichinosuke, Na kamura Baishi andNakamura Senjaku.
There were two foreign tours of kabuki. In September as part of
the “Japan Year 2018 in Russia, there was a tour of the Chikamatsu-za
troupe led by Nakamura Ganjirō and Nakamura Senjaku. They

performed at the National Theatre in Moscow and the Bolshoi
Theatre in St. Petersburg. The program was “Yoshinoyama” and“Keisei Hangonkō.” In September to commemorate the 160th yearof friendship between Japan and France, as the main event of“Japonismes 2018” there were performances at the The Théâtre
National de Chaillot with a program featuring Nakamura Shidōand Nakamura Shichinosuke in “Kasane” and “Narukami.”
As usual, Bunraku puppet theatre had five months of performances at the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka and five months
in the Small Theatre of the National Theatre in Tokyo. In Osaka, theJanuary production commemorated the 50th anniversary of thefamous narrator Takemoto Tsunatayū VIII and it also marked narrator Toyotake Sakihodayū taking the name, Takemoto Oritayū VI.
In the matinee program, there was a “Kōjō” stage announcement045

and then in memory of Tsunatayū VIII, there was a performance of“Sesshū Gappō ga Tsuji” which was narrated by Tsunatayū VIII’s son
Toyotake Sakitayū and Sakitayū’s student, the new Oritayū. The
matinee program also included “Hana Kurabe Shiki no Kotobuki”
and “Heike Nyogo no Shima.” The evening program featured “Rōben
Sugi no Yurai” and “Keisei Koi Bikyaku.” The April program commemorated puppeteer Yoshida Kōsuke taking the name of Yoshida
Tamasuke V. To commemorate his new name, the new Tamasuke
performed the role of Yamamoto Kansuke in the “Kansuke’s
House” scene of “Honchō Nijūshikō.” The program also included“Michiyuki Hatsune no Tabi” from “Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura.”
The evening program featured a full-length performance of“Hikosan Gongen Chikai no Sukedachi.” In June there was “Bunraku
Kanshō Kyōshitsu (Introduction to Bunra ku)” w it h one
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performance in the morning and one in the afternoon. After a shortdance, “Ninin Sanbaso” there was a demonstration by the performers and a performance of “Ehon Taikōki.” On selected weekdaynights, there was a version of this program aimed at adults and on
June 16 at 2 PM there was a special version called “Discover
BUNRAKU” with English subtitles. July featured the “Natsu
Yasumi Bunraku Tokubetsu Kōen (Special Bunraku Performance for
the Summer Vacation).” Program A was titled “Oyako Gekijō(Parent and Child Theatre)” and featured “Urikohime to Amanjaku(Urikohime and Amanjaku),” based on a folk tale, a demonstrationof Bunraku including the opportunity for children to experience
manipulating a Bunraku puppet, and “Zōho Oeyama” based on a
fairy tale. Program B was titled “Meisaku Gekijō (Masterpiece
046

Theatre)” and featured “Sanjūsangendō Munagi no Yurai” and“Migawari Ondo.” Program C was titled “Summer Late Show” andfeatured “Shinpan Utazaimon” and “Nihon Furisode Hajime.” In
November, the matinee program featured “Ashiya Dōman Ōuchi
Kagami” and “Katsuragawa Renri no Shigarami.” The evening
program featured “Chūjōhime Yuki Zeme” and “Onna Goroshi
Abura no Jigoku.”
At the Small Theatre of the National Theatre in Tokyo, in February, there was the continuation of the commemoration of thedeath of Tsunatayū VIII and the name taking of the new Oritayū
and, as in Osaka, Program B featured the “Kōjō” stage announcement and “Sesshū Gappō ga Tsuji.” The other programs featured
plays by Chikamatsu Monzaemon with “Shinjū Yoi Gōshin”
in Program A and “Onna Goroshi Abura no Jigoku” in Program
C. In May there was the name taking of Yoshida Tamasuke andthe matinee program featured the new Tamasuke in “Honchō

Nijūshikō” to commemorate the name taking and followed itwith “Michiyuki Hatsune no Tabi” from “Yoshitsune Senbon
Zakura.” The evening program was a full-length performance of“Hikosan Gongen Chikai no Sukedachi.” In September, the matinee
program featured “Rōben Sugi no Yurai” and “Zōho Chūshingura.”
The evening program was a full-length performance of “Natsu
Matsuri Naniwa Kagami.” In December there was an introduction to Bunraku with one performance in the morning and one
in the afternoon. It opened with a short dance, “Dango Uri,” hada lecture / demonstration and a performance of the “Terakoya”
scene from “Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami.” As in Osaka, there
were also performances of this introduction aimed at adults andnon-Japanese. In the evening, the performance featured younger
performers in all the key roles and featured “Kamakura Sandaiki”

047

and “Date Musume Koi no Higanoko.” The Bunraku troupe has awide range of activities. In addition to the regular performancesat the two National Theatres there are performances of just thenarrative music without the puppets and many recitals featuring
young performers studying major roles at both National Theatres
as well as regional tours and performances in schools.
As in recent years, the performances of Bunraku in Tokyo
almost always sell out. Gradually, audiences in Osaka are growing
as well.
The leader of the group of tayū (narrators) is Toyotake
Sakitayū, but he is not in the best of health. In January and February, to commemorate the death of his father Tsunatayū and his
student taking the name of Oritayū he gave an excellent performance narrating a major part of “Sesshū Gappō ga Tsuji,” but otherthan that, he usually narrates short sections of lesser importance.
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In his place, members of the next tier of narrators, Toyotake
Rodayū and Takemoto Chitosedayū narrated major sections ofplays displaying the strength of their artistic abilities. Rodayū narrated the “Aburaya” scene of “Abura no Jigoku,” the “Kansuke
Sumika” scene of “Honchō Nijūshikō” and “Heike Nyogo no Shima.”
Chitosedayū narrated the “Yaoya” scene of “Yoigōshin,” the“Keyamura Rokusuke Sumika” scene of “Hikosan,” the “Nigatsudō”
scene of “Roben Sugi,” as well as “Migawari Ondō” and “Chūjōhime
Yuki Zeme.” Also, the next younger group of central artists,
Rosetayū and Oritayū are showing that they are growing into fineartists with rich voices on a large scale. Together with Rodayū,
Rosetayū narrated the “Kansuke Sumika” showing his impressive
power and also narrated major scenes like the “Sabu Uchi” scene of048“Natsu Matsuri” and the “Obiya” scene of “Katsuragawa.” In addition to the play in the production commemorating his nametaking, Oritayū narrated the “Nagamachi-Ura” scene of “Natsu
Matsuri” and the “Takatsuna Monogatari” scene of “Kamakura
Sandaiki.” The youngest generation of narrators like Toyotake
Yoshihodayū, Takemoto Mutsumidayū and Toyotake Yasutayū areall starting to grow into fine artists. In April, the recently retired
narrator Takemoto Sumitayū, who was active in Bunraku for 60
years, passed away.
The most senior shamisen player Tsuruzawa Kanji, who wasrecognized as a Living National Treasure, passed away in September. The other Living National Treasure, Tsuruzawa Seiji continues
to give superb performances on the shamisen and Toyozawa
Tomisuke shows his talent in jidaimono historical plays. Tsuruzawa
Enza, Tsuruzawa Seisuke and Nozawa Kinshi all show their talents
in a wide variety of plays. Among younger performers Tsuruzawa

Tōzō is growing in leaps and bounds in ability. In recent years, it
has grown increasingly common for veteran shamisen players toteam up with young narrators to train the next generation of artists.
The oldest puppeteer is Living National Treasure Yoshida
Minosuke. Even though his appearances are limited due to old age,
he continues to display the pinnacle of onnagata (female role) puppetry. Today, the main support of Bunraku puppet theatre comesfrom three puppeteers: Yoshida Kazuo, Yoshida Tamao andKiritake Kanjūrō. Yoshida Kazuo has been recognized as a Living
National Treasure and plays leading female roles. This year he performed such roles as Nagisa-no-Kata in “Rōben Sugi,” Okichi in“Abura no Jigoku,” Oryū in “Sanjūsangendō,” Osono in “Hikosan,”and Miuranosuke’s mother in “Sandaiki.” Tamao plays leading
male roles. This year he performed such roles as Chōemon in“Katsuragawa,” Shunkan in “Heike Nyogo no Shima,” Rōben Sōzu049

in “Rōben Sugi” and Rokusuke in “Hikosan.” However, Kanjūrō ismore difficult to classify. This year he performed such roles as
Ohan in “Katsuragawa,” Danshichi in “Natsu Matsuri,” Yohei in“Abura no Jigoku” and Tamate Gozen in “Gappō ga Tsuji.” Kanjūrō
plays roles male and female, young and old, good and bad, evencomic roles. These three puppeteers smoothly divide up the majorroles and are the center support of Bunraku today and give it life.
Among younger puppeteers, Yoshida Tamaya tends to specialize invillainous roles and Toyomatsu Seijūrō mostly performs femaleroles while the new Yoshida Tamasuke performs male roles on alarge scale. Among older performers, Kiritake Kanju and Yoshida
Tamashi have grown in ability and among younger performers,
Yoshida Tamaka and Yoshida Ichisuke have matured and areamong the hopes for the future.
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Mizuochi, Kiyoshi
Born in 1936 in Osaka. Graduated from Waseda University Faculty of Literature,
specializing in Theatre. From 1970 he was in charge of the Theatre section for
the Arts and Cultural News department of the Mainichi Shinbun and served as
vice-chairman for that newspaper as well as having been a member of the
Editorial board and also a special committee member before his retirement.
Currently he is Affiliate Member of the Editorial Board. From the year 2000, he
was a professor at J. F. Oberlin University, retiring in 2007 as Professor Emeritus.
His writings include: Kamigata Kabuki (Kyoto-Osaka Style Kabuki), Bunraku, Heisei
Kabuki Haiyū-ron (Essays on Kabuki Actors Today) and others. In 2019, the JapaneseActors Association gave him a special award for his service to the arts.
(Translation: Mark Ōshima)050

Musicals

Outstanding Original Musicals
Hagio Hitomi
The number of musicals presented in Japan is increasing every
year. The musical scene in 2018 was even more exciting and richer
in variety than ever before. One of the major reasons is the increasein the number of original works. In the past, musicals from theWest End or Broadway that were successful and popular weretranslated and performed in Japanese and formed the mainstreamof the Japanese musical theatre scene but recently, the number oforiginal Japanese musical productions, which even includes
2.5-dimensional musicals, is increasing. The Broadway and West051

End musicals produced in Japan are also becoming more varied,
ranging from big hits to small but unique works as well as old titles
that have been rediscovered. This trend may be due to the fact thatnowadays the audiences are seeking diversity fueled by the abundance of information that can be acquired from all over the world
via the Internet almost simultaneously.

Three Challenging Premieres
A musical that appealed to a broad range of audiences, including those who were not musical fans, was SIS Company’s History ofJapan (Nihon no Rekishi), which was written and directed by
Mitani Kōki. The music was composed by Ogino Kiyoko and it was
indeed a challenging production, as one thousand seven hundredyears of Japanese history were portrayed as a musical performed by
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only seven actors, namely, Nakai Kiichi, Katori Shingo, Sylvia
Grab, Kabira Jay, Niiro Shinya, Miyazawa Emma and Akimoto
Sayaka, who created quite a buzz, and therefore the show musthave drawn the interest of people who usually do not go
to musicals.
It was also a well-made production. The seven cast members
embodied more than fifty characters through quick costumechanges to depict Japanese history at a rapid pace and in a shorttime. Simultaneously, a family’s story of three generations was also
portrayed. Actually, the family’s story formed the core of thismusical. A family living in Texas presented in the opening scene
reminded us of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children andadded an implicit premise to the story. The two different worlds052

were connected through common sentiments or, in other words,
musical numbers. Sadness and joy were turned into songs thattranscended time and space. The production was put together likea typical musical.
Japanese history depicted through the changes of politicalpower and a family history influenced by the economic changes
overlapped, helping us realize that history is in effect a continuumof people’s activities. In both narratives, light was shed on thecharacters’ warm and cheerful feelings and therefore one may saythat it was a musical about the celebration of life. The actors, led by
Nakai Kiichi, were also talented and performed well. The music
reminded us of many famous musical numbers and it almost felt
like a pastiche of famous numbers.
Another notable work was Ikiru (literal translation:To Live),
which was a musical adaptation of Kurosawa Akira’s eponymous
film released in 1952. The creative team consisted of Takahashi

Chikae, who wrote the script, Jason Howland, a Grammy Awardwinner who composed the music, and Miyamoto Amon, who
directed the show. Ikiru was produced by Horipro Inc. that has
premiered many foreign musicals translated into Japanese and has
also turned the comic book titled Death Note into a musical (presented in 2015 and 2017). Apparently, Horipro is strategically targeting the international market.
The protagonist of Ikiru is a civil servant working for a town
office. He has been following his daily routines spiritlessly but
when he finds out that his days are numbered, everything changes
and the story questions the meaning of life. The lead character
was double cast and was played by Ichimura Masachika andKaga Takeshi.
Another musical that was small in scale but left a strong
impression was DAY ZERO (presented by CAT Productions). Con-053

temporary themes were expressed powerfully through the performance. It is based on an American film with the same title (produced in 2007 and yet to be released in Japan). A few years werespent to create the production with Takahashi Chikae writing thescript for the stage adaptation and Fukazawa Keiko composing
the music.
The story is set in the U.S. in the near future, where military
conscription has resumed and the qualifying age has been raised.
Three characters, who have known each other from childhood, aredrafted and their inner conf licts are portrayed in the drama.
Through their conflicted feelings, which are about different thingsfor each of them, it is revealed that they have not come face-to-facewith the issues in their lives or the society and their sins of nothaving done anything to come to terms with those issues become
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apparent. The setup and the theme of the musical fit the present
trend of confrontation, which has become prominent all over theworld. It is also a universal drama that makes us realise that life isfinite. This musical has potential and should be revived after
further refinement.

Original Epic Musicals
Knights’ Tale and Marie Antoinette that were presented at theImperial Theatre were large-scale original musicals produced by
Tōhō Co., Ltd. Both were created through collaboration withforeign artists. International musical projects are not unusual nowadays, but these two musicals drew attention because in Knights’Tale, two stars, namely Dōmoto Kōichi and Inoue Yoshio,
054

co-starred for the first time and in Marie Antoinette, brilliant performers such as Hanafusa Mari were cast.
Adapted from a story that was assumedly cowritten by
William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (based on Geoffrey
Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio’s works), Knights’ Tale wasturned into a musical conceived and directed by John Caird. It was
a comedy about two knights who were cousins, and they were onvery good terms but ended up fighting over a woman. The endingof the original story was quite abrupt and full of contradictions but
the focal points had been changed in the musical adaptation byincorporating a strong sense of feminism and therefore the story
had a convincing happy end.
The creative team consisted of non-Japanese staff. The music
was written by Paul Gordon, the set was designed by John Bausor,
and the dance numbers were choreographed by David Parsons. A
significant amount of money must have been spent on theproduction as both the set and the music were even more extravagant than usual. Nonetheless, it felt somewhat strange that thecreators got hung up on Japanese tastes. For instance, a bandplaying Japanese instruments was added to the orchestra andJapanese-style materials such as bamboos were used for the set.
Marie Antoinette that was presented in 2018 should be
regarded as a remake version because the original production premiered in Japan in 2006 was produced with a new director (Robert
Johansson). Based on the book and lyrics by Michael Kunze andthe music by Sylvester Levay that were used in the premiere, alterations were made in the script, such as cutting some characters,changing the order of the musical numbers as well as adding newnumbers. As a result, the structure of the story became muchclearer and you might as well call it a new musical, since it underwent a number of transformations.

055

The story is based on Endō Shūsaku’s novel and is founded on
the confrontation between Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France,and Margrid Arnaud, who grew up in poverty and later on became
an extremist of the French Revolution. In the old 2006 version(directed by Kuriyama Tamiya), more emphasis was placed on theviolence and the chain of insanity. However, in the new version,
the focus was narrowed down to the story between the two womenand the theme of ‘tolerance’ came to the surface.
In the genre of original musicals, the Takarazuka Revue
Company has a big presence in Japan. The company produces newmusicals almost every month. One of them that drew attention in2018 was THE Poe Clan. It was directed by Koike Shūichiro, who
adapted a long-selling comic book by Hagio Moto. The naïve
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sensitivity and aestheticism of the original comic book was reproduced tactfully through Takarazuka’s casting.
MESSIAH: The Legend of SHIRŌ AMAKUSA (written anddirected by Harada Ryō) was another impressive musical staged by
Takarazuka. The company also produced a number of other musicals that included A PASSAGE THROUGH THE LIGHT –Maximillian Robespierre, the Revolutionary (written and directedby Ikuta Hirokazu) and Company: Lessons, Passion, andCompanionship (written and directed by Ishida Masaya) among
others, which dealt with all sorts of subject matters, and the versatility of Takarazuka was just as amazing as before. As a side note,
Romankatsugeki: Rurōni Kenshin (literal title: A Romantic Action Kenshin the Wanderer) (adapted from Watsuki Nobuhiro’s comic056

book with the same title), which was premiered at Shimbashi
Enbujō, was based on Takarazuka’s musical with the same title thatwas premiered in 2016 (both productions were written anddirected by Koike Shūichiro).
The other companies and groups that had been making efforts
on creating original musicals were consistent and continued to
produce new works. The Musical-za staged Time Traveller, the TS
Musical Foundation mounted Romāle ~ Roma wo Ikinuita Onna
Carmen (literal title: Romale ~ Carmen, A Woman Who Survived
as a Romani) and the Musical Company It’s Follies presented
Tōzakaru Neverland (literal title: Vanishing Neverland). These
were all new original works. Various production companies suchas Watanabe Entertainment that presented Marigold have begun to
produce original musicals as well.
The boom of 2.5-dimensional musicals deserves a mention
here. They are musicals based on comic books and games. The termhas come into usage since the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical
Association was founded in 2014. Musical: Tōken Ranbu is anextremely successful work in this genre that exceeds the popularityof Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live and The Prince ofTennis: The Musical, which had come about beforehand. It also
toured to Paris in 2018.
The main focus of 2.5-dimentional musicals is to accurately
represent the characters in the original story. In other words, they
are popular because of the fans who are enthralled by the cutecharacters and therefore most of the audiences do not overlap withthose of regular musicals such as Broadway musicals. However,this genre is broadening the scope of musicals and through further
development, it might help to enliven the whole musical scene.
057

A Variety of Translated Musicals
The translated version of an epic musical that was premiered
in Japan this year was Mary Poppins (co-produced by Horipro,
Tōhō, Umeda Arts Theatre and TBS). London’s musical producer
Cameron Macintosh and Disney that has also been producing successful shows on Broadway, joined hands and premiered Mary
Poppins in London, which later opened on Broadway. Based upon
the film (1964) adapted from a story written by Pamela Traverse,famous musical numbers (lyrics and music by Richard M. Sherman
and Robert B. Sherman) were used in the lively and large-scalestage adaptation (originally directed by Richard Eyre, co-directed
and choreographed by Matthew Bourne), which included the useof magic and f lying. The Japanese cast consisted of Hamada
Megumi, Hirahara Ayaka and other members, who performed
really well and overall it was a satisfactory show. Above all, theTheatre in Japan

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flying sequence was longer than in the other cities where the show
was presented and it was quite overwhelming.
Amongst the premieres of Broadway musicals, Fun Home ~The Tragicomedy of a Family left a fresh impression. The musicalwon the Tony Award in 2015 and it is based on Alison Bechdel’s
autobiographical graphic novel. It is the very first Broadway
musical with a lesbian character set as the main character. The
Japanese version did not have repercussions nor left a strong
impression compared to the original Broadway version but it wasmade into a powerful production through Ogawa Eriko’s succinct
direction. Other translated musicals that originally came fromeither Broadway or the West End were Bullets Over Broadway, The
Bridges of Madison County, Amélie, Ghost, On Your Feet and058

Something Rotten! among others. Some of them were for the mostpart not successful in the city where they originated from.
There were also musicals such as Woman of the Year and Cityof Angeles that had already been premiered in Japan twenty tothirty years ago and were rediscovered. Rogers/Hart, staged for the
first time in Florida in the U.S. in 1997, and Midnight Diner (Shinya
Shokudō), translated from a Korean musical that was adapted froma Japanese comic book series, were also amongst the new works
presented this year. The producers of Japanese musicals seem to bevery keen on searching for new shows, which may be why the
number of original musicals are increasing.

Hagio, Hitomi
Hagio Hitomi is a film and theatre critic. She started her career as a newspaper
journalist and has written reviews for Tokyo Shimbun as well as column series
and articles for musical magazines. She has written books such as Musical ni
Tsurete itte (literal title: Take me to the musicals), Les Misérable no Hyakunin (literal
title: A Hundred People of Les Misérable) and others. She has also edited andwritten Broadway Musical, Tony shō no Subete (literal title: All about Broadway
Musicals and the Tony Awards), Hajimete no Musical Eiga: Hagio Hitomi no Besto
Selekushon 50 (literal title: Your First Musical Film: Top 50 Selected by Hagio Hitomi)
and others.

(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)

059

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CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

Contemporary Theatre

An Ageing Japan Reflects
a Bewildering World
Yamaguchi Hiroko

Japanese society is facing a grave crisis as its population continues
to age and the birthrate falls. Ref lecting this situation, a major
current has emerged in Japanese theatre that explores the issueof ageing.
The forerunner for this trend was Saitama Arts Theater. Start060

ing with the establishment of Saitama Gold Theater by artistic
director Ninagawa Yukio in 2006 for performers aged 55 andabove, the venue shone a light on the relationship between theelderly and theatre. Following Ninagawa’s death, the theatre has
maintained its focus on performing arts created by older practitioners, staging Wareware no moromoro – own stories (Wareware
no moromoro) in spring 2018, conceived and directed by Iwai
Hideto from the experiences of Saitama Gold Theater members. In
autumn, the venue invited companies from the UK, Singapore andAustralia to take part in the inaugural World Gold Theater, a festival including a symposium and performances such as The
Imaginary Invalid (adapted and directed by Nozoe Seiji from theoriginal by Molière) featuring 738 seniors. Another part of the festival lineup was Night Never Gets Darker (Yomichi ni hi wa
kurenai), a ‘wandering theatre’ performance that was staged whileaudiences walked around the Urawa area. It dealt with a man who

returns to his hometown after a long time and, as he searches forsomeone he knows suffering from dementia, must come to termswith the place where he grew up as well as confront the deaths andthe advancing ages of the people he knew since childhood. It was
written and directed by Sugawara Naoki, an actor and caregiver
who runs a company called OiBokkeShi (a name comprising
Japanese words meaning ‘old’, ‘senile’ and ‘death’) that is based in
Okayama. Sugawara has attracted attention nationally for linking
care work with theatre, receiving commissions from theatres andlocal governments, and developing a practice that combines workshops with creating new performances.
Plays exploring the theme of ageing followed one after theother. Maeda Shirō wrote and directed ok, so long. (Un, sayonara),a new play whose protagonists were old women. Performed byyoung female actors without wigs or special makeup, their acting

061

revealed a keenly felt richness from the withering minds andbodies of the characters, alongside the sorrow of the twilight of
human lives.
For Shingeki, where both the audiences and actors are getting
older, ageing is a particularly familiar subject. Seinenza staged
Comfort Ward (Anraku-byōtō), directed by Isomura Jun andwritten by Shirai Keita from the novel by Hahakigi Hōsei, which
examined end-of-life medical care. Gekidan Dora’s Tofu Coffee(Otōfu kōhī), written by Shimori Roba and directed by Aoki Gō,and Haiyūza’s The Time of Our Planet (Warera no hoshi no jikan),
written by Suzuki Satoshi and directed by Sato Tetsuya, both portrayed nursing homes for the elderly. They depicted a harsh reality
with a nonetheless cheerful touch.

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The Contemporary World, as Seen in Translated Plays
Stagings of translated plays also yielded many superb results. From
war to terrorism, religion and immigration, contemporary drama
sharply extracted the reality of a world continually divided andgripped by violence, while classics formed a mirror that reflected
our present times.
Terror, written by German author Ferdinand von Schirach anddirected by Mori Shintarō, made a particularly strong impact. It
portrays the aftermath of a terrorist takeover of an airliner which
was directed towards a football stadium. The air force major who
shot the plane down and caused the deaths of 164 passengers is thedefendant in a murder trial. Is he guilty or innocent? The verdict isdecided in a vote by the audience, who act as the jury for the trial.
062

In the tense courtroom drama atmosphere, the audience must confront and consider a reality in which terrorism is rampant. Of thetwenty-one performances in Japan, a guilty verdict was reached oneleven occasions and a not-guilty verdict at the remaining ten performances; when staged overseas, the verdict is apparently notguilty ninety per cent of the time. These results, too, form an indication of our reality that is illuminated by theatre. Mori also
directed the Japanese premiere of The Silver Tassie, a play by the
Irish dramatist Seán O’Casey about the fate of young men sent tofight in the First World War. Ninety years on, the play’s portrayalof the tragedy and futility of war remains raw.
Directed by Kamimura Satoshi, Littoral by the LebaneseCanadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad was a mysterious story of ason travelling with his father’s dead body in search of somewhereto bury him. Following the strange route taken by the father andson, the audience encountered the deep scars left by civil war in a

region that appears to be the Middle East, as well as the gravity ofeach individual life that is frequently buried beneath the weightof history.
Written by Ismaël Saidi and directed by Setoyama Misaki,
Djihad (Jihad) was the story of three young men who travel to
Syria from Belgium to take part in what they believe is a holy war.
The process by which seemingly ordinary and jocular secondgeneration immigrants join the extremist organisation IslamicState conveyed to the full the dilemmas faced by the world inwhich we live today.
Kuriyama Tamiya’s production of The Children by the British
dramatist Lucy Kirkwood dealt with the choices made by threeresearchers who used to work at a nuclear power station that was
damaged by an earthquake and tsunami. Though the play is set in

063

Britain, it was inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
How should adults face up to their responsibility for both animmediate crisis and the future? This immense question resonatedacross national borders.
Shirai Akira’s staging of Ballyturk by the Irish playwrightEnda Walsh told the story of two men living in a room at an undisclosed location and the arrival of a third man into their lives. An
absurdist play open to a number of different interpretations, it
reflected the chaos of the world that we do not understand.
Frequently staged masterpieces were also revived in fresh waysthat asked trenchant questions about the contemporary world.
In Kuriyama Tamiya’s production of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone,
the dispute that raged lucidly between Aoi Yū’s Antigone andNamase Katsuhisa’s Creon became an allegorical conflict and confrontation between the laws of the nation-state and the dignity ofTheatre in Japan

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CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

the individual. In a staging of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, also
directed by Kuriyama and with Terajima Shinobu in the title role,
the frustration felt by the protagonist was relevant to our present
times as another example of the problems women face in theirlives. Directed by Nagatsuka Keishi and starring Kazama Morio,
the revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman left a big impression as a drama portraying how we are trapped, unable to respondto change as society’s former values collapse all around us.

Expressing Social Dilemmas
Among new Japanese plays, powerful examples stood out thatbrought an awareness of social problems to the fore.
Written and directed by Nagai Ai, The Air Ver. 2: No One Shall
064

Write (Za kūki ver.2 daremo kaite wa naranu) was the second in aseries of plays dealing with the media. After the first play, 2017’s
The Air (Za kūki), which depicted the team behind a news show at
the mercy of conjecture by the channel’s bigwigs towards thewishes of the political party in power, this time the play contrasted
the National Diet ‘club’ of political news reporters with online
news media reporters to form a portrayal of how the media should
act toward authority. Though incorporating comical elements
aplenty, not least the caricature of an editorial writer for a major
newspaper proud of being on close terms with the prime minister,
the play was an acerbic denunciation of reality.
The nuclear power plant accident that occurred in 2011 is an
issue that continues to unfold within our lives. Based on copious
research, Tani Kenichi has started his Fukushima Trilogy (Fukushimasanbusaku) in an attempt to tackle this problem from its origins.
The first part, 1961: Sun Rising in the Night (1961-nen: Yoru ni

noboru taiyō), which he wrote and directed, depicted how thepassion of a scientist aiming for the peaceful use of nuclear energy
as well as dreams of regional redevelopment led to the decision to
construct a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
In When Large Flakes of Snow Dance (Botanyuki ga mau toki),
the Fukushima-based Takagi Tohoru portrayed the lives of ahusband and wife immediately after the start of the nuclear crisis,taking refuge in their home near the power plant. It was staged inthree separate versions by different directors attached to Seinenza(Kuroiwa Makoto, Itō Masaru and Saitō Rieko).
The Day the Atom Came (Atomu ga kita hi), written anddirected by Shimori Roba, shuttled between 1950 and 2040 to
depict both the first nuclear reactor in Japan and the nuclear policyof the near future.

065

The pairing of Furukawa Takeshi’s scripts and Hisawa
Yūsuke’s directing continued to reflect on the Second World War
and the Japanese. In Sing a Song (Shingu a songu), the singer protagonist based on Awaya Noriko embodied a spirit of resistance tothe oppression of war. Heritage (Isan) explored Unit 731, a unit in
the Imperial Japanese Army that conducted human experimentation in China. Shortly before the performances of Heritage,
Furukawa and Hisawa also staged a related play, Documentary(Dokyumentarī), dealing with the HIV-tainted blood scandal
caused by a pharmaceutical company established after the war by
doctors who were formerly members of Unit 731.
Written and directed by Setoyama Misaki, Me and War(Watashi, to sensō) imagined a near future in which the Japanese
go to war, confronting the question of how we can think of war as
our own problem through a story about the mental trauma sufTheatre in Japan

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CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

fered by returning soldiers.
Against a backdrop of premieres appearing one after the otherlike paints abundantly applied to an artwork, the 144th play by
Betsuyaku Minoru, Oh, Even So, Even So: The Dumb Waiter ofMany Orders (Aa, sore nanoni, sore nanoni – Chūmon no ōi ryōri
shōkōki), particularly stood out. Directed by Manabe Takashi, it
conjured up an increasingly confusing yet dryly humorous worldin which there lurked infinitely deep fear. With its lightness oftorch, this play felt immensely broad in scope and profound.

Fresh Starts by New Artistic Directors
Many popular and capable companies reached turning points this
year.
066

Keralino Sandrovich commemorated twenty-five years since
he launched his company Nylon100°C with a revival of his 2012
epic Century of Secrets (Hyakunen no himitsu) and premiering
Testis (Kōgan), which he likewise wrote and directed. For his group
KERA MAP, he wrote and directed another new play, Nuns
(Shūdōjotachi), a powerful work about a fictional religion thatoffered a sincere portrayal of faith, persecution and salvation.
Counting numerous well-known figures among its ranks, notleast its director, Matsuo Suzuki, the scriptwriter Kudō Kankurō,
and such diverse actors as Abe Sadao, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi, andHiraiwa Kami, the company Otona Keikaku marked its thirtiethyear with a commemorative exhibition, ‘Sanjussai’ (literally, Thirty
Festival), looking back over its past activities through photography
and video screenings. For Bunkamura, Matsuo also staged a major
reworking of Mankind Bankruptcy (Ningen gohasan), a play that hewrote and directed originally in 2003, slightly retitled as Mankind

Starting Again (in Japanese with a different yet homonymic final
Kanji character) and converted into a large-scale piece.
The Kyoto-based company Europe-Kikaku marked its twentieth anniversary by wowing audiences with alternating stagings of
two plays both written and directed by Ueda Makoto: the 2001 play
Summer Time Machine Blues (Samā taimumashin burūsu), a
science fiction comedy that is one of its major works and was also
made into a film, and a new sequel, Summer Time Machine Once
More (Samā taimumashin wansu moa), set fifteen years after
the original.
Ogawa Eriko took over from Miyata Keiko as the artistic
director of the New National Theatre, Tokyo. The new season
kicked off in October with a production of The Misunderstanding,written by Albert Camus and directed by Inaba Kae, a young
member of Bungakuza. While not overtly glamorous as endeav-067

ours, fresh ideas are reinvigorating the institution, from holding
auditions for all roles and the Kotsu Kotsu Project, a low-key yet
dedicated attempt to develop new plays over a one-year period.
The programme for the large-scale Japanese culture event
Japonismes 2018, which was held in France under the auspices of
the Japanese government to commemorate 160 years of friendshipbetween Japan and France, included many contemporary theatre
plays, such as Avidya – The Ignorance Inn (Jigokudani onsen mumyō
no yado), written and directed by Tanino Kurō, In the forest, undercherries in full bloom (Nisesaku sakura no mori no mankai no shita),
written and directed by Noda Hideki, Throw away Your Books, Let’s
Get onto the Streets (Sho o suteyo machi e deyō), adapted for the stage
and directed by Fujita Takahiro, Mahabharata – Nalacharitam(Mahābārata – Naraō no bōken), directed by Miyagi Satoshi, andTheatre in Japan

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Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession (Purātanā: Hyōi no pōtorēto),adapted and directed by Okada Toshiki. Iwai Hideto’s Gennevilliers
version of his Wareware no moromoro – own stories, staged withlocal people, including amateurs, also attracted much attention.
Finally, the director and long-time head of Shiki Theatre
Company Asari Keita passed away in July at the age of eighty-five.
He established the concept of the long run in Japan with musicalproductions, and, while often seen as a shrewd businessman who
cultivated a massive troupe comprising 1,300 cast and crew
members as well as over 3,000 performances per year, he also
worked tirelessly to build a foundation for theatre culture in Japanthrough prudent regional performances and continuing to develop
shows aimed at children, and was passionate about directing
068

non-musical productions at the end of his life. He was a giant who
leaves behind a great legacy, having bolstered postwar theatre in
Japan from a unique standpoint.
Yamaguchi, Hiroko
Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun. Born in 1960, she graduated from the
Department of Science at Ochanomizu University. In 1983, she joined the Asahi
Shimbun newspaper, working at its Tokyo and west Japan (Fukuoka) branches,and Osaka head office. She works mainly as a reviewer and reporter on culturalnews, in particular theatre. She has served on the paper’s editorial board and as
an editorialist. She co-wrote Ninagawa Yukio’s Work (Shinchōsha).
(Translation: William Andrews)

Children’s and Youth Theatre and Puppet Theatre

Passion and Hard Work in
an Age of Fewer Children
Yokomizo Yukiko
While children’s and youth theatre continues to be hard hit byreduced numbers of children and the resulting economic consequences, there are some signs that the ‘Fundamental Law for Cultural Arts’ implemented in June 2017 and the plan to move key
departments of the National Cultural Agency from Tokyo to Kyoto
will prove to be an encouraging support. And moreover, as theTokyo 2020 Olympics approaches, preparations for the International Theatre Festival for Children and Young Audiences are069

reaching a high pitch.

Threats to Opportunities for Children to See Theatre
Performances of theatre in schools as part of the education
programme are decreasing every year. One effect of the reductionin the number of children is that schools do not have the capacity tohave theatre troupes come and perform and must therefore forego
these opportunities. This leads to a vicious circle, where the incomeof children’s theatre companies from performance decreases, and it
becomes increasingly difficult to keep a troupe going.
There was a move towards creating a government ministry forthe arts. There is a group in the National Diet working for the creation of this ministry, and with 136 Diet members from all parties
at the general meeting on December 5, 2018 there was a unanimous
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CHILDREN’S and YOUTH THEATRE and PUPPET THEATRE

decision to recommend the creation of an arts ministry in 2020.
This was especially significant considering that among the aims ofthis ministry was ‘guaranteeing the opportunity for children to see
one artistic performance a year’, and the fact that it was passed
unanimously. In the 2018 budget 107.7 billion yen was allocated for
this, an increase of 3.3 per cent.
The Regional Tour of Children’s and Youth Theatre sponsoredby the Japan Arts Council, which is intended for children living
outside the big cities, was held for the fifty-ninth year. In the springsemester there were eight theatre companies and in autumn semester there were fourteen. The Tour of Children’s and Youth Stage Arts,
organised as part of the Strategic Project for the Encouragement of
the Creation of Artistic Culture, sponsored by the Japanese070

National Cultural Agency, had twelve theatre troupes touring
throughout Japan, including islands and other remote areas.

Preparations Progress for the ASSITEJ World Congress
Preparations are reaching a high pitch for the twentieth
ASSITEJ World Congress / International Theatre Festival forChildren and Young Audiences in 2020, which is being organisedby the Japan Centre of ASSITEJ. Shimoyama Hisashi, producer ofthe ricca ricca*festa in Okinawa, has been appointed artistic director of the International Theatre Festival for Children and Young
Audiences 2019. The conference is scheduled to use the Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre as the main venue and will be held from May
14-24 2020, inviting around thirty works from abroad. On February 19–25 2018, the Asia TYA Festival was held at venues such as
the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center, as a kind of preevent for the World Congress. There were ten theatre companies

from seven foreign countries. The pieces presented included The
Flea and the Ant (Nomi to ari) from Georgia, dramatising a famous
folk story, and When Everything was Green (Subete ga midori dattakoro) from Israel, which was a puppet play with no dialogue thatshowed the relationship between nature and human beings and thedestruction of the environment. From Japan, Gekidan Nakamapresented Space Battleship SORA (Sora no muragō), and Company
It’s Follies presented The Day the Little Letters ‘Tsu’ Disappeared(Chiisai ‘tsu’ ga kieta hi). There were a total of forty-six pieces presented, including ten pieces of ‘baby theatre’ aimed at audiences
aged zero and up. At the Asian TYA Meeting, twelve countries
participated, showing the depth of interest.

Theatre Festivals Flourish in the Summer
Most theatre festivals are concentrated in the summer vaca-

071

tion. One large international festival is the ricca ricca*festa
International Theater Festival OKINAWA for Young Audiences(July 22–29 Naha, July 24–29 Ginoza). There were a total oftwenty-seven pieces from twelve countries. There was particularinterest in four pieces from Scotland, White, Cinderella, Whiteout
and Night Light, and three pieces by theatre troupes from Novgorod
and St. Petersburg for the ‘Russia Year in Japan’. There were also
ambitious pieces like Strangers, which was a co-production by
Japan and the Goethe-Institut Tokyo. Kazama Morio presented his
one-man show Peace for the first time in Okinawa.
The Great Theatre Exposition for Children 2018 (July 27–
August 1, National Olympics Memorial Youth Center) was formerly
known as the Forum for Children to Encounter the Stage Arts, but
it has already been twenty years since this name change. There were
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fifty pieces with fifty-two performances. Among them, the mostunusual was the children’s theatre committee from the Haiyūza
Theatre Company who presented Goldfish (Kingyo), a play on thetheme of money. There were many activities including symposiums
and a play area, and it attracted over 10,000 parents and children.
The Summer Vacation Children and Youth Theatre Festival(July 21–August 12, Space Zero, Puppet Theatre Puk and othervenues) featured nineteen groups with twenty-eight performances.
Among them was the Zenshinza Theatre Company presenting I ama Stinky Trashman (Kuzūi kuzuya de gozaru). 21st Century Theatre
from Kitakata (August 3–6) was held for the nineteenth time. There
were twenty-six venues including Kitakata Plaza, with seventy-six
troupes and 116 performances. The programme was full of variety
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including Kitakata yose (vaudeville theatre) sponsored by the
Rakugo Kyokai, puppet theatre, plays and pantomime. 8,562 people
attended, combining their participation with sightseeing. Saku Cityin Nagano Prefecture held the Kid’s Circuit (August 3–5) withtwenty-three performances in seven institutions.
Tokyo theatres also had festivals with unique characteristics.
The Setagaya Children Project 2018 (July 21–September 1) at the
Setagaya Public Theatre was organised by the artistic director
Nomura Mansai and had a unique programme, including Hino
Terumasa’s Jazz for Kids and Ide Shigehiro’s dance company
idevian crew’s Exhaust Pipe (Haikikō). At the TACT/FESTIVAL
2018 (June 29–July 1), held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
where Noda Hideki is artistic director, Les moutons by the
Canadian troupe Corpus has already become a regular highlight of
the festival. In the plaza in front of the theatre Tanaka Min poured
his soul into the Butoh dance Place-dance (Baodori).

The Nissay Theatre Family Festival was held for thetwenty-sixth time. On the fifty-fifth anniversary of the theatre’s
opening, it provided the opportunity for parents and children to
watch first-class performances together in the luxurious theatre
designed by Murano Tōgo. The performances were first-rate thisyear as well. It featured a collaboration between the puppet theatre
troupe Hitomiza and contemporary dance, Elisa and the White
Swan Princes (Erisa to hakuchō no ōjitachi) (July 28, 29), and aconcert of classic music with a story, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
(August 4, 5) with music by the New Japan Philharmonic. For the
first time in five years, the programme included Nissay Kabuki for
Parents and Children (August 10–12). The programme featured ademonstration, the play The Sword Thief (Tachi nusubito) with
Bandō Hikosaburō and Bandō Kamezō, and a dance, The Wisteria
Maiden (Fuji musume), featuring Kataoka Takatarō. The festival

073

also featured the Star Dancers Ballet company with the ballet
Dragon Quest (August 24–26).
At the Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT) in Yokohama, theKAAT Kids’ Programme (July 20–August 26) featured pieces
fitting the tastes of artistic director Shirai Akira, including Alice inWonderland (Fushigi no kuni no arisu) (July 20–22), directed andchoreographed by Moriyama Kaiji, who also starred in it, andGretel and Hansel (August 18–26, script by Suzanne Lebeau anddirected by Gervais Gaudreault). The story is different from thefamous Hansel and Gretel.

2018 Best Three in Children’s and Youth Theatre•ACO Okinawa, Children of the Sea (Umi no kodomotachi) (written
and directed by Chong Wishing) is a play without words. It has a
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sad sound as the performer walks around playing the sanshin andsinging the theme song. The three actors playing the children weresuperb mimes and dancers. Without any text, the three children
play happily, but they start playing ‘war’ in a way that evokes thewar in Okinawa. This is a piece that can be understood all aroundthe world.
•Shadow Play Theatre KAKASHIZA, The Wizard of Oz (Oz nomahō tsukai) (original by L. Frank Baum, script by Hanawa
Mitsuru, directed by Hanawa Mitsuru and Gotō Kei). This playused many projections with parts that can be moved projected ona screen to evoke the scenes in a way only possible with shadow
puppets. It was an innovative production that also used Hand
Shadow ANIMARE.
074•K AZENOKO Theatre Company, Scrum and Crash: Children’s
Second Plan is Ready (script by Tanaka Tsutomu, directed by
Nakajima Ken), a play that seriously examines the children of
today. Five good friends put on a play at a school assembly. Afterall kinds of conflicts and disappointments, the play is performed
without a problem. This play examines what friendship should be
and what it really is.
Gekidan Nakama has presented Samuil Marshak’s The Woods
are Alive (Mori wa ikite iru) (original title: Twelve Months) at the endof every year since 1959, and this year it passed over 2,000 performances. From 2017, it has been newly directed by Suzuki Tatsuo fromthe Zenshinza Theatre Company, and the relationship of the gods ofthe twelve months has become very clear. Theatrical group EN’s
Children’s Stage has continued since 1981 and this thirty-seventh
production featured a new play, The Emperor’s New Clothes (Hadakana ōsama) (written by Kuniyoshi Saki, directed by Gotō Ayano).
Modern theatre troupes that are usually intended for adult audiences are also working hard to produce children’s theatre as well.

World Puppet Festival
This year, the Iida Puppet Festa 2018 (August 3–12) marks thefortieth year since Iida City in Nagano Prefecture became a puppet
theatre city. It was extremely lively, with puppet troupes fromeighteen countries from the six continents of the globe andtwenty-nine pieces from various regions of Japan, with a total of
300 theatre troupes from inside and outside Japan. There were
sixteen traditional puppet troupes from Japan, including the
Hachioji Kuruma Ningyō Nishikawa Koryū Troupe and the Shōnai
Dewa Ningyō Shibai. There were performances that charged
admission and free performances at 165 venues within Iida City075

and its neighbouring towns. This is a great success story of how
puppet theatre has invigorated a town.
In 2019, the Puppet Theatre Puk will be commemorating
ninety years since its founding. The 2018 season was planned as apreview of the actual commemorative year, and there weretwenty-eight plays with 385 performances. Puk participated in all
festivals, including the Iida Puppet Festa. There are seventy-fivemembers in the troupe and the performers were divided into threeor four groups that could all perform separately. Despite being
ninety-four years old, Ruth Stiles Gannett, the author of the original story of one of Puk’s most famous plays, My Father’s Dragon(Erumā no bōken), came to Japan on July 26 in conjunction with
Puk’s performance of the play (August 2–5, Kinokuniya Hall). For
over thirty years Puk has performed this dramatisation written by
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Kawajiri Taiji and staged by Munakata Masato. This time there wasa new staging by Shibasaki Yoshihiko, with choreography by
pantomime artist Onodera Shūji and art by Maya Petrova, wholives in Bulgaria, making this classic be reborn as a new play. Cat’s
Rent a Paw (Neko no te kashimasu) (original by Miyamoto Tadao,
script and direction by Inoue Sachiko) is a new play that shows theadorable and strongly self-reliant life of a stray cat named
Sutemaru. The Story of the Seagull and the Gang of Tomcats(Kamome ni tobu koto o oshieta doraneko no monogatari) (original
by Luis Sepúlveda, script and direction by Katya Petrova) was a
joint creation with the Bulgarian Sofia Puppet Theatre and waspresented at the Sofia Puppet Fair in Bulgaria in September. There
were also well received puppet plays for adults, including Inoue
076

Hisashi’s play Cheerful Thirties, Falling Apart Forties (Ukauka
sanjū, chorochoro yonjū) (directed by Inoue Sachiko), and modern
versions of Aesop’s fables by Tanabe Seiko, The Promise…
(Yakusoku…) and The Goldfish Has Escaped (Kingyo ga nigeta)(produced by Gomi Tarō, script by Shibasaki Yoshihiko anddirected by Hayakawa Yuriko).

2018 Best Three in Puppet Theatre•P uppet Theatre Puk, The Story of the Seagull and the Gang ofTomcats (Kamome ni tobu koto o oshieta doraneko no monogatari).
A seagull soaked in oil lays an egg, and a black cat raises the chickand eventually teaches the bird how to fly. A story that teaches thepreciousness of life and how to live together.
•Hitomiza, Clear, with Occasional Pigs (Hare tokidoki buta). The
original children’s story by Yadama Shirō has become a stylish
stage production. With the melodies of Bossa nova, Noriyasu’s

diary full of nonsense becomes a heartwarming comedy possible
only with puppet theatre.
•A lfa Theatre (Czech Republic), The Three Musketeers. Staged at the
Puppet Theatre Puk on August 10 and 11, and afterwards touring
twelve cities in Japan from Okinawa to Hokkaido, and with overthirty performances. This production showed the story of how
d’Artagnan is born in a French countryside town and together
with the three musketeers comes to solve all kinds of problems.
The story was told rhythmically and with a fast tempo that is only
possible with puppet theatre.
The O Fujin Prize for Children and Youth Theatre is given
to a female theatre professional for long-time contribution tochildren’s and youth theatre, and the twenty-eighth prize wasawarded to Onagi Tamiko of Puppet Theatre Puk. She has also

077

been the assistant chairman of UNIMA (Union Internationale dela Marionnette) and its steering committee. The prize was awarded
for her achievements in international exchanges in puppet theatre.
Yokomizo, Yukiko
Yokomizo Yukiko is a theatre critic, executive director of the Japan Theatre
Association, a councilor for Tomin Gekijō and a member of Kabuki Circle’splanning committee. After working as editorial staff at the cultural section of Jiji
Press Ltd., she held posts in the screening committee of the Arts Festival
sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Japan Arts Council’s TheatreCommittee, and has given lectures at Nihon University College of Art. She is alsoa member of the Dance Critics Association, Saitama Prefecture’s Writers’
Association and the International Theatre Institute. She has translated Practical
Stage Makeup (joint translation) and written Actors Talk About Their Dreams(Yume kataru yakushatachi), etc. In 2019, the Japanese Theatre Association gave
her a special award for her services to the arts.
(Translation: Mark Ōshima)

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JAPANESE CLASSICAL DANCEJapanese Classical Dance

Female Dancers Reaffirm
their Roots to Find New Possibilities
Hirano Hidetoshi
In the modern age of Japan’s performing arts, due to national cultural policy, the cultural forms that had been developed in Japan
from ancient times to the Edo period on the basis of cultural influence of Asia changed completely. Now cultural pioneers were performing artists who studied in Europe and America.
The project of reevaluating the work of the pioneers of Western078

dance in Japan, their ideals, their achievements and their personalities and approaching it both from the standpoint of academic
research and from the standpoint of the dancers that created theseworks through symposiums and workshops has been given thename “Dance Archives in Japan.” Since 2014, the New National
Theatre, Tokyo has produced performances called “Dance Archives
in Japan” with the co-sponsorship of the Contemporary Dance
Association of Japan. Inspired by this, the “Buyō Nenkan (Dance
Art in Japan Yearbook) 2017” published by the Japan Ballet Association included a “Panel Discussion on the Project of Dance Archive
Performances Open to the Public.”
With respect to Nihon Buyō, which is one of the traditional
performing arts, the National Theatre, which is an entity under theadministration of the Nihon Geijutsu Bunka Shinkō Kai (TheJapanese Arts Council), conducts activities like maintaining recordings of dance performances, but under the auspices of anothergovernment body, the Bunkachō (Agency for Cultural Affairs), considers the preservation and protection of the heritage of tangible
materials in the same way as intangible cultural treasures so thatthe approach is not unified. Treating a body of cultural products asa heritage is like locking them up and preserving them in a storehouse, but treating them as an archive means both preserving materials related to past performances, but also preserving them in performances in the present, in a way that often means referring to
documentary material. This is a process that occurs constantly inJapanese classical dance when a dance created in the past is recreated in the present. So I believe that the term “archiving” is appropriate to describe what happens in Japanese classical dance.

Umemoto Rikuhei and the Stream of Musical Culture from
Kengyō Blind Musicians079

When thinking about the kinds of traditional Japanese performing arts that continued to exist even after the introduction ofEuropean and American performing arts in the modern age, often
the music of the kengyō blind performers is overlooked. Fromancient times blind men have specialized as musicians andbelonged to guilds where the highest rank was kengyō. Kengyō
musicians played the koto and the kind of chamber music thatcame to be known as sankyoku, with koto, shamisen (also called
sangen) and either the bowed kokyū (which looks like a miniatureshamisen) or shakuhachi. The core of the classical repertory ofmusic for koto, which includes pieces that have singing as well, wascreated by these blind kengyō. The musical roots of the music of
kengyō lies in such stage performances as gagaku court music anddance and the classical noh and kyōgen theatres, as well as such
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folk performances as dengaku, fūryū and shishi-mai lion dances aswell as shōmyō Buddhist chanting. Kengyō musical culture beganwith these blind musicians, but in the Edo period, the physicalexpression of kengyō music gave birth to “ jiuta (songs of Kyoto andOsaka)” and “ jiuta mai (dance with jiuta).” This music could also
be performed by blind male musicians, but also became closely
associated with the geisha districts of Kansai. There is much debate
over what is the best overall name for this genre, but under thename of “Kamigata Mai,” the Agency for Cultural Affairs has designated it an intangible cultural heritage and is working towards
the preservation of this art form, but these efforts do not amount toan actual establishment of an archive for Kamigata Mai.
There are several schools of Kamigata Mai, but they all draw
080

on elements created in the Edo Period (1603 – 1868) and earlier(like the music of the kengyō), centered on the geisha districts ofKansai in the modern period and their development and social
structures are intimately associated with the distinctive culturaland social history of Kansai. One school of Kamigata Mai,
Inoue-Ryū, has been recognized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs
separately as well as “Kyōmai (dances of Kyoto).” Inoue-Ryū isexclusive to the Gion geisha district in Kyoto and while it can be
performed in many places, it is only practiced by people connectedto that one geisha district. Under the third head of Inoue-Ryū,
Inoue Yachiyo III (1838 – 1938), dances, which had been created asentertainments for the intimacy of the banquet rooms of the geisha
districts also grew into stage performance featuring the women of
the geisha districts first with the “Miyako Odori” performancesfeaturing geisha from Gion as dancers and musicians.
The second head of the Umemoto-Ryū, Umemoto Senshō

learned from the example of Inoue-Ryū and in Meiji 15 (1882)
began a similar performance in Osaka featuring the geisha of thatcity. Yoshimura-Ryū has its roots in the dances for the zashiki
banquet chamber of Kyoto and in the Taisho Period (1912 – 1926),
became established in the geisha districts of Osaka. All three ofthese schools – Inoue-Ryū, Umemoto-Ryū and Yoshimura-Ryū –fundamentally have nothing to do with kabuki and rather, shouldbe thought of as being part of flow of kengyō musical culture.
Each of these schools of dance is centered on the geisha districts. The community of each of these schools is a social structurewith an iemoto who heads the school, and then the teachers ofdance and their students. Jiuta and the associated dances, jiutamai, originated in the early Edo period and came to be supportedby these communities within the geisha districts. Since bothlessons and performances in the banquet chamber were a part of081

daily life, that meant that in the past and to a great extent in thepresent, these communities were a world where both creation of
the art and transmission of the art were a part of daily life, rather
than being focused on rare performances that would be an extradaily occasion. The physical expression of Kamigata Mai, both inmusic and dance, is the product of an archive, which is maintained
within the bodies of these communities where both training andperformance are a part of daily life.
This is shown clearly by the emergence of Umemoto Rikuhei,
the third head of the Umemoto school of dance. When Rikuhei
was 21, at the recommendation of his father, Senshō, the second
head of the Umemoto school, Rikuhei became the teacher at the
Takarazuka Revue Company of Umemoto style dance and western
dance. He wrote many scripts which he then choreographed and
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staged for the Takarazuka productions. He was also absorbed indance research and he always maintained that in education,
Japanese traditional dance must be presented on equal footingwith western dance. This valuing Japanese dance and western
dance equally and Rikuhei’s spirit remain alive within the
Takarazuka Revue Company today. (from “Nihon no Shintai
Hyōgen – Ongaku・Buyō・Engeki [Japan’s Physical Expression –Music・Dance・Theatre],” the 179th installment of the series in the70th volume, number 8 issue of “Nihon Buyō.”)Two Shining Examples of the Aesthetics ofGalapagos Evolution: Kamigata Mai and Suodori
Inoue Yachiyo III created the community of the Inoue-Ryū
082

school and the “Miyako Odori” of Kyoto’s Gion geisha district at
the dawning of Nihon buyō’s modern age. Her spirit is carried onby the present head of the school, Inoue Yachiyo V. Inoue Yachiyo
danced “Yukari no Tsuki (The Moon of Love)” (Mai no Kai –Keihan no Zashiki Mai [Kamigata Dance Recital – The Dances of
the Banquet Chambers of Kyoto and Osaka], November 23, Small
Theatre of the National Theatre). This is a dance that she had choreographed herself 10 years ago. Her steps were light and deft andthe piece perfectly expressed the quiet and intimate feelings of love
between a man and a woman realistically and vividly. At that same
recital, for the first time, Yamamura Tomogorō, the 6th head of
Yamamura-Ryū school of dance performed dances to Kamigata
hauta that he had learned from Yamamura Ai, “Gekosuberakashi,”and “Saigyō.” This showed how entertaining the witty dances of thearchive of Kamigata Mai can be. Unlike other schools of Kamigata
Mai, Yamamura-Ryū began as choreographers for kabuki. But its

main function is as the dance school for the geisha of Osaka.
In recent years, dancers of Kamigata Mai have been very active
in introducing their art to a larger audience. These performers
include Yoshimura Chihiro with her Bekkai, and Kanzaki En, who
belongs to Kanzaki-Ryū which split off from Yoshimura-Ryū schooland Izumo Yō who split off from Kanzaki-Ryū school teaming up
together in the Hana no Mi Kai (representative: Ōtomo Seijō). Thisshows that Kamigata Mai is not a heritage; it is an archive.
In Tokyo, unlike the schools of Kamigata Mai, the influence ofkabuki has been very strong. In the Edo period, dance was practiced and taught by kabuki choreographers, kabuki actors andfemale dancers called “Okyōgen-shi” who specialized in teaching
dance to the women serving in the mansions of samurai lords. In
the modern period, the dances that they did formed the core ofwhat is done by the modern schools of Nihon buyō like Nishikawa,

083

Fujima, Hanayagi and Bandō schools. But during the Edo period,
apart from the licensed kabuki theaters, there was the Yoshiwara
licensed brothel district, which had its own distinct culture. The
dance to the New Year’s piece “Hokushū,” which appeared in the
Bunsei period (1818 – 1830) was choreographed by Hanayagi
Jusuke, the first head of the Hanayagi school of dance, for the
Yoshiwara geisha. This dance created for geisha in Edo is as brilliant a product of the Galapagos evolution as Kamigata Mai.
Hanayagi Mariko performed this dance in the “Hanayagi Marikono Kai” (November 24, Small Theatre of the National Theater). She
received the Excellence Award in the Arts Festival sponsored by
the Agency for Cultural Affairs over a decade ago for her performance of this dance, but her art has deepened and matured andthat gave power and warmth to her depiction of the people andTheatre in Japan

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customs of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter.
Dances like this, designed for the banquet chambers of thepleasure quarters, provided a format for performance in themodern period outside of the kabuki theater. “Suodori” means toperform a dance without stage costume, stage sets or props. It isdone in formal kimono using only a dance fan as a prop. In the late
Meiji period, the “zashiki no odori (dances for the banquet
chamber)” were renamed “suodori,” and became a form of stage
performance that could be the specialty of Japanese classicaldancers and also serve as a test of their ability.
As particular examples of the beauty of suodori, the performances by Fujima Etsuko in her recital, “Keishō Kai (September 2,
Small Theatre of the National Theatre) of the Nagauta piece “Nankō”
084

and the new Nagauta composition, “Hioi no Michi” (choreography
by Hanayagi Juraku II) represented a very high achievement.

The Daring of Female Dancers to Explore their Roots andthe Discovery of New Beginnings
Hanayagi Mariko and Fujima Etsuko used white make-up in
their suodori. This is related to the fact that when female danceteachers began performing suodori in the Taisho period, they wore
white make-up. The meaning of suodori is that these dance teachers
were showing their everyday faces in the non-everyday context ofthe stage. But most female dancers of that time were also geisha
and so, for them, their everyday faces in the context of their work
were faces wearing white make-up, what would be non-everyday
for most women then and now, most classical Japanese dancers as
well.
In 2018, for the first time, Geimaru-za, a group of the inJapanese classical dance from the Tokyo University of the Arts helda recital (August 24, Nihonbashi Kōkaidō). The group began in
2007, but this performance of the Nagauta dance “Funa Benkei(Benkei in the Boat)”looked back to the beginnings of suodori byhaving a set like the kabuki one of a copy of the bare stage of theclassical noh theater. This piece is based on a famous noh play thatshows general Minamoto no Yoshitsune fleeing Kyoto. In the firsthalf he must say farewell to his lover Shizuka Gozen, in the second
half he is attacked by the ghost of Tomomori, a general of the Heikeclan that Yoshitsune helped to defeat. The shite main actor plays
Shizuka Gozen in the first half and the ghost of Tomomori in thesecond half, while the other major role is Yoshitsune’s retainer
warrior priest Benkei, who in the first half must persuade Shizuka
Gozen that she cannot join them on this dangerous journey and in
the second half fights off the ghost of Tomomori with prayers and085

magical spells. Despite these very masculine characters, thisstaging used a picture of an ancient pine as background like thenoh stage, and all the dancers were women. This was truly the mostextreme form of suodori since dancers did not wear wigs or whitestage make-up but by doing so, the staging could find the fundamental attractive qualities made possible by suodori like danceteachers normally do in the everyday context of the stage. As theghost of Tomomori, Fujikage Shizuhisa had the dashing charm ofan actor of male roles in Takarazuka, while the dancer playing
Benkei, Hanayagi Ōhisui, had a clear grasp of what the role ofBenkei must do on stage, and thought how to do that without thehelp of stage costume and make-up to perform the role and to
overcome the barrier of a woman playing a male role. All of thefemale dancers shared this clear sense of what had to be done in
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presenting this piece and of the hurdles to presenting it as puresuodori. In this experiment in returning to the roots of suodori,grappling with what would seem like very intractable challenges, I
could feel the sense of responsibility and determination of thesedancers and the new possibilities that this experiment uncovered.
At the “Tokyo Mizuki Kai Kōen” (September 9, Large Theatreof the National Theatre) the Sōfūgaku piece “Omoi Takigawa(lyrics by Tatsui Takenosuke, singing and shamisen composed by
Kiyomoto Shiyō, percussion composition by Tōsha Roei)” choreographed by Mizuki Yuka contrasted a dancer with white stage
make-up and one without and this pointed up the female characterwith white make-up (Mizuki Yuka) and accurately brought out theintentions of the writer. The author Tatsui was inspired by the086

poem by Emperor Sutoku in the Hyakunin Isshu (A Hundred
Poems by a Hundred Poets) collection, “Though the swift flow will
be divided by a rock, I believe that it will come together again in
the end.” He took the idea of the flow of a river coming together
again and interpreted it as a woman waiting to be reunited with
her love and wrote a text full of word plays and expressing thistheme through the changing of the four seasons. The text was witty
and playful, but difficult to understand totally. Mizuki understoodthe composition very well and choreographed it so that the waiting
woman (Mizuki) was performed with white make-up while
another female dancer was without white face make-up and acted
as a kind of chorus that very effectively supported the role of the
waiting woman bringing out the contours of the dance beautifully.

The Activities of Single Dance Artists Lose their Lustre
The start of a Japanese classical dancer begins when they canstand independently as an artist even though they usually belong
to a particular school of dance. To this end, recitals by individuals
have been extremely important and until around the 1980’s were aglittering arena of creativity. But in recent years, the flow of activity has changed and instead of recitals by an individual artist or
even by members of a particular school of dance effort is concentrated on the various performances produced by the Nihon Buyō
Kyōkai (Japanese Classical Dance Association) and the National
Theatre where dancers from different schools appear together. Thisis also probably related to the fact that the number of masters who
can teach the members of the Japanese Classical Dance Association
has been drastically reduced. There is an urgent need to investigate
what the exact causes of this trend are, how the members of theassociation are being trained and how dancers throughout Japan

087

actually live and work today.
NHK Enterprise and related groups sponsored the “Gei no
Shinzui (The Essence of Art)” series of recitals that were televised
and now that has been replaced by the “Koten Geinō o Mirai e –Shikō no Gei to Keishōsha (Leading Traditional Performing Art to
the Future – The Highest Level of Art and the Successors to It).” Aspart of this series, there was a recital of the Onoe school of dance(August 29, Large Theatre of the National Theatre). This brought
together people from the kabuki world and the students of Onoe
school dance from the geisha world and members of the ordinary
public. This event made a place for the Onoe school among the five
major schools of Japanese classical dance in Tokyo: Nishikawa,
Fujima, Hanayagi, Bandō and Wakayagi.
With regard to this point, the heads of these major schools ofdance dominate the board of directors of the Japanese Classical
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Dance Association and direct its activities. One of the major activities of the Japanese Classical Dance Association is its annual recitalin February (February 17, 18, Large Theatre of the National Theatre,
part of the Tomin Geijutsu Festival [Tokyo Performing Arts
Festival]). In the past, this was largely a venue for the heads of dance
schools and their successors and other dancers prestigious within
their schools to perform before their patrons. Now the ClassicalDance Association is trying to make this a performance with theinterests of the audience in mind, instead of just the performers.
However the selection of dances performed and the emphasis incasting on heads of dance schools and rewarding dancers, who havelong been active in the Classical Dance Association, suggests that
there needs to be a serious re-examination of how things are really088

carried out and whether this is the best way to carry out the missionof the Classical Dance Association to raise the artistic level of its
rank-and-file members and to broaden the audience for Japaneseclassical dance.
This year marks the second time of “Nihon Buyō Mirai-za(Japanese Classical Dance Theatre of the Future),” a presentation of
new pieces. The dance was “Carmen 2018” (June 22 – 24, Small
Theatre of the National Theatre) and it was a reworking of the dance
presented in 2003, “Basara no Onna – Karumen 2003 (The Basara
Rose Woman – Carmen 2003).” It had the feeling of a tragic Shinpa
play. It had the strong touch of the director Hanayagi Suketarō.
However, it is not clear that this is a piece that will connect to the
future. By connecting to the star system of the kabuki world it was
full of topics for publicity, but for the ordinary members of theClassical Dance Association, it was a performance that made them
spectators rather than a part of the creative process.

It is Time for Innovation in National Cultural Policy forJapanese Classical Dance
Last year in October, the National Cultural Agency eliminatedthe wall between the two main branches of activity, the Cultural
Section and the Cultural Properties section and made the main
section of invigorating the culture of regions the main axis ofactivities. This is the time for the production department of the
National Theatre to innovate as well. It is time to eliminate thebarrier between the kabuki division and the “Dentō Geinō (traditional performing arts)” (chūsei geinō [medieval performances],hōgaku [Japanese traditional music], hōbu [Japanese traditional
dance], minzoku geinō [folk performing arts]), unite them aroundthe core of the physical expressive techniques that the traditional
performing arts share and then to plan performances and otheractivities that will be based in specific regions of Japan and pro-089

duced together with that region.
With this in mind, some of the activities at the National
Theatre have been a little different from usual. Two projects
involved collaborations between the production sections devoted
to buyō classical dance and hōgaku traditional music, “Dentō Geinōno Miryoku: Oyako de Tanoshimu Buyō・Hōgaku (The Attractionsof Japanese Traditional Performing Arts: Classical Japanese Danceand Traditional Music for the Whole Family)” (July 7, Small
Theatre of the National Theatre) and a performance at the National
Theatre produced by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, “Meiji 150
Nen Kinen: Buyō・Hōgaku de Yomigaeru Tōkyō no Meiji (Marking
the 150 Years since Meiji: Bringing Meiji Period Tokyo Back to Life
Through Japanese Classical Dance and Traditional Music)”(Furuido Hideo, program concept and explanatory lecture,
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October 6, Small Theatre of the National Theatre). On the other
hand, a performance organized as buyō could be equally thoughtof as belonging to kabuki. The “Henge Buyō (Fast Change Dances)”(May 26, large hall of the National Theatre) featured dances createdin kabuki in the late Edo period with series of dances featuring asingle star playing several different characters. This is a subset ofthe “Kabuki Buyō” which is a genre that has been established as anintangible National Treasure. This performance featured a reconstruction of “Nanae Zaki Naniwa no Iezuto (Seven-Fold Floweringof a Souvenir of Osaka)” one of these series of seven dances. If thiswere to be produced not only by the buyō section but in conjunction with the kabuki section, this would indeed be an explorationof the aesthetic of this mode of physical expression.
090

TopicsAmong the activities of individual dancers, Nishikawa
Minosuke’s performance of the Jiuta “Chongare Ikkyū” choreographed by Hanayagi Shigeka won the Art Encouragement Prize
from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Hanayagi Shigeka (b. 1926) is
one of the pioneers in creating buyō strongly influenced by Modern
Dance. Moreover, in the Nishikawa Kai (April 22, Large Theatre of
the National Theatre), Minosuke revived an example of the largescale, leisurely 18th century style of dance called “Tenmei Buri”
with “En Musubi Edo no Asahina (Bonds of Love; Asahina in Edo).”In the Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival, two
younger dancers received the award for excellence: Hanayagi Shūefor the Itchū Bushi version of “Dōjōji” (October 16, Kioi Small Hall)and Yamamura Wakayūko for the Jiuta piece, “Yodogawa (TheYodo River)” and the Nagauta piece “Shizu Hata Obi” (October 18,

National Bunraku Theatre). In the joint recital by Hanayagi
Tamaito and Izumi Yūki (October 27, Tamayū Kai, Small Theatreof the National Theatre), the suodori performance of the Kiyomoto
piece, “Yoshinoyama” impressed with the strength of their ideals as
masters of buyō, while the new piece, “Sansan Ara” was eye riveting
and was reminiscent of the creative work of buyō artists like
Hanayagi Shigeka and Hanayagi Teruna (1929 – 2005) who were
pioneers in fusing Modern Dance and buyō. Also, while I had
thought that there was no one to preserve and transmit the works
of Hanayagi Teruna, it is indeed a happy occurrence that Teruna’s
composition “Kokū no Yuki (Snow in the Empty Sky)” (November
21, performance by Shūdan Nihon Buyō 21, Small Theatre of the
National Theatre) was splendidly brought back to life.
While there are many performances of Japanese Classical Danceabroad, one event of note is that in early December, Living National

091

Treasure Inoue Yachiyo V performed in London and Edinburgh.
This marks the first performances of Kyōmai by itself abroad.
Hirano, Hidetoshi
Nihon buyō (Japanese classical dance) critic. Born in 1944 in Sendai andgraduated from the theater division of the literature department of Waseda
University majoring in kabuki. Worked for a publishing house as an editor forsuch periodicals as “Okinawa Performing Arts,” the quarterly journal “Folk
Performing Arts,” the monthly magazine, “Japanese Music and Classical Dance.”
As a critic, his interest is in investigating the art of physical expression. He is amember of advisory committees for the Japanese Cultural Agency and theSociety for the Advancement of the Arts in Japan. In 2016, his book “Critique:
History of Japanese Physical Expression – Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern
Period” (Nihon Buyō-sha) was published.
(Translation: Mark Ōshima)

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BALLET

Ballet

The World of Japanese Ballet Celebrated
the 200th birthday of Marius Petipa:
Maintaining Vigor against Hardship
Urawa Makoto

Globally in 2018 the trend to prioritise national self-interests
became prominent and brought and intensified various problems
in the field of international relations, domestic politics, economy,society and, especially, the natural environment. Japan suffered092

from frequent natural calamities such as earthquakes and torrential rains, along with searing heat, caused by climate change.
Whilst political and economic uncertainty continued, Japanese
media had more interest in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics
and Paralympics than in arts and culture; contemporary arts inparticular experienced hardship in many aspects.
It is against this backdrop that I will examine the consequences for Japanese ballet.
The number of performances by small and middle-sizedcompanies certainly decreased slightly. Yet there were no big
changes in the activities of the largest companies, nor in thenumber of invited foreign ballet troupes, due to each company’s
inventive management and promotional efforts combined with thesupport of a solid core of ballet aficionados. The growing numberof universities and high schools that offer courses on ballet andperforming arts in general must also have had a positive effect. On

the other hand, a practice typical for Japan – there has been an
increase in dancers who still have an active stage career to open
their own studios and teach ballet students, precipitated bydancers’ motivation to safeguard their own future economic wellbeing. This phenomenon, together with the declining birth rate
and the decreasing number of children learning ballet, due to economic disparity and other educational pressures, have led to fiercer
competition in attracting students. Consequently, each balletcompany and school are experiencing management hardship.
Next, I will review the Japanese ballet in 2018, focusing onvenues and pieces.
First, let me discuss the situation with the performancevenues. In Japan, in general the location of ballet companies andtheir activities are concentrated in metropolitan areas. However,093

except for the National Ballet of Japan, the majority of the privatecompanies are not associated with a particular theater where they
can freely rehearse and performs. Therefore, their immediate task
is to secure a performance venue and thus the availability of venues
significantly impacts the companies’ activities. The number oftheaters that can host such performances has been decreasing
every year. Some theaters closed for financial reasons; others wereconverted into commercial buildings or hotels for higher profits, orwere sold. These phenomena affected not only private theaters, butalso public ones, which had been severely assessed for uses of taxpayers money. In addition, the number of active theaters isdecreasing due to earthquake proofing renovations and rebuildingof old facilities.
For example, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater of Aichi Arts
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Center in Nagoya, the sole opera-house theater in the Chubu area,
has been renovated. Its main theater hall has been on recess sinceApril 2018. Due to its recess, regionally influential ballet companies such as Matsuoka Reiko Ballet and Sumina Okada Ballet that
had held annual performances there had to postpone their performances this year or to change content in order to perform at adifferent venue.
On the other hand, new theaters have opened their doors.
Sapporo Community Plaza with Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater“hitaru” with 2,300 seats opened in October 2018. Nonetheless,
Nitori Culture Hall (formally called Hokkaido Kōsei Nenkin
Kaikan) closed at the end of September 2018, therefore the numberof theaters in Sapporo, Hokkaido, remains the same. The Sapporo
094

Community Plaza’s mission is to foster theater staff who will
support independent and creative activities in the future. It has
already planned to periodically host the National Ballet of Japan.
In November 2018, as one of the series of opening performances,
the National Ballet staged Swan Lake.
The availability of performance venues affects all the stage arts
in Japan, including opera. However, a new trend in the relationshipbetween a ballet company and a theater has become noticeable.
In November 2018, K-BALLET COMPANY headed by Artistic
Director Kumakawa Tetsuya signed a franchise contract with the
Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya. Kumakawa himself has
been the artistic director of this hall since 2012, yet only now did
his ballet company enter such a contract, which is the first of its
kind – between a private ballet company and a private hall,although there have been franchise contracts between private
ballet companies and public theaters or universities previously.

Tokyu Bunkamura, Inc., the manager of Orchard Hall, is a part of
Tokyu Corporation, a major developer in the area owning othercultural facilities. Focusing on ballet activities, those two companies will cooperate for cultural promotion and advancement oftheater arts in Shibuya ward. K-BALLET COMPANY has alreadyhad made an ally with TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), a mass
media corporation. I would like to keep my eye on how this private
ballet company will develop in our country.
Next, I would like to talk about the works.
2018 marked the 200th birthday of the French dancer and choreographer Marius Petipa. Called “the emperor of classical ballet,”he choreographed the three major works set to Tchaikovsky’s
music, as well as many others, which have been regularly performed by numerous ballet companies. Commemorating the095

anniversary, the Tokyo Ballet produced Petipa Gala focusing on
pas dux duet of small pieces and parts of big pieces such as Danceof the Hours from La Gioconda, The Kingdom of the Shades from La
Bayadère, Raymonda, The Talisman and others. Whether thename “Petipa” was in the title or not, his works were more frequently performed this year. Especially Swan Lake; all its acts werestaged by several Russian ballet companies, and the John Cranko
version was played by the Stuttgart Ballet. Swan Lake was also
performed by more than a dozen Japanese companies throughout
Japan, particularly in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Most of themwere re-staged pieces from their repertories, but at the same time
there were three newly directed and choreographed versions: theone that Vladimir Malakhov created for top Japanese dancers; theone that Asada Yoshikazu, the recipient of the 2018 Chieko Hattori
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BALLETAward for distinguished active dancer, produced and played themain role; and the one that Noma Kei of Noma Ballet Company inOsaka directed and re-choreographed. Whilst paying respect toPetipa’s original choreography, the three productions added uniqueand intriguing ideas in their directions, and thus enriched Japanese
Swan Lake stage in 2018. Furthermore, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita,
the world-famous artist of Japanese origin who mostly worked in
France, designed the stage sets for the Japanese premiere of Swan
Lake in 1946. His original drawings were found. Based on them,
the Tokyo City Ballet reconstructed the stage sets and celebrated its
50th anniversary with a performance of Swan Lake that gained significant public attention. Regarding Nut Cracker, the International
Ballet Academia premiered its collaborative work between Japan096

and Mongolia, and more than 10 companies performed their original interpretations around the end of the year as in previous years.
Sleeping Beauty is a long monumental work and for this reason is
not staged frequently. The version, which the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet
Company newly produced at its 30th anniversary of foundation
performance, was highly praised as it both kept the grace of theoriginal classics and interweaved minute dramatic content. As for
Raymonda, the Japan Ballet Association staged for the first time
Eldar Aliev’s reconstruction, while Asami Maki Ballet and several
other companies reproduced the work.
As regards new works, especially pieces that feature several
acts, their production requires considerable funding and time,
while hiding risks about the quality of the work and whether it
would attract spectators’ attention. Under the severe budgetary
constraints for the performing arts and the media’s lack of interest,
such new works tend to be produced less. In Tokyo, however, some

noteworthy new works, new productions, and replays of masterpieces have been staged recently. The National Ballet of Japanjoined forces with the Australian Ballet to present choreographer
Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (music
by Joby Talbot) based on the famous story by Lewis Carroll. This
work was originally created for the Royal Ballet.
The National Ballet of Japan will have a new artistic director, Yoshida Miyako, a former principal of the Royal Ballet who
will succeed the current director, Ōhara Noriko, from the 2020
/ 2021 season.
Concerning the original works of Japanese choreographers,
firstly I would note Itō Noriko of Momoko Tani Ballet company.
Since November 2016 she was dispatched by the Agency for
Cultural Affairs to La Scala Milan in Italy. As a report of her

097

trainee program, her work I Pagliacci that was premiered andhighly acclaimed in 2015, and a new work, HOKUSAI, about theworld-widely recognized Ukiyo-e Painter Katsushika Hokusai,
were staged. As a result, Momoko Tani Ballet was awarded the
Excellence Prize at the National Arts Festival of the Japanese
Agency for Cultural Affairs. Choreographer Shinohara Seiichi
who continues to create narrative ballet featuring in the main cast
the Japanese representative dramatic ballerina, Shimomura Yurie,
remounted in his new production the revision of AN’AΓKH Fate:
Notre-Dame de Paris, which was premiered with Sasaki Michiko
Ballet Company in Osaka. The dramatic direction and choreography of the new piece were highly acclaimed, together with theexcellent performance by Shimomura as Esmeralda, Sasaki Dai as
Quasimodo and the other dancers. NBA Ballet Company staged
the Japanese début of choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s
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BALLETmusical-style ballet The Little Mermaid. Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo
company restaged ASUKA. Kumakawa from K-BALLET Company
continues to perform Cleopatra, his masterpiece premiered in theprevious year.
The noteworthy dancer is Morishita Yōko of Matsuyama Ballet
Company, who is world famous with her long and distinguishedcareer. She danced in Nut Cracker in November and December atthe 70th anniversary of the foundation of Matsuyama Ballet
Company and School. She is scheduled to dance the main parts in
a new version of Swan Lake in February 2019, as well as in Gisellein March and Sleeping Beauty in May. Within only six months she
appears as the main lead in these three major ballets set toTchaikovsky’s music and Giselle. As she is soon to be 70 years old,098

her presence is unbelievable and exceptional.
Other Tokyo based companies such as Inoue Ballet Company,
Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theater, Ballet Chamble Ouest, and Star
Dancers Ballet company produced their repertories.
Concerning other areas than the Tokyo Metropolitan, in addition to the ones that I already mentioned above I would like to add
some other noteworthy activities.
Kobe’s Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet company steadily produces
all acts of classical pieces as well as modern creative works. As the
30th anniversary of commencement of its creative work recital, it
presented thirteen original pieces that represented each period in
the past, including Director Sadamatsu Tōru’s The Age of Anxiety
set to Leonard Bernstein’s music of 40 years ago. The company
received the Excellence Prize at the National Arts Festival of theJapanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. In Osaka, the Sasaki

Michiko Ballet Company re-staged after a long time the Fountainof Bakhchisarai that was highly acclaimed. Sapporo Buyōkai,which continues original and innovative activities, re-worked choreographer Chida Masako’s Carmina Burana that received theGrand Prize at the National Arts Festival of the Japanese Agency
for Cultural Affairs in 1998 in Tokyo. Together with the newly
designed arts and lighting, the new production had a big success as
part of the series of opening performances of the Sapporo
Community Plaza with Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater “hitaru.”
Japan continued to actively invite numerous foreign balletcompanies and dancers: the 15th World Ballet Festival 2018 inwhich the top dancers gathered from all over the world, Hamburg
Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet from Germany, Mariinsky Balletfrom Russia, and also small groups or world-famous ballet schools.
The large number of ballet competitions were still held, and099

new ones were added. However, out of 100 competitions both large
and small all together in Japan, some were cancelled, or competition periods were shortened due to a decrease in participants.
Urawa, Makoto
His autonym is Ichikawa Akira. He was formerly a professor in the Faculty ofBusiness Administration and Corporate Culture at Shōin University. He works as
the advisor to the Association of Theaters and Halls in Japan. As a dance critic,
Urawa has written articles for newspapers and magazines, and has also held
positions in various committees such as the committee for the Agency for
Cultural Affairs. He has also worked as a member of the jury for a number ofdance competitions.
(Translation: Satō Michiyo)

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Contemporary Dance and Butoh

Investment Toward the Future Bearing
the Arts of the Next Generation
Tsutsumi Hiroshi
As we will see, 2018 was the year which clearly showed that theJapanese public support system for art and dance should be
re-examined. The current Japanese theatre system has partiallyremained the same as that of the pre-modern Edo period. A theatre
producer (zamoto) and an artistic director (zagashira) do not belong
to the same organization. Therefore, to the artists, theatres are not100

the work place. They are usually the place where the artists need tosell their art. Some public theatres in Japan have employed artistic
directors as in advanced western countries, but it does not necessary mean that those theatres provide space for creative work ofother artists. Also, the number of funding organizations isextremely low. Only the performers who have been evaluatedhighly and achieved highly are able to receive a subsidy, therefore
many cannot maintain their activities. While theatre and ballet are
better accepted by the public, contemporary dance is considered adifficult art form for people in general to understand. As a consequence, it attracts a smaller-sized audiences, and it tends to get a
critical reputation as the art form with poor funding results.
The NPO Japan Contemporary Dance Network ( JCDN) had
had their projects funded under the Program for Nurturing
Upcoming Artists Leading the Next Generation by the Agency forCultural Affairs ever since the start of JCDN’s founding preparatory activities 20 years ago. However, the number of the JCDN’s
funded projects decreased year by year, and all contemporary
dance projects including their own were turned down in 2018.
Funding decision makers assigned by the Agency are mostly in thefield of ballet. Artists in the field of contemporary dance do nothave any unified organization, and consequently the field itself has
been excluded from governmental funding. It seems that a more
adverse wind is blowing against contemporary dance, which used
to enjoy better times. But is that really so? I will examine in moredetails below.

Contemporary Dance: Still Nomadic
Noism at Ryutopia Niigata City Performing Arts Center is the
only contemporary dance company that has residential status in a101

public theatre in Japan. Their three-year contract expired at thetime of the Niigata city leadership change, and the involved parties,
especially Noism’s fans and supporters, worried whether the contract would be renewed. The artistic director Kanamori Jō presented Mirroring Memories (Mirroring Memories – Sore wa tōtoki
hikari no gotoku) – an omnibus form of scenes from his past productions, as well as a remembrance of his teacher, Maurice Béjart.
This work was highly acclaimed; its final scene symbolically indicated the dances as inheritances succeeded to future generations.
The company’s representative work, NINA—materialize
sacrifice (NINA—busshitsuka suru ikenie), featured a young dancer
who took over the main part from the original cast: the viceartistic director Iseki Sawako who did not appear on stage. On theother hand, in ROMEO & JULIETS, Iseki appeared as Rosaline, aTheatre in Japan

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role missing in Shakespeare’s original script, and her presence
ensured drama together with actors of SPAC (Shizuoka Performing
Arts Center), trained with the Tadashi Suzuki method. As a consequence, Iseki received the 38th Nimura Dance Award andKanamori received the 60th Mainichi Art Award. Niigata city is in
the process of extending Noism’s contract to the end of August2020. However, even in public theatres, contemporary dance
remains nomadic, similarly as when Kanamori used to work forvarious dance companies in Europe.
Dance festivals are also nomadic in Japan. Yokohama city produces Dance Dance Dance @ YOKOHAMA 2018 (DDD@Yokohama)once in three years. Yokohama city does not have any venue spe102

cifically built for contemporary theatre and dance. For this very
reason, they constructed special temporary open-air stages near
the port, utilized alternative spaces, and also presented the programs with Kanagawa Arts Theatre. Co-artistic directors of
DDD@Yokohama were Kondō Ryōhei, the chair of Condors, andDominique Hervieu, the artistic director of the Lyon Dance
Biennale. This year Japonismes 2018 was held in France, andnumerous French artists and companies were invited to Japan,
while Tokyo Gegegay toured for about two months in France.
Condors, as it did in the previous years, again produced many
works in 2018: Double Fantasy, 18TICKET, and the national tour tocelebrate Kondō’s f if t iet h bir t hday, START ME UP. In
DDD@Yokohama they also presented special performances: Fly Me
to the Moon, and Kondō’s repertories titled Kondō Ryōhei
Yokohama GALA.

Dance Biennale Dance New Air 2018 (DNA) was held. Thisbiennale used to be organized as a festival of Aoyama National
Children’s Castle that included Aoyama Theatre and Aoyama
Round Theatre. After the Castle’s closure it is held in spaces close
to Aoyama.
Dance festivals in Japan seemed to have diverse competitive
programs, but in fact they offered many restaged works. In DNA
Kuroda Ikuyo restaged Last Pie commissioned by Noism and premiered in 2005 with her dream team. Kuroda also revived Last Piein another non-genre dance competition, NEXTREAM21. Kino
Saiko revived a lecture performance Dance Becoming Physical
Education? (Dance wa taiiku nari?) that reviewed the history ofmodern Japanese dance which developed along with the physicaleducation. In Yokohama Dance Collection 2018 Mikuni

103

Yanaihara’s Nibroll revived their work Coffee premiered in 2002.
In September DAZZLE headed by Hasegawa Tatsuya restaged
Pinocchio’s Lie (Pinocchio no Uso), which premiered in April 2018 .
Dance companies do not have the budget nor rehearsal space for
new works, but they continue producing good-quality pieces albeit
quickly in a short term.
Upon reviewing the above, Saburo Teshigawara and Noism
stood out, as they have their own bases for their activities, create
new works, and tour in and outside of Japan. The Japanese contemporary dance world must examine the ways in which the artists
can keep producing new works with high quality, and restage themas repertories.

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Invitations from Concert Halls
In 2018 Teshigawara worked mostly overseas. He choreographed new works both at the Centre Chorégraphique National –Ballet de Lorraine in France, and the Acosta Danza in Cuba. He
directed Rameau’s opera Pygmalion in Sweden, and directed andperformed Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz at Biennale de laDanse Lyon (Lyon Dance Biennale) with the National Orchestra of
Lyon. In Japan he presented Shirabe with musician Miyata
May umi who plays the traditional wind instrument sho,Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with Soprano Marianne Pousseur,and a series of studio performances including new works called
Update Dance. The reasons why Teshigawara has been highly
active are that those in the classical music world aiming at reacti104

vation of their works would offer him opportunities, and that hewould collaborate with musicians as well as direct operas.
Some classical music concert halls have aspirations to widen
their audience with programs for communities and families. Especially in 2018, some engaged contemporary dance choreographers.
Sumida Triphony Hall, where New Japan Philharmonic is based,
made a theatrical piece to the music of Stravinsky’s The Firebird in
Sumida Summer Concert 2018 – Chance to Play. Suzuki Yukio wasselected as the choreographer, director and dancer, and he performed with open auditioned Sumida Residential Dancers and theorchestra. Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre employed Kondō Ryōhei and Condors andproduced TOKYO MET SaLaD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018, and held
workshops to enjoy music through dance. At the Hokutopia
International Music Festival 2018 in Tokyo, Onodera Shūji directed

Monteverdi’s opera The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland (his first
opera direction). His company Derashinera revived La Traviata
and Dostoevsky’s The Double. Also, Onodera was active in directing newly produced works such as: Slope (SHA-MEN) featuring theballet dancer Shutō Yasuyuki, and Contemporary Noh Theatre
Series 9：The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Taketori). Moriyama Kaiji
directed Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the opera with new direction
coproduced and toured nationwide in public theatres across thecountry as their national collaborative project. It was performed in
Toyama, Tokyo, and Kumamoto in 2018.

Fantasista in Street Performances:
From Restricted to Encouraged
A trend is noticeable in street performances being produced
and popularized thanks to external factors, unrelated to artists’105

intentions. In the past butoh and street shows used to be restricted,
but now are recommended and even organized by the municipalities, as part of their endeavors to promote local culture and stimulate local economy. Therefore, the situation has drastically changed.
Sankai Juku recreated their representative work from the
1980’s Unetsu - The Egg Stands out of Curiosity (Tamago wo Tateru
Kotokara), followed by Kumquat Seed (Kinkan Shōnen). Amagatsu
Ushio did not perform due to his poor health, yet his continuous
themes: life, death, regeneration are universal and never look
faded. Also, The Japan Foundation organized Sankai Juku’s first
tour to China this year.
Dairakudakan premiered Crime and Punishment as a program
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of The New National Theatre in Tokyo. On the other hand, theunit Goldens gains popularity with golden powdered bodies instreet performance festivals across the country.
D-soko Theater in Nippori, Tokyo, produced series of performances called Dance ga mitai! 20 (Want to See Dance! 20) in thetheme of Hijikata Tatsumi’s book the Ailing Dance Mistress(Yameru maihime), which also attracted the attention of the academic world. Seven choreographers including Itō Kim, Yukio
Suzuki, and Kuroda Ikuyo challenged this original butoh text with
their various new approaches. Kasai Akira of the butoh founder’sgeneration danced Hijikata Tatsumi Phantom Landscape (Hijikata
Tatsumi genfūkei) based on his own memory of Hijikata’s Masseur
106(Amma) created in Hijikata’s mid-carrier period.
Tanaka Min performed his site-specific improvisation
ba-odori in TACT/FESTIVAL 2018 at The Tokyo Metropolitan
Theatre. The audience enjoyed watching his improvisational danceof scattering tap water with a hose during the record-setting
intense heat of this last summer.
Gilyak Amagasaki, the legendary street artist, who lives on
gratuities for his performances, staged a triumphant show to celebrate his eighty-eighth birthday and the 50th anniversary of his
street performing career, despite his critical illnesses: Parkinson’s
disease and spinal canal stenosis. About 2000 people watched hisannual autumn performance in Shinjuku, applauding warmly theoutstanding work of this veteran.

Creativity at International Level
I stated that contemporary dance is nomadic. On the other
hand, dance is the shared language in the world through themedium of the body; it easily transcends countries and genres andmakes interaction and creative activities possible. Although publicfunding support is insufficient, collaborations between artists are
increasing, which provides fertile soil for conceiving outstanding
works at international level.
Kitamura Akiko continued the Asian co-produced project,
Cross Transit, and compiled vox soil (Tsuchi no myaku) focusing on
the cross-cultural understanding through the medium of the body.
Iwabuchi Takiko’s Dance Theatre LUDENS revived Trifles andpremiered EXTEMPORANEOUS as an international co-produced

107

project with Iñaki Azpillaga of Ultima Vez, and demonstrated
their high level of creativity.
Terada Misako danced Trilogy choreographed by Jung Young
Doo, Tsukahara Yūya, and Marcelo Evelin, the diversity of her
expressive power was impressive.
Hasegawa Maiko and Sakata Mamoru’s Tarinof dancecompany co-produced KURURI with the French art unit MobilisImmobilis. Together with the traditional nagauta musician Kineya
Saki, they created dense space where bodies, voices, music andvisual images overlapped.
Moriyama Mirai premiered SONAR in collaboration with Jon
Filip Fahlstrøm and Oikawa Junya at DDD@Yokohama. It was anexperimental improvised performance of contact with the standTheatre in Japan

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ing audience.
The dancer of outstanding activities this year was Yuasa Ema,
formerly of The Netherland Dans Theater (NDT). She joined the
director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s restaging tour of PLUTO, featuring
male actor and dancer Moriyama Mirai. Then, as DNA’s preperformance Yuasa premiered a site-specific performance,enchaîne, and later appeared in the female lead in Mats Ek’s Juliet
and Romeo in Houston, Texas, and in Kōchi prefecture she restaged
her solo dance HOME directed by pianist Mukaiyama Tomoko,
who is based in the Netherlands. She also joined the tour GAKA,
literally meaning ‘noble song’.

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GAKA world-premiered on the outdoor stage at the Oerol
Festival on the island of Terschelling in the Northern Netherlands.
After its revival at the Museum of Art in Kōchi, the work it was
performed in front of the setting sun on the shore of Kōzushimaisland, Tokyo. The director Mukaiyama, who comes from thesacred Kumano area in Wakayama, explored the possibility for acontemporary ritual. She conceived this piece based on her childhood experience of being excluded, as a female, from the local traditional rituals enacted only by men. Yamada Un and her company
danced while skilfully playing various musical instruments thenYuasa entered and presented a mystical solo dance transformed
into raihoshin (a visiting deity). At the end, the kagura performer
Kanzaki Tomoki, from a Shinto priest’s family of the Nagasaki
Gotō islands, rang the sacred bells (kagura suzu) to see the deity off
to the ocean in the dusk. This dance as an offering was a rare performance of communicating with Nature.

Yuasa also taught together with Kojiri Kenta at the Saitama
Dance Laboratory vol.1 that Saitama Arts Theatre started as an
educational program to further train performers and promote cultural activities. The event attracted many young dancers with aballet background and experience in creating contemporary dance
pieces. Workshops and individual shows were held but especially
impressive was the group choreography solos, composed anddirected by Yuasa - an overwhelmingly high-quality piece that one
cannot imagine they finished in only 10 days.
This program was a dream project of the theatre producer Satō
Maimi. Since the 1980s, Satō has introduced numerous leadingworld-class artists to Japan. While she worked for Kanagawa Arts
Foundation, she also helped to establish ASK (Artists’ Studio ofKanagawa) for educational programs of theatre staff and perform-

109

ers. Artists who had participated in ASK are Yanaihara Mikuni
who later had formed Nibroll, Iwabuchi Takiko of LUDENS, Hirai
Yūko who later joined Dumb Type, and others. In addition, Sato
held Philippe Decouflé’s workshops on the dates when theatres andtheir other facilities (e.g. rehearsal room) were closed for maintenance. Itō Kaori who participated in them, now resides in Paris
after dancing in pieces of Decouflé. Itō presented I Dance Because
I Do not Trust Words (Watashi wa kotoba wo shinjinainode odoru)
at Saitama Arts Theatre and toured nationwide. She also made a
new duet with Moriyama Mirai Is it worth to save us?. It can besaid that Satō’s works in Kanagawa has borne the artists of thenext generation.

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Time for the Theatres to Bear the Artists and Repertories
If theatres become places for creation, not just for performances, we are investing in the future. As in Satō’s examples, we
now encounter pieces and talents that were borne out of manyother long-term efforts in public theatres.
ZA-KOENJI Public Theatre Dance Award is a project that
selects pieces presented at the annual creative dance competition
Artistic Movement in Toyama and provides the participants withthe opportunity to polish their works with the help of the theatre
staff and to stage them. Some of these artists then went on to winawards at Yokohama Dance Collection choreography competitions.

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Theatre X (cai) produced International Performing Arts Festival
2018 and organized a series of workshops by the visiting director
Nina Dipla for the preparatory process of a new work. The result
was the group dance performance Kaguya: Conversation with theMoon, a wonderfully coherent piece, born under Dipla’s guidance.
SPAC worked with the choreographer Merlin Nyakam, andpresented their two new pieces at Tokyo Festival 2018: The Sky is
Measured by Wings (El cielo se mide por alas) was performed byjunior and high school children from Shizuoka SPAC-ENFANTS;
as well as its adult counterpart Stay Dreaming, (Adult version of
Yumemiru Chikara) with auditioned female Japanese performers
all over fifty-five years old.
Tsujimoto Tomohiko and Shimaji Yasutake made the danceunit KARADA, and its founding performance Foot (Ashi). They
were also among the founding members of Noism. Later, Tsujimoto
joined Cirque du Soleil and after that became a choreographer.

After Noism, Shimaji danced in the Forsythe Company, and thenmade the dance unit Altneu with ballet dancer Sakai Hana. I
already reviewed Kuroda Ikuyo’s several revivals of her piece Last
Pie this year. Overall, it could be said that Noism has successfully
nurtured excellent artists and borne repertories.
In other words, the past investment finally has borne fruit.
And those previous investments that the Japanese contemporary
dance world dared to make regardless of the strong adverse windagainst it now support its current activities. As in Saitama Dance
Laboratory mentioned above, the Japanese contemporary dance
scene already has world-class choreographers and skilled performers. If public resources could justifiably be allotted, and if theatres
can be secured as places for artists’ creation, an original competitive performance content at international level can be easily produced. If public resources cannot be allotted, it is only because of111

defective government policies and the malfunctioning of the public
art support system. It is time for following wind, not more adverse
wind. It is time for following wind, not more adverse wind.
Tsutsumi, Hiroshi
Born in 1966 in Kawasaki City. He graduated from Bunka Gakuin’s theatre course.
He is an editor and performing arts critic. After serving as an editor for art,
entertainment, theatre and drama magazines including Art Visiton, apo, TheatreBook (Engeki book), The Time in Lines (Serifu no Jidai), he now works freelance. His
writing and editing include The Flying Dangorō Party in the Sky: The Rebirth ofAcharaka (Sora tobu kumo no ue dangorō ichiza: Acharaka saitanjō), Performing Arts
Magazine Bacchus, Performing Arts in Germany Today (Gendai doitsu no pafōminguātsu), and Peter Brook: The Way of Creation (Pīta burukku: Sōsaku no kiseki).
(Translation: Satō Michiyo)

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Television Dramas

Multiple Layers of What People Are
Thinking About and their Diverse
Values Depicted in Television Dramas
Nakamachi Ayako

Ossan’s Love and Unnatural– Original Television Dramas Engaging the Viewers
Nowadays, people watch audiovisual works not only on television but also through internet devices such as smart phones, tablets112

and computers. Under these circumstances, original television
dramas drew attention and left a strong impression.
Ossan’s Love (TV Asahi) was one of the most successful television dramas aired in 2018. The title means love affairs between
middle-aged men and the phrase became a buzzword. The viewer
comments on social networking sites developed into a social phenomenon. The huge number of catch up views on the internet andthe number of followers on the official Twitter and Instagram
accounts were much talked about as well. Haruta Sōichi (played by
Tanaka Kei) works at the Second Tokyo Sales Office of Sky Real
Estates and one day the department director Kurosawa Musashi(played by Yoshida Kōtarō) confesses his love for him. Haruta suggests to Maki Ryōta (played by Hayashi Kento), who has beentransferred from the head office, that they should become roommates and Ma k i a lso ta kes a fancy for him. Kurosawa’s
single-mindedness, Maki’s sensitivity and Haruta’s confusion wereportrayed through the actors’ bold choices in their acting, which
turned them into lovable characters. How they interacted with thepeople around them created a warm atmosphere and the way
things turned out (in other words, how their feelings intertwined)
were frustrating or sometimes surprising, and moments ofenthrallment were sprinkled everywhere. The charm of this drama
was developed due to the feelings of the characters and the portrayal of their relationships as well as the newness of how the story
evolved. (The script was written by Tokuo Kōji, produced by Kijima
Sari, directed by Rutō Tōichiro, Yamamoto Daisuke and Yuki
Saito). Ossan’s Love won several prizes of the Tokyo Drama Awards
2018, namely the Grand Prize of the Series Drama category, theprize for Best Performance by an Actor (Tanaka Kei) and the prize
for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Yoshida
Kōtarō). The drama was broadcast almost simultaneously in

113

Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, only a few days after it wasaired in Japan.
There were a few other dramas about love that attracted attention and they were all based on original stories. In Half Blue
(Hanbun, aoi.) (NHK, written by Kitagawa Eriko), aired as aMorning Drama Series (asadora) in 2018, the portrayal of theromantic feelings between the heroine Nireno Suzume (played by
Nagano Mei) and her friend from childhood Hagio Ritsu (playedby Satō Takeru) drew attention. Don’t Forget Me (Dairen-ai ~ bokuo wasureru kimi to) (TBS, written by Ōishi Shizuka) was about thelove between a doctor (played by Toda Erika), who had early-onset
Alzheimer’s disease, and a novelist (played by Muro Tsuyoshi), who
is her secret idol. The tension that was created from not being able
to tell what was going to become of the couple provided a fresh
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topic and through their performances, the cast were able to captureand deliver the subtleties of a relationship between a man and awoman, which made the drama appealing.
Unnatural (TBS) was an original drama about crime
investigation. In recent years, television dramas about crime,
especially detective dramas that conclude in one episode, havebecome a standard for popular serial dramas and many of them
have been turned into long series. Although Unnatural is not a
detective drama, it takes place at a laboratory where autopsies ofunnatural deaths are conducted. In Japan, it is said that eighty
percent of unnatural deaths are not anatomised and this rate is
the lowest among leading nations. A forensic autopsy physician
named Misumi Mikoto (played by Ishihara Satomi), who works
114

at an imaginary laboratory, is the only survivor of a family thatcommitted suicide. Her associate Nakadō Kei (played by Iura
Arata) conducted an autopsy on his lover, who was murdered,and he had been suspected in the past of concealing evidence. The
drama covered relevant subject matters such as the cover-up of
healthcare-acquired infection, the feelings of people around those
who were infected and how the protagonists encountered thesituation. Making full use of the format of investigation dramas
and incorporating massive amounts of information, this drama
made us think about many things and also portrayed at multiple
levels the different positions of people involved in the event. (The
serial drama won several prizes at the Tokyo Drama Awards 2018,namely the prize for Excellent Series Drama, the prize for Best
Performance by an Actress (Ishihara Satomi), the prize for Best
Screenplay (Nogi Akiko), the prize for Best Director (Tsukahara
Ayuko), the Special Award (the production team), the Theme Song

Award (Yonezu Kenshi’s Lemon) as well as the Galaxy Awardfor the Best Drama of the Month in March 2018 and the Grand
Prize in the Television Drama category of the 44th Hōsō Bunka
Foundation (HBF) Prize).

Thought-provoking and Multi-layered Human Drama
The Invisible Cradle (Tōmei na yurikago) (NHK), which aired
under NHK’s Drama 10 series, was not only a youth drama portraying the heroine’s naivety and indecision with fresh sensitivity,
but also a medical drama. Back in the summer of 1997, Aota Aoi(played by Kiyohara Kaya), who studies nursing at high school,
starts working part time as an assistant nurse at a small antenatal
clinic by the sea. It is her first-ever part-time job. She witnesses anabortion and also childbirth for the first time in her life. She meets115

a woman who disappears right after her delivery. A mother-to-bethat decides to deliver her child although she knows there is a riskof losing her eyesight because of diabetes. A newborn baby abandoned in front of the clinic and the mother of the baby, who is
still a junior high school student. In this drama, plenty of time
was taken to thoroughly depict what the protagonist went throughinstead of rushing to tell the pros and cons of what happened at theclinic or to reach a resolution in some way or another. Numerous
close-ups of the heroine’s face left a strong impression. Accurately
but subtly, the camera captured the time she spent thinking about
the things that had happened right in front of her eyes. Various
things could be speculated through her expressions. The adults
around her, who were watching over her, added several levels tothe portrayal, which is a method often used in television dramas.
The director of the clinic, who is called Yui Tomohiro (played by
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Seto Kōji), and the nurses, namely Mochizuki Sayako (played by
Mizukawa Asami) and Sakaki Mie (played by Harada Mieko),face the expecting mothers from their different stances and watch
over the heroine. The drama was based on a girl’s comic book(by Okita Bakka) titled The Invisible Cradle (Tōmei na yurikago~ sanfujinka-iin kangoshi minarai nikki) published by Kōdansha.
Nevertheless, in the television drama adaptation, we were able tofollow how the characters felt, and the different perspectives thatwere added to one incident owed much to Adachi Naoko’s script,
the actors’ performances and the direction. (The drama (directedby Shibata Takeshi and others) won the Grand Prize of the (73rd)
Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival Award 2018 andalso the Galaxy Award for the Month of September 2018).
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The Diversity of Values Portrayed in TV Dramas
If Ossan’s Love could be called a unique love story, you may saythat Stepmother and Daughter’s Blues (Gibo to musume no blues)
was a unique family drama. The story is about the ten years spent
between a woman and a girl who becomes her step daughter
because her father got remarried. What was unique was how the
purpose of the marriage was depicted. Miyamoto Ryōichi (played
by Takenouchi Yutaka) lost his wife three years ago and he is suffering from stomach cancer. He wants someone to look after his
daughter ca lled Miy u k i (played by Yokomizo Na ho andKamishiraishi Moka), who goes to primary school, and asks Iwaki
Akiko (played by Ayase Haruka), who is a competent career
woman that he happened to meet at his workplace, to marry him.
He does not have relatives to rely on. Akiko accepts his proposal
because she is feeling a desire for human company at that time. She

chooses to nurture a family relationship by succeeding Ryōichi’s
responsibility of child rearing. During the first half of the serial, we
see Akiko making great efforts to keep up with the housework andbringing up her daughter while continuing her work and trust isdeveloped between her and Miyuki, who had been opposed to her.
Half way through the serial drama, Ryōichi passes away. During
the latter half, Miyuki, who has become a senior high school
student, thinks about what would be the best for her mother when
she is choosing what to do after she graduates from high school.
Their relationship becomes that of a true family and they growthrough their relationship as a family. No matter how it started, as
they live together and care for one another, they find each otherprecious and irreplaceable, and they can develop together. Throughportraying such kinds of love romance and a family relationship,
the drama provided fresh topics and at the same time it suggested

117

relationships that lead to the diversity of values.

Suspense Dramas and Single Dramas Now
A long time has passed since regular slots for two-hour dramas
were removed. Currently, most of the single two-hour dramas are
special episodes of serial dramas, dramas to commemorate key stations’ anniversaries or dramas produced on a regular basis (usually
only one drama per year) by local stations. With regard to anniversary
dramas broadcast in 2018, there was Ranhansha (Scattered Reflection)
to commemorate the fifty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Nagoya
Broadcasting Network Mētele, The Wife Who Nurtured a Genius ~The Love Between an Internationally - recognized Mathematician and
His Wife (Tensai o sodateta nyōbō ~ sekai ga mitometa sūgakusha totsuma no ai) to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the opening
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of Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (script written by Hayashi
Makoto and directed by Ochiai Masayuki) and others. Ranhansha(script written by Naruse Katsuo and directed by Ishii Yūya) was amystery drama worth watching, with a chain of small sins and lack ofmorals leading to a death. A small child was trapped under a roadsidetree that had fallen to the ground, and dies. Looking at the topics dealt
with in each episode, such as oversight in government management,
subcontractor’s responsibilities, pedestrian breaches of etiquette andclaims made through civil movements, they may seem like topics
dealt with in gossip shows on television but bigger themes about lackof imagination, crimes committed unconsciously and morals werebrought to the surface.
As for The Wife Who Nurtured a Genius, it was a drama about118

a mathematic genius called Oka Kiyoshi (played by Sasaki
Kuranosuke) and it was portrayed through the eyes of his wife
Michi (played by Amami Yūki). The world of mathematics, which
is difficult to depict on the screen, was shown through projected
images using CGI and other methods to portray the state of thegenius, who is not understood by the people around him, and also
the people who support him. For instance, in the opening scene,
Michi says, “It’s fun because he thinks about ‘things that don’t
exist’ as though ‘they do exist’ ”, and it has a pleasant ring.
In regard to single dramas, many dramas using subject mattersbased on historical facts were produced. Feature dramas titled A
Country Which Exists Nowhere (Doko ni mo nai kuni) (NHK),
Haruko’s Doll (Haruko no ningyō) (NHK), which was a special
version of the late Hayasaka Akira’s Hana henro series, a feature
drama titled Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms(Yūnagi no machi, sakura no kuni) (NHK) and NHK Special:Unsolved Crimes File No. 07 (Mikaiketsu jiken file. 07 keisatsuchō
chōkan sogeki jiken) were among them. The challenge was how todramatise historical incidents and how to draw out messages thatwere relevant to today’s society.

New Attempts to Sell Japanese TV Dramas Overseas
One of the Japanese television dramas that were introduced
abroad this year was Confidence Man JP (Fuji Television, script by
Kosawa Ryōta, planned by Narikawa Hiroaki) and it deserves a
special mention. It was remade in China and Korea at the sametime, the original Japanese version was broadcast in Southeast
Asian countries immediately after its run in Japan, and theJapanese version was sold to eighty-two countries and regions sothat it will be broadcast overseas. The word ‘JP’ in the title means
Japan, but while the original Japanese version was still being

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planned, plans for the Confidence Man KR project for Korea andthe Confidence Man CN project for China were already being
made. It was sold based on a style in which the original script for
the television drama was sold, which opened up the possibility of a
new way to export Japanese television drama besides the existing
way of remaking dramas that hadalready been broadcast in Japan.
Three confidence tricksters, namely Dāko (Nagasawa Masami),
Boku-chan (Higashide Masahiro) and Richard (Kohinata Fumiyo)
disguise themselves in a bold way to defraud a huge amount ofmoney from big names in various fields. They quickly learn the relevant expertise to enter their worlds and effortlessly deceive big
names who are entangled in a labyrinth of greed. It is a comedy ofthis sort. (Confidence Man JP won the Tokyo Drama Award for
Excellent Serial drama in 2018 and the Monthly Galaxy Award for
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July 2018).
The number of television dramas remade internationally is
increasing. Remakes of foreign dramas aired in Japan in 2018
included remakes of American dramas such as Cold Case 2 - The
Door of Truth (Kōrudo kēsu: shinjitsu no tobira 2) (WOWOW),SUITS (Fuji Television, remade in Korea as well) and also a remakeof a Korean drama titled Good Doctor (Fuji Television, also remadein the U.S.). Woman (2013, Nippon TV, written by Sakamoto Yūji)
was remade in Turkey under the title KADIN (WOMAN) (FOXTurkey, 2017-2018) and won the Special Award for Foreign Drama
at the Tokyo Drama Awards 2018.
Nakamachi, Ayako
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Nakamachi Ayako is a professor at Nihon University College of Art. She is also amember of the Reviewing Committee of the National Arts Festival of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs, and a member of reviewing boards for various
awards related to broadcasting, such as serving as the Vice Chairman of theTokyo Drama Awards of the International Drama Festival in Tokyo. She has
written reviews of television dramas, mainly in newspapers such as ‘This Line
from That Drama’ (Ano dorama kono serifu) in the Nikkei Newspaper and‘Antenna’ in the Yomiuri Shimbun. Her published works include 21 QuotableLines in Japanese Television Dramas (Nippon no terebi dorama nijūichi no meiserifu) (published by Kōbundō).
(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)

シアター
トピックス

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Cats photo by: Masanobu YamanoueDevelopments in Japan and Overseas

Remembering Asari Keita:
A Master Living in the Irrational
Contradictions of Art and Business
Uchida Yoichi
Asari Keita, the founder of Shiki, Japan’s largest theatrical troupe,
the man responsible for spreading the cultures of musicals
throughout Japan, died on July 13, 2018 due to malignant lymphoma at the age of 85. He was a giant among postwar theatre
artists who had a huge influence on society. He was well connectedthroughout the political and business world, and in addition to
directing the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1998 Nagano
Winter Olympics, he was also instrumental in making the establishment of the New National Theatre of Japan possible. On September 18, two months after his death, there was a memorial gathering for him at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and 3,000 peoplecame to pay their respects.
Asari Keita was born in Tokyo on March 16, 1933. His father
Tsuruo was one of the founders of the Tsukiji Shōgekijō (Tsukiji
Little Theatre), an early stronghold for the modern theatre movement, and his great uncle was the famous kabuki actor Ichikawa
Sadanji II. Sadanji II was not only famous in kabuki, he also was
one of the early pioneers of the Shingeki modern theatre movement
and worked with the writer and director Osanai Kaoru to foundJiyū Gekijō (Freedom Theatre). When the Shiki troupe built its

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own theater in the Hamamatsu-chō area of Tokyo, it named thetheatre for straight plays “Jiyū Gekijō” due to this family connection to the very start of the modern theatre movement in Japan.
Asari first got involved with theatre when he was at the Keio
Senior High School. His English teacher was the rising dramatist
Katō Michio and under his influence he participated in the drama
club together with Hayashi Hikaru (later to become a composer)
and Kusaka Takeshi (later to become an actor). After going into the
French Literature Department of Keio University in July 1953, heestablished the Shiki theatre troupe as a joint theatre troupe forstudents from Keio University and Tokyo University. There were
ten members at its founding. They were strongly influenced by
Katō Michio and his ally Akutagawa Hiroshi (who was an alumnus
of Keio University) and made their banner performing translations
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of plays by French dramatists like Jean Giraudoux and Jean
Anouilh who were searching for new ways of living. They followed
the suggestion of Akutagawa in naming the troupe. Shiki means“four seasons” but in French is also used to mean “greengrocer”
and suggested that the troupe would offer up the freshest productsof the changing seasons.
Their premiere production in 1954 was Anouilh’s “Ardèle ou la
Marguerite (Ardèle; The Cry of the Peacock)” and legend has it that
there were 150 people in the audience. During the war, Katō
Michio had written a poetic drama, “Nayotake,” based on theancient classic “Taketori Monogatari (Tale of the Bamboo Cutter),”but he was so pure that faced with the rough reality of post-war
Japan, committed suicide shortly before the establishment of the124theatre troupe. This left a deep impression on the troupe. Katō had
felt despair at Shingeki modern theatre in Japan. The Shiki troupe
maintained a policy of plays with the message that “life is worth
living,” and repeatedly performed Katō’s play, “Omoide o Uru
Otoko (The Man who Sold Memories).”During the political times of the early 1960’s centered on the
Anpo protests over the Japan-America Security Treaty, Shingeki
modern theatre was strongly directed toward socialist realism by
the Japanese Communist
Party. In opposition to this,in 1955, Asari wrote a manifesto, “Engeki no Kaifuku no
Tame ni (For the Restorationof Theatre)” where he violently criticized this. He laid
down the gauntlet by saying
Ardèle; The Cry of the Peacockthat he had not been moved by any Shingeki production after thetime of the Tsukiji Shōgekijō and after condemning realistic 19th
century plays, praised Greek tragedies and French classical theatre.
Asari’s view of theatre was that just as with Greek tragedies,
theatre is something that can transcend the oppositions of individuals in society, but to manifest itself, this transcendence must be
embodied in some kind of action. People live with the irrationalitythat they are meaningless in society and are fundamentally isolated. He wanted to find a kind of joy that could relieve the tormentof this state of things.
“Theatre is a giant purifying festival that is held to makepeople recognize the joy of living, that would suck out the evil
blood that builds up in life and will make them feel the worth ofliving.” (from Asari Keita, “Asari Keita no Shiki, Chōjutsushū 1[The Four Seasons of Asari Keita, Collected Writings Volume 1]:

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Engeki no Kaifuku no Tame ni [For the Restoration of Theatre]”
Keio University Press, 1999.)
In terms of acting, directing methods and the production
system, in all things, Asari maintained the ideals he held at the
beginning. In the first period of the Shiki troupe, there was anemphasis on having new plays written. There was even a connection to two giants of the avant-garde theatre world. Asari had theup and coming writer Terayama Shūji write, “Chi wa Tatta Mama
Nemutte Iru (Blood Sleeps Standing Up)” and was a strong influence on Kara Jūrō. Kara thought of Asari as an older brother andhis plays can almost be considered variations on the productions of
Shiki, for example, Giraudoux’s “Ondine.” This point must not be
overlooked when thinking about the theatre of the 1960’s.
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As a director, Asari Keita
created stylish productions withall excess pared away in collaboration with designer Kanamori
Kaoru and lighting designer Yoshii
Premiere of Blood Sleeps Standing Up © terayama world

Sumio. These productions were
faithful to the “Three Unities” ofclassical French theatre: the unityof time, place and action, andplaced special value on poetry
and music in order to achieve acleansing of spirit with the urge
to go to that which is innocent

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Photo from article on Terayama’s debut in the theatre
world as the author for Blood Sleeps Standing Up(from his own scrapbook) © terayama worldand spotless. Representative productions along these lines include
those of Anouilh’s “Antigone” and“L’Alouette (The Lark),” Giraudoux’s “Ondine,” “Intermezzo” and“La guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu (The Trojan War will not Take
Place),” Fukuda Tsuneari’s translation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,”Takeda Taijun’s “Hikarigoke (Luminous Moss)” and Mishima
Yukio’s “Rokumeikan.”
The key characteristic of these productions is Shiki’s distinctive acting style. In the postwar period, Shingeki took as its standard the “natural acting” favored by Kishida Kunio with the idea ofa pure theatre that can express fine gradations of psychology. As
opposed to this, Asari placed less emphasis on “psychology” than
he did on the physical actions used to express this psychology. The
main feature was clear elocution that would concretely express the
feelings behind an action. This is what came to be called “Shikibushi (Shiki declamation),” which was a way of describing it that
Asari violently disliked. This is a method of vocal delivery that was
based on methods of breathing, treatment of vowels and phrasing
and insisted that the voice should be produced not from the throat
but from the stomach; the two feet are opened to shoulder width,
the body’s center of gravity brought low and then in this position
the voice is to be produced by breathing from the diaphragm. First,
vowels are created with the feeling of yawning and then consonants are added. This technique of vocal delivery is intended todirect consciousness at the breaks in a sentence, which are theplaces where a performer can breathe and avoids a flat, monotonous way of speaking.
The actor Hira Mikijirō was trained in modern acting techniques in the Haiyū-za theatre troupe by Senda Koreya, but evenhe became a guest member of the127

Shiki troupe and received special
training in Asari’s vocal techniques. It is said that he practiced aplay by Mishima Yukio by making
a script that only had the vowels.
When this technique is used by an
inexperienced performer the result
can seem exaggerated and overdone and stiff and unnatural. But
with experienced actors, this technique can be very effective andproduces the best results. This wastrue not only with Hira, but withfounding member Kusaka Takeshi

The Lark © Norihiko Matsumoto

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Luminous Moss

Ondineand younger performers like Kaga Takeshi, Ichimura Masachika,
Ishimaru Kanji and Hamada Megumi. The actors of the Shiki
company even taught classes in elementary schools around Japanin how to speak Japanese beautifully.
Asari Keita believed in action and he was also excellent inbusiness management. A theatrical troupe cannot survive just on
the search for pure art. It must maintain a group of people and it
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must put on productions. As his motto, Asari took the words ofLouis Jouvet, the French theatre man that he revered, “a shameful
sublimity, humiliation with greatness” as he aimed to make histroupe economically self-sufficient. The existing Shingeki modern
theatre troupes relied on the money brought in by appearances bypopular members of the troupe on television and commercials. But
this often led to feelings of unequal treatment and conflict within
the troupe and could lead to the end of the group by emphasizing
economics rather than art. Asari thought this made theatre troupes“economic slaves of the advertising industry” and aimed for the
economic independence of modern theatre. The solution eventually came in the form of long-runs of musicals, but one can probably say that Asari was very fortunate that the prosperity of the“bubble economy” of the second half of the 1980’s made it easier tofind corporate support.
Even as early as 1971, in the magazine “Teatro” in a piececalled “Gekidan no Keiei to Soshiki (The Organization andManagement of a Theatre Troupe),” Asari could discuss his ideas
about how a theatre troupe should be structured based on his experience. In terms of the number of members a troupe should have,he overturned the common wisdom and said that having actors
make up just a quarter of the troupe was about right. The rest of thetroupe should be made up of technical staff like art and lighting
designers, production staff, sales and publicity staff and in addition
instructors to train new actors. In order to make this plan a reality,
the management of the Shiki troupe was forced to constantly facevery severe challenges. The managers, producers and backstage
staff trained by Asari now are a major source for the people
running public and commercial theatres all over Japan.
Asari loved to tell the story that when the Nissei Gekijō(Nissay Theatre), Japan’s first modern theatre opened in 1963,

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Hirose Gen, the president of the Nissei Insurance Company(Nippon Life Insurance Company: Nissay), asked him to be an
official in the management of the theatre. When he thought that
there should be a theatre in the Shibuya area of Tokyo, Asari went
with his friend Ishihara Shintarō to appeal directly to Gotō
Noboru, the Group Chief of the Tōkyū Group. Gotō brushed themoff, saying that “with the state of the Japanese economy today, we
have no time to waste with your fun and games.” But Gotō heard
about Hirose’s plan to open the Nissay Theatre and he was actually
the person that introduced Asari and his associates to Hirose.
When Asari met Hirose he said, “Let’s create the best theatre eastof the Suez Canal!” He then worked to bring the Berlin State Operaand the Broadway musical “West Side Story” to perform in Japanand in so doing he could study how the modern stage arts were put
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together and the business end of running a theatre in these countries. There is even the legendary episode that Asari appealed
directly to Tanaka Kakuei, then the Minister of Finance, to get an
exception made on the severe restrictions on how much foreignexchange could be taken out of Japan.
Asari first established a connection to the political world bytaking advantage of the fact that the father of Mizushima Hiroshi,
one of the founding members of the troupe, had been close toformer Prime Minister Satō Eisaku in the Ministry of Railways
before the war. Asari used that connection to become a home tutor
teaching how to speak beautiful Japanese. There were risks ingetting so close to politics, but Asari probably considered it as justone of the “shameful sublimities.” Asari’s connections to the gov130

ernment can be exemplified by his role in staging the Hinode
Sansō summit between Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro andRonald Reagan, the so-called “Ron-Yasu talks” where Nakasone
hosted Ronald and Nancy at his rustic villa outside Tokyo, serving
tea by a country hearth. The redecoration of the villa and design ofthe costumes was all handled by technical staff from Shiki. Whenthe campaign to build a National Theatre finally resulted in atheatre only for the traditional performing arts, leaving out suchgenres as modern theatre and opera, Asari went directly to Prime
Minister Satō and arranged for a funded study group to be organized. This is one of the things that eventually led to the opening of
the New National Theatre of Japan.
But Asari Keita also endangered the New National Theatre ofJapan project and shook up the modern theatre world as well. So,
when the New National Theatre used the tactic of selling the air
rights above the theatre to fit plans to redevelop the Hatsudai area

in Shibuya Ward, Asari was furious. When there were plans tomake it a palace for opera with Ozawa Seiji as artistic director,
Asari withdrew from the project. He fought with Sasaki Tadatsugu
of the Japan Performing Arts Foundation, who is famous as a producer for ballet, over Sasaki’s proposal to increase the number ofseats in a commercial theatre way of thinking. The two argued
furiously with Asari presenting proposal after proposal, frustrated
at the inability of the theatre world to reach a consensus on a plan.
Asari also was frustrated at the modern theatre world and criticized dependence on government subsidies as making it likedomesticated livestock and pulled Shiki out of the Nihon Gekidan
Kyōgikai (Association of Japanese Theatre Companies). But all thesame, it is also true that without Shiki, there would probably be no
New National Theatre of Japan today.

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But what made Asari Keita’s work as a producer known to thegeneral public is probably his introduction of open ended long-runs
for musicals, which he first achieved in 1983. The only way to makea stage performance economically viable is to have either a repertory system or a long-run system. However, in Japan in the big theatres the custom of having runs of one month was strongly established and with the existing star system it would be difficult toretain actors in one production for longer periods of time. With
“Cats” as the first production, Asari introduced hits from America
and England, making it possible to have a production system centered on works, rather than stars. Then he double and triple cast
the plays and, instead of the established theatre buildings, constructed temporary theatres on unused land. This was what firstmade long-runs possible in Japan. It could even be said that Asariprobably got the idea of having a temporary building for the Cats
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Theatre by looking at the success of his friend Kara Jūrō performing avant-garde theatre in his distinctive red tent. After the successof “Cats,” Asari worked with Andrew Lloyd Weber to create
long-running productions of musicals like “The Phantom of the
Opera” and “Aspects of Love” and he worked with Disney for suchproductions as “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Shiki
also came to build temporary theatres for these musicals all overJapan. But at the same time, Shiki built the Jiyū Gekijō (Freedom
Theatre) in the Hamamatsu-chō neighborhood of Tokyo and intermittently produced straight plays by Anouilh and Giraudoux moreor less making a repertory system work as well. For the productionof theatre in Japan, the existence of Shiki has been revolutionary.
In the future, the question of what kind of productions will be132

staged in the new theatre made possible by the redevelopment of
the Shibaura area of Tokyo will present an opportunity for Asari’s
successor as president of the company, Yoshida Chiyoki, to showwhat he can do.
Ultimately, Asari Keita’s legacy to the theatre world is in his
development of musicals, which can be seen as an extension of his
acting technique emphasizing voice production, and the establishment of the “Meisaku Gekijō (Classics Theatre)” and its successor“Kokoro no Gekijō (Heart Theatre)” made possible by the supportof Nissay. Asari’s experience there bringing “West Side Story” toJapan showed that musicals had as much artistic quality as opera
and realizing this in Japan became one of the goals of Shiki. The
Tōhō production company subsequently became Shiki’s rival inproducing long-runs of musicals and this quickly raised the level ofmusicals in Japan.
Asari aimed at creating new musicals and this goal remainedunfulfilled, with the exception of plays for children. However,three original musicals took this challenge head on. “Ri Kōran”
about the Japanese Yamaguchi Yoshiko who became a movie starin China under this name, “Ikoku no Oka (On the Hill in a ForeignLand)” and “Minami Jūji Sei (The Southern Cross)” were three
original musicals that as a set all took up the theme of World War
II directly. In particular, “Ikoku no Oka,” which takes its title fromthe popular song by composer Yoshida Tadashi, detained in Siberia
by the Russian Army at the end of WWII, captures the prayers of
the Japanese people in the midst of the cruel tragedies of war and isa masterpiece worthy of being polished and refined and being performed again and again.
The “Nissay Meisaku Gekijō” series, offering high quality performances of music and theatre to children in the setting of a
top-class venue, the Nissay Theatre, has been presented for 50

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years, beginning with the year following the opening of the theatre.
In that time, it has staged performances free of charge to nearly 8
million elementary students from all over Japan. This program has

On the Hill in a Foreign Land © Masanobu Yamanoue
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provided the first contact with theatre for an astounding numberof people.
Asari Keita was a charismatic player who fought the good fight,
living in the midst of the irrational contradictions of art and business.
Uchida, Yōichi

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Cultural journalist. Born in Tokyo in 1960. In 1983, he graduated from the
Department of Political Science of Waseda University and started working for
the Nikkei newspaper. As a cultural journalist he has covered theatre, art andmusic and has repeatedly reported on the cultural activities of privatecompanies with the Japan Mecenat Association for Corporate Support of theArts and government cultural policy. A book he edited, “Nihon no Engekijin
Noda Hideki (Noda Hideki: Japan’s Man of Theatre, Hakusuisha)” and his mostrecent work, “Kaze no Engeki: Hyōden Betsuyaku Minoru (The Theatre of Wind: A
Critical Biography of Betsuyaku Minoru, Hakusuisha)” won the AICT prize fortheatre criticism from the International Association of Theatre Critics. Other
books include, “Gendai Engeki no Chizu (Map of Contemporary Theatre)” and“Kiki to Gekijō (Crisis and Theatres), both published by Bansei Shobō, “Kaze noTenshudō (The Basilica of the Wind)” from Nihon Keizai Shinbun Shuppansha,
and “Aruhi Totsuzen, Izoku ni Natta: Hanshin Daishinsai no 10 Nen (That Day, We
Suddenly Became the Bereaved Family: Ten Years After the Great Hanshin
Earthquake)” from Hakusuisha.
(Translation: Mark Ōshima)

Asari Keita (1933-2018)

Wareware no moromoro ©KOS-CREA / Courtesy of The Japan Foundation

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Developments in Japan and Overseas

An Interview with Mr. Kobayashi Yasuhiro of
the Performing Arts Section, Secretariat
for Japonismes, The Japan Foundation

On the influence of Japonismes 2018
in Presenting Traditional to
Cutting-Edge Performances
Katsura Mana
Japonismes 2018: les âmes en résonance was a large-scale festival
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commemorate the 160th anniversary of the signing of diplomatic
relations between Japan and France. The programme that was
designed to convey the diversity of Japanese culture consisted of avariety of events such as exhibitions, films, projects introducing
lifestyles and others.
As for the performing arts section, there were thirty-six projects, which included traditional arts such as Kabuki, Bunraku andNoh, as well as contemporary plays and dance performances. A
2.5-Dimensional musical, which is a genre derived from comics,
animations and games, and the first concert in Europe of a virtual
reality singer named Hatsune Miku were also amongst them.
Highly spectacular shows such as In the forest, under cherries in

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HATSUNE MIKU EXPO 2018 EUROPE©Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.net / © SEGA
Graphics by SEGA / MARZA ANIMATION PLANET INC.
Production by Crypton Future Media, INC.

full bloom (Nisesaku sakura no mori no mankai no shita) (*1), which
was written and directed by Noda Hideki, and Mahabharata –Nalacharitam (Mahābārata – Naraō no bōken, i.e. Mahabharata –The Adventures of King Nala) (*2), directed by Miyagi Satoshi, were
presented as well. There was also a Japanese-Thai collaboration
project titled Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession (Purātanā: Hyōino pōtorēto), based on a novel written by the Thai writer Uthis
Haemamool, which was adapted and directed by Okada Toshiki
and performed by Thai actors.
How were the various projects selected? And what did the audiences find out about Japanese theatre? Mr. Kobayashi Yasuhiro,
who has lived in France for many years, was in charge of the
Performing Arts Section, Secretariat for Japonismes 2018 in theJapan Foundation and I asked him about the event.

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The performing arts programme consisted of various productions ranging from traditional performing arts, contemporary theatre
and combinations of both. He explained the selection process.
‘The programme was put together according to two basic
policies. One of them was to have a thorough exchange of views
with the French counterparts, as it was a project to commemorate 160 years of the amicable relationship between France andJapan. To serve that purpose, we invited programme directors
from theatres in France to watch some shows in Japan.
The other policy was to present shows that were not likely tobe performed under normal circumstances. In terms of thenumber of Japanese performing arts that have been shown inFrance in recent years, Paris by far exceeds other cities. With such

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a history and context in mind, we decided to set a policy to workon special projects that were not possible in Japanese-French
exchange projects of the past.’

Kinoshita-Kabuki’s Kanjinchō Sharing the Issue of‘Borders’ with the Audience
Were there any productions on which the programme directors from various French theatres had split opinions?
‘Each theatre decides the programme based on its own
unique policy. Therefore, it is no surprise that they want topresent different types of shows. However, the directors of eachtheatre did not discuss among themselves to determine the programme for Japonismes 2018. They made their decisions based
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on whether the work was appropriate for their theatre. For
instance, Mr. Serge Laurent, the director of the live performance
department of the Centre Pompidou saw Kinoshita-Kabuki’s
Kanjinchō (*4) in Japan and had his mind set on inviting thecompany to Paris.’
Kanjinchō is a Kabuki play about Minamoto no Yoshitsune,
who has incurred the rage of his elder brother Minamoto no
Yoritomo, and his servants, including Benkei, trying to passthrough a checkpoint. It portrays the servants’ loyalty to theirmaster. The leader of the troupe Kinoshita Yūichi and the director
Sugihara Kunio reconstructed the classical play by making‘borders’ the key factor. How did the French audience see the production that had an American actor cast as Benkei and also incorporated dance and rap?

Kanjinchō ©Yusuke KINAKA / Courtesy of The Japan Foundation‘The production attracted support that exceeded our expec139

tations. The Japonismes Secretariat assumed that the show would
be compared with traditional Kabuki. However, we got an
impression from the audience’s reaction that it was actually thetheme of the play that touched their hearts. It might be becauseof the current border problems across the globe, which is also
relevant to France.’

The Nomura Family’s Kyōgen Sambasō Showing Tradition
Inherited Across Three Generations
Nomura Mansaku, Nomura Mansai and Nomura Yūki
danced the same role in Sambasō, divine dance (*5), which wasanother project in which modernity was added to tradition. It wasdeveloped based on the production that was premiered at the
Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2013 under the title Divine
Dance ‘Sambasō: Kami hisomi iki’ (‘Where the Kami Lurks’), for
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which Sugimoto Hiroshi designed
the scenery and costumes. Originally a traditional dance to pray
for the productiveness of grain,
Sambasō was lit differently fromthe way it would be when presented on t he stage of a Nohtheatre, and the costumes andscenery designed by Sugimoto
Hiroshi had ‘Lightening-Field’
patterns on them.
‘I think it was the first time inwhich three generations of the140same family took turns anddanced the same piece. The idea
of passing on an artistic skill aswell as the bloodline from parent
to child is unusual for the French.
Sambasō, divine dance ©KOS-CREA /Courtesy of The Japan Foundation

The significance of succeeding
tradition was conveyed throughthe performances and it was meaningful in this respect as well.’
Did the audience focus on the differences in the performances
due to the actors’ ages and personal qualities, and become interested in the hereditary system in the arts?
‘I explained to some French people about the hereditarysystem and some of them responded that it was a totallydifferent notion to what they were used to. Nevertheless, they
were genuinely moved about the fact that something was being
passed on for many years.’Niwa Gekidan Penino’s Avidya – The Ignorance Inn
Leaving a Strong Impression Both Visually and Spiritually
Although the works had different content and were performed at different venues, did any of them have an extremely
good response?
‘Avidya – The Ignorance Inn (Jigokudani onsen mumyō no yado) (*6),
which was presented by Niwa Gekidan Penino led by Tanino
Kurō, had been receiving significant interest beforehand. The
troupe presented two works, namely Avidya – The Ignorance Inn
and The Dark Master, but both of them were set in a situation that141

the French people had not been exposed to. French people arealien to a hot spring inn located in a lonely mountain village or adiner in downtown Osaka. Nevertheless, the subtle changes in
the characters’ feelings came across. Therefore, I thought it didn’t
matter very much whether the play was set in a culture that the
local people were familiar with as long as the changes in thecharacters’ psychology got through.’A metaphysical layer was added to the actors’ physical expression. In Avidya – The Ignorance Inn, we got a glimpse of thechanges in society due to modernisation through the puppeteer
and his son, the guests staying at the inn for a hot spring cure, andalso the employee. The small voices of the people who were marginalised due to economic development were entwined in the
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPAN and OVERSEAS

piece, which was also invited to Paris two years ago.
‘The French people were shocked at the local customs andlet out a cheer when the set revolved. Some people couldn’t get
inside the venue, so Marie Collin, who is the artistic director ofdance, theatre, and visual arts for the Festival d’Automne à Paris(The Paris Autumn Festival), requested us to bring it back to Paris.’
Eroticism could be felt through the elaborate scenic andcostume design as well as in the actors’ movements, whichreminded me of the freak shows that Terayama Shūji advocatedshould be reinstated.
‘It’s true that the production had an eerie atmosphere like142

the Grand Guignol. You could enjoy both black humour and intellectual excitement in the play.’
Avidya–The Ignorance Inn ©Yurina Niihara / Courtesy of The Japan Foundation

As a side note, the Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris,
where Terayama’s renowned work titled Throw away Your Books,
Let’s Get onto the Streets (Sho o suteyo machi e deyō) (*7) that was
directed by Fujita Takahiro was presented, is the largest facility
run by the Japan Foundation outside Japan, and Terayama’s filmwith the same title (1971) was screened at the same venue prior to
the performance.

The Japanese and French Collaborating inDance Projects and Readings
Is it worth to save us? (*8), choreographed by Itō Kaori andMoriyama Mirai, who both work internationally, and a contemporary dance work titled Triple Bill #1, which was produced with theco-operation of La Biennale de la danse de Lyon, were among thecollaborations between Japan and France (*9), and they were pre-143

sented in both countries.
Moreover, Blue Sheet by Ameya Norimizu and Before We
Vanish (Sanpo suru shinryakusha) (*10) by Maekawa Tomohiro weretranslated into French and broadcast on the radio as reading performances.
‘Both plays had tremendous impact as radio dramas throughthe detailed directions and the young actors’ passionate
performances.’
According to the person who was in charge of the reading performances, there is a possibility that the French translations of theplays will be published and also that other works by Ameya
Norimizu and Maekawa Tomohiro will be presented on stage. The
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good news reminded me how excited I was when it was announced
at the summit meeting between the leaders of France and Japanthat Japonismes was going to be hosted in Paris, as it made me lookforward to new types of expression by the theatre people of bothcountries. I believe that by creating productions that gave us the
chance to think about what the two countries have in common or
about the mutual differences, through the collaboration of the staff
and actors to celebrate the 160th anniversary, the bilateral tie musthave become even stronger.
‘Only four out of the thirty six productions were joint productions and one may argue that there could have been more.
Meanwhile, we tried to introduce new projects to France thatmatched the French theatres’ programme policies, which144

became the top priority of our mission.’

Iwai Hideto and French Actors Creating
the Gennevilliers Version of Wareware no moromoro
A theatre project created through a collaboration between
Japan and France was Wareware no moromoro (nos histoires...) (theGennevilliers version of Wareware no moromoro – own stories, i.e.
All Kinds of Things About Us) (*11) that was written and directed by
Iwai Hideto, who leads a company called hi-bye. Daniel Jeanneteau,
the director of Théâtre de Gennevilliers, was moved when he saw
the Tokyo version of the same play by hi-bye back in 2016 anddecided to invite the project. Four out of the seven cast members
were professional actors and the remaining three were amateur
actors from in Gennevilliers in the suburbs of Paris, where many
immigrants and socially vulnerable people live.

‘The French government has set a policy to create facilities
such as theatre centres in areas where people strugglingsocially and financially live, in order to fill in the social and economic disparity. It is based on a concept to share the power ofculture with people of various levels of society and it was realised by inviting Iwai Hideto, who is a theatre practitioner with aunique talent. In Japan, the issues around immigration are nottalked about as often or seriously as they are in France. That is
why to have worked on a project covering the issue at such a
locale became a very meaningful example for both French andJapanese theatres.’
In Wareware no moromoro, the cast perform their own experiences which they had written in the script, and since its premierein 2010 (ENBU Seminar), Iwai Hideto and the local people of145

various regions have been collaborating to create new pieces. When
you compare the Tokyo version and the Saitama version (2018) thatwas performed by the actors of the Saitama Gold Theater, whose
average age was nearly eighty years old, both the content and thequality of the acting was different. However, the reality of thepeople concerned became the backbone of the drama with laughterand tears, and it was that which both productions had in common.
The actors talked about the unfair public system and family
rifts in the Gennevilliers version, and the content was heavy andserious. However, when you read the local reviews, you could tellthat the words of the cast members who have been suppressed bypoverty, discrimination, sexual assault and other hardships,
coupled with the director’s humorous approach, had reached
the audiences.
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPAN and OVERSEAS‘This was one of the comments given by the people working
at the theatre venue. ‘We did not have the opportunity to have aheart-to-heart talk with people who were unemployed or withillegal immigrants, but Mr. Iwai Hideto, who has a great personality, drew out the delicate pains from the participants, going
beyond the barriers due to different walks of life.’ Being an artist
from a different culture also helped him to interact smoothlywith the people who had pain in their souls. This was also an
unexpected but a delightful achievement.’

The National Budget, Education...the Difference in
the Cultural Environments of France and Japan
In an essay carried in TV Bros., Iwai Hideto wrote about the146‘luxurious’ environment for creating the Gennevilliers version of
the play. In Japan, even for productions that take time to translate
and require dialogue among the participants, working under privileged circumstances is very rare.
On page fourteen of ‘Research and Study on Other Countries’
Cultural Policies’ (2017), which is listed on the website of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs, it is written that the culture-related
budget for 2017 was 485.1 billion yen in France and 104.3 billion
yen in Japan. It means that the per capita culture-related budget
was 7,568 yen in France and 819 yen in Japan. Why is there such a
big difference between the two countries?
‘According to this comparison, the culture-related budget
per head in Japan is approximately one tenth of that in France.
The general public’s mindset towards culture is part of thereason. To take theatre as an example, it seems that the Frenchpeople share in common the sense that ‘theatre performance
presented under a public framework are assets shared by the citizens and should be developed through everyone’s publicmoney’. Compared to the French, the Japanese lack the awareness that supporting performing arts publicly is public property.
Many Japanese people think that theatre is a form of entertainment that people go and see for fun and that people should pay
for the tickets if they have extra money to spend. In other words,
they do not see it as a problem that there are people who cannot
afford to see works of art.’
Do you think that the Agency for Cultural Affairs is the publicagency that might be able to rectify the current situation?
‘Having a small culture-related budget means that the signif-

147

icance of culture is not widely recognised. Without changing thistrend, it would be difficult to simply increase the budget.
Through raising my children in France, I began to understandthat the French people are passionate about providing children
with chances to appreciate art from a very young age because tosome extent they have a common understanding that art canhave a significant influence on people’s lives.’
As if to return the courtesy to Japonismes 2018, President
Emmanuel Macron has proposed to have a big event in Japan to
introduce French culture. As the relationship between the two countries becomes closer and deeper through these exchange programmes, perhaps the trend of developing culture - including theatre- will come to stay in the Japanese government and education system.
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPAN and OVERSEAS‘I hope that people working in the theatre field in both countries will continue to co-operate with each other. The Gennevilliers
version of Wareware no moromoro, which was created over time, isa really good production. I would like it to be presented in various
parts of the world and it would make me happy if the Japaneseaudiences get to see it, too.’(The interview was held on January 17, 2019 at Kissa Sakaiki.)*1 In the forest, under cherries in full bloom (Nisesaku sakura no mori no mankaino shita) directed by Noda Hideki Period: September 28-October 3, 2018 (noperformance on October 1) Venue: Théâtre National de Chaillot Organised
by: The Japan Foundation, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Tokyo Metropolitan
Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), NODA・
MAP Written and directed by: Noda Hideki

148*2 Mahabharata – Nalacharitam (Mahābārata – Naraō no bōken) directedby Miyagi Satoshi Period: November 19-25, 2018 (no performance on
November 22) Venue: La Villette Organised by: The Japan Foundation, La
Villette Co-organised by: SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center Text by:
Kubota Azumi and Miyagi Satoshi*3 Contemporary Theatre Series: Five Days in March re-creation and a JapaneseThai collaboration project Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession directed by
Okada Toshiki Period: October 17-20, 2018 (Five Days in March re-creation),
December 13-16, 2018 (Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession) Venue: Centre
Pompidou Organised by: The Japan Foundation, Centre Pompidou Coorganised by: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundationfor History and Culture), Festival d’Automne à Paris
Five Days in March re-creation Produced by: chelfitsch, KAAT Kanagawa
Arts Theatre Adapted and directed by: Okada Toshiki
A Japanese-Thai collaboration Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession
Produced by: The Japan Foundation Asia Center, precog co., LTD., chelfitsch
Funded by: The Saison Foundation Adapted and directed by: Okada
Toshiki Based on the original novel by: Uthis Haemamool

*4 Contemporary Theatre Series – Kinoshita-Kabuki Kanjinchō Supervised andRevised by Kinoshita Yūichi, Directed and Designed by Kunio Sugihara
Following its premiere in 2010, Kanjinchō was redirected and redesigned byKunio Sugihara and remounted in 2016. Period: November 1-3, 2018 Venue:
Centre Pompidou Organised by: The Japan Foundation, Centre Pompidou
Co-organised by: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan
Foundation for History and Culture) Supervision and revision by: Kinoshita
Yūichi Direction and stage design by: Sugihara Kunio Produced by:
Kinoshita-Kabuki*5 Sambasō, divine dance performed by Nomura Mansaku, Nomura Mansai
and Nomura Yūki, and The Blind One who Admires the Moon (Tsukimizatō) performed by Nomura Mansaku and Nomura Mansai, designed bycontemporary artist Sugimoto Hiroshi Period: September 19-25, 2018 (noperformance on September 23) Venue: Théâtre de la Ville - Espace Cardin
Organised by: The Japan Foundation, Théâtre de la Ville Co-organised by:
Odawara Art Foundation, Festival d’Automne à Paris In co-operation with:
Setagaya Arts Foundation, Setagaya Public Theatre Composition and set
design: Sugimoto Hiroshi*6 Contemporary Theatre Series: The Dark Master and Avidya – The Ignorance
Inn directed by Tanino Kurō Period: The Dark Master September 20-24, 2018,
Avidya – The Ignorance Inn September 25-29, 2018 Venue: T2G - Théâtre deGennevilliers Organised by: The Japan Foundation, Théâtre de Gennevilliers- centre dramatique national Co-organised by: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre(Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Festival d’Automne
à Paris Produced by: Niwa Gekidan Penino

149

The Dark Master Based on the comic book by: Karibu Marei (story) andIzumi Haruki (drawings) Adapted and directed by: Tanino Kurō
Avidya – The Ignorance Inn Written and directed by: Tanino Kurō
*7 Contemporary Theatre Series: Throw away Your Books, Let’s Get onto theStreets directed by Fujita Takahiro Period: November 21-24, 2018 Venue:
Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris Organised by: The Japan Foundation
Co-organised by: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan
Foundation for History and Culture), Festival d’Automne à Paris Originally
written by: Terayama Shūji Adapted and directed by: Fujita Takahiro

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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPAN and OVERSEAS*8 Contemporary Dance: Is it worth to save us? by Itō Kaori and Moriyama
Mirai Period: December 18-20, 2018 Venue: Maison des Arts de Créteil
Organised by: The Japan Foundation, Maison des Arts de Créteil With theco-operation of: The Ministry of Culture – DRAC Île-de-France, BNP Paribas
Foundation, Le Centquatre-Paris Choreographed and performed by: Itō
Kaori and Moriyama Mirai Produced by: Company Himé Co-produced by:
Maison des arts de Créteil, KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre*9 Triple Bill #1: A French-Japanese collaboration project for hip-hop dance
Period: September 18-November 14, 2018 Venue: Théâtre National deChaillot, Biennale de la danse de Lyon etc. Organised by: The JapanFoundation, Biennale de la danse de Lyon, Théâtre National de Chaillot,
Centre Chorégraphique National de La Rochelle/Cie Accrorap Co-produced
by: Biennale de la danse de Lyon, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Dance Dance
Dance @ YOKOHAMA 2018, Centre Chorégraphique National de La Rochelle/
Cie Accrorap Produced in co-operation with: PARCO Choreography:
Kader Attou – a new piece titled Yōso (Éléments), Jann Gallois – a new piece
titled Reverse, Tokyo Gegegay – Tokyo Gegegay’s High School

150*10 Contemporary Theatre Series: Readings of Blue Sheet by Ameya Norimizu andBefore We Vanish (Sanpo suru shinryakusha) by Maekawa Tomohiro Date:
September 22, 2018 Venue: Théâtre de la Ville – Espace Cardin Organised
by: The Japan Foundation, Théâtre de la Ville Co-organised by: Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andCulture) In co-operation with: Maison Antoine Vitez, Centre for International
Theatrical Translation*11 Contemporary Theatre Series: Wareware no moromoro (nos histoires...)concept and directed by Iwai Hideto Period: November 22-December
3, 2018 Venue: T2G - Théâtre de Gennevilliers Organised by: The JapanFoundation, T2G - Théâtre de Gennevilliers Co-organised by: Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andCulture), Festival d’Automne à Paris In co-operation with: quinada

Kobayashi Yasuhiro
A staff member of the Japan Foundation. He has worked for a total of elevenyears at Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, where he produced stage
productions. For two years starting from 2006, he was involved in the ‘UNESCO
Creative Cities Network (UCCN)’ at the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris. He iscurrently the overall supervisor of the stage production programme of
Japonismes 2018 as the head of the Performing Arts Section, Secretariat for
Japonismes. He is also in charge of the stage production programme of Japan
2019 that will be held in the U.S. from March to December 2019.

Katsura Mana
A dance and theatre critic. A member of the International Association of Theatre
Critics (AICT/IATC). A Research Fellow at the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre
Museum, Waseda University and also a lecturer at the Graduate School of
Humanities of Gakushūin University. She previously worked as an editor for
BRUTUS magazine and books including Ōsugi Ren’s Gembamon published by
Magazine House, Ltd. She currently contributes to various media, continuing to
explore the relationship between art and society through all kinds of performing
arts from classical to experimental pieces. She has been visiting numerous
international festivals since the early 1990s and also writes art reviews.
(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)

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紛争地域から生まれた演劇シリーズ

Theatre Born inConflict Zones series
since 2009
The Theatre Born in Conflict Zones series is a response to the Theatre in Conflict Zones project
organized by the ITI headquarters and Cultural Identity and Development Committee.
Launched in 2009, it has now introduced 24 plays from various countries and regions
around the world, conveying the raw reality of conflict zones andattracting great interest in the local theatre scene.

Scripts of plays in the

Theatre Born in Conflict Zones series (2019)
Common Ground by Yael Ronen (Israel/Germany)
This is War by Hannah Moscovitch (Canada)of the Burning Star by Nir Paldi (U.K./Israel)2015 Ballad
Burqavaganza by Shahid Nadeem (Pakistan)
Madmen and Specialists by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria)

2016 Ismail at Isabel by Rody Vera (Philippines)
Before Dinner by Yaser Abu Shaqra (Syria)

Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran)2017 White
Djihad by Ismaël Saidi (Belgium)
Khail Taiha (Lost Horses) by Adnan Alaoda(Syria)
2018 Lilac
Duhaa(Death in the Era of Da’ish) by Ghannam Ghannam (Jordan/Palestine)

Searching for New Plays

mail@iti-j.org

ITI Japanese Center accepts new submissions for plays in
the Theatre Born in Conflict Zones series. Please contact us
at mail@iti-j.org.

Tel: +81-(0)-3478-2189

ITI is expanding its on-line contents!

http://iti-japan.or.jp

Follow us on

itijapan@itijapan

SP ECI AL F E AT URE‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 10’

SPECIAL FEATURE

This Is War / (from the front) Master Corporal Tanya Young (Yoshino Misa) and Sergeant
Stephen Hughes (Hori Genki)

154

Special Feature

A Report on‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 10’

Two Plays from Germany and Canada Linked toConflict Zones – Common Ground and This Is War
Niino Morihiro
The International Theatre Institute (ITI) is an international NGO
under the umbrella of UNESCO and its national sections areactively engaged in a project called ‘Theatre Born in Conf lictZones’ that is conducted under UNESCO’s theme of ‘Arts andPeace-making’. In response to the theme, the Japanese Centre hasbeen working on the ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones’ series since2009 and the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre joined the project as its
co-organiser in 2012.
This year marked the tenth anniversary of the series and a playby Yael Ronen, who is an Israeli playwright based in Germany, and aplay by a Canadian playwright called Hannah Moscovitch wereintroduced through readings. Besides numerous panels displayedoutside the venue, talk sessions were held after each reading which
helped the audience to deepen their understanding on how and why
the plays were written and the backgrounds of the conflicts. The event
was held from December 13 to 15, 2018 at Atelier West on the first
basement level of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. Each reading
session was almost a full house and the project was very well received.
155<< Reading >>Common Ground
Written by Yael Ronen (Israel/Germany) & Ensemble
Translated by Niwayama Yuka
Directed by Koyama Yūna (Kaminari Strangers)
Cast: Shimoyama Takashi (Kaminari Strangers), Kobayashi Aya,
Kurashita Honami, Matsumura Ryōta (Kaminari
Strangers), Nonoyama Takayuki (Haiyūza
Theatre Company), Kikkawa Kayo (TheatreEcho) and Mai
Sound: Ozaki Hiroyuki
Projection: Kaminokado Takahiro
Supervisor: Shiba Nobuhiro
Accent Coach: Alma Okajima
Speakers: Dec. 13 - Alma Okajima, Niwayama Yuka,
Koyama Yūna
Dec. 16 - Shiba Nobuhiro, Koyama Yūna
Yael Ronen ©Esra Rotthoff

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Yael Ronen was born in Israel in 1976 and after studying
directing in New York and Tel Aviv, she started working in theworld of theatre as an assistant director at Tel Aviv’s Habima
Theatre, where her father served as artistic director. Regarded as apromising young director who would be responsible for the next
generation of Israeli theatre, she was commissioned by Theatre der
Welt (a theatre festival held in Halle, Germany) to write and direct
Third Generation (Dritte Generation), which was co-produced by
Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv and Schaubühne in Berlin, andthrough this project she was thrust into the spotlight in Europe.
Since autumn 2013, she has been based in Germany.
In Third Generation, actors who were around thirty years old
expressed their anger and criticism with brutal frankness about156

the reality of Palestine that has reached a deadlock, but they also
added some humour. As the play got a great response in various
parts of Europe, the Japanese Centre of the ITI decided to introduce the play in ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 4’ held in 2012,
and then in November 2018 it was performed in Japanese at
Saitama Arts Theater. Moreover, Yael Ronen’s Winter Journey(Winterreise) was presented at the reading series of con-temporary German dramas held at the German Cultural Centre(Goethe Institut) in July 2018. It was through these projects that
Common Ground / Mateja (Kurashita Honami) and
Leila (Mai), both from Bosnia

Common Ground / Aleks (Matsumura Ryōta) and
Vernesa (Kobayashi Aya), both from Serbia

Common Ground / (from the right) Niels:
a German (Shimoyama Takashi) and Aleks(Matsumura Ryōta) from Serbia

Common Ground / (from the left) Dejan (Nonoyama
Takayuki) from Serbia, Leila (Mai) from Bosnia andOrit (Kikkawa Kayo) form Israel

she came to be known in Japan as well.
Common Ground (premiered in 2014 in Germany) portrays
the trauma of people who have experienced the Bosnian War. In
addition to a German actor and an actress from Israel, who works
in Germany, five actors from the former Yugoslavia (comprised of
two actors, an actress from Serbia and two actresses from Bosnia)
appear in the play using their real names. All of them have travelled to the former Yugoslavia, and while they reenact their trips

157

on stage, they comment on how difficult it is to overcome the pastlinked to war and they also talk about hope. The theatrical framework of Common Ground is based on restaging what they saw,
heard and experienced in Bosnia using playlets and skits.
The reading was held on a simple stage setting with a few
chairs lined up in a row. At times, the actors mentioned above gave
simple explanations. Maps and videos as well as the characters’
family trees were projected on the back wall of the venue. The creative staff of the staged reading tried to make it easy for the Japaneseaudience to understand the complicated political, racial and religious background of Yugoslavia. It was striking that the actors
spoke in Yugoslavia’s local language several times and also sang in
the local language. Despite the fact that they could only rehearse
for a short period of time, which is usually the case for readings,
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the actors tried hard to make the incidents that happened in the
Balkan Peninsular familiar to the Japanese, who live far away, andI think that their efforts bore fruit and the crucial part of the play
got through accurately to the audience at the reading.
For instance, the episode in the original play of the actors visiting an old village in Bosnia is probably the most impressive scenethat represents the heart of this work. In this village, there used to158

be a Serbian concentration camp during the war and it is said that
there is now a monument inscribed with the names of the victims
who were killed there. The father of one of the two actresses from
Bosnia was killed in this camp. The actress found the name of her
father inscribed on the monument. The other actress’s father used
to be a managerial staff at this camp and he now works in theworld of politics. She had not contacted her father for a long time,
but she managed to find her father’s phone number and talked
with him over the phone for a brief moment.
The relation between the fathers of thetwo actresses was that of a perpetrator and a
victim at the concentration camp. The twoactresses, though they had reasons making it
difficult to forget or to forgive, worked
together to create the play Common Ground
Hannah Moscovitch(i.e. shared land).

The original play unfolds with the actors from Israel andGermany intertwining with the five performers from the former
Yugoslavia, who are inseparable from the vivid memories of thepast. When the actors in Tokyo read the play and delivered theirwords emphatically in Japanese, the venue was filled with the richness and depth of the original play that involved the Balkans,
Germany, Israel and Palestine. However, this richness and depth is
inextricably linked to the suffering of the young generation who
cannot escape from the war. Through the reading, not only did wefeel the joy of being able to encounter the voices of the people concerned come through but we also experienced the pains of war thatwill continue for several generations to come. This reading provided a valuable time for the audience.
159<< Reading >>This Is War
Written by: Hannah Moscovitch (Canada)
Translated by: Yoshihara Toyoshi
Directed by: Ikuta Miyuki(Bungakuza)
Cast: Kameda Yoshiaki (Bungakuza), Teuchi
Takamori and Hori Genki (Saitama Next
Theatre), Yoshino Misa (Bungakuza)
Speakers: Dec. 14 - Hirose Yoshikazu, Yoshihara
Toyoshi, Ikuta Miyuki
Dec. 15 - Ōtori Hidenaga, Ikuta Miyuki

The frank truth of what happened to
Canadian soldiers who were sent to
Afghanistan between 2007 and 2008 was
portrayed in the other play titled This Is

This Is War/ Private Jonny Henderson (Kameda
Yoshiaki) and Master Corporal Tanya Young(Yoshino Misa)

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SPECIAL FEATURE

This Is War/ Private Jonny Henderson (Kameda Yoshiaki) is
responding to interview questions from journalists

This Is War / (from the left)Sergeant Stephen
Hughes (Hori Genki) and Sergeant Chris Anders(Teuchi Takamori)Wa r (pre m i e re d i n 2 013 i n
Canada), which addressed thereality of peacekeeping activities
in conflict zones. It was written by
a Canadian play wright called

160

Hanna h Moscov itch (born in1979), who is known as the authorof East of Berlin (presented inThis Is War/(from the left)Sergeant Chris Anders (Teuchi
Takamori), Private Jonny Henderson (Kameda Yoshiaki),
Master Corporal Tanya Young (Yoshino Misa) and Sergeant
Stephen Hughes (Hori Genki)

Tokyo by Natori Office in February 2015 and July 2017).
Four soldiers, namely Master
Corporal Young, Sergeant Hughes,

Sergeant Anders (medic) and Private Henderson appear in thestory. Master Corporal Young is a female soldier. In a hostile environment, where temperatures soar to nearly fifty degrees Celsius,
the soldiers are leading a communal life and are expected to maintain strict discipline. Traumatised from fighting with the Taliban,
they are just waiting for an excuse to leap at each other’s throats asthey spend their days. The Canadian troop that they belong to areparticipating in a joint operation with the Afghan National Army,but many soldiers, including Private Henderson, are injured due tofierce attacks such as suicide attacks by the Taliban’s child soldiers.
Sergeant Hughes decides that the Canadian army should retreat
but the Afghan National Army continues the counter-Taliban
operation single-handedly and cuts off water from over 160 Taliban
soldiers, who have entrenched themselves. However, as the bodies
found in the camp included those of women and children, the incident eventually develops into an international issue and the four
soldiers are bombarded with questions from the press when they
return to their country.
The reading was carried out in a simple setting with threemusic stands placed on stage. As each of the four actors responded
to interviews from the media, which almost seemed like an official
hearing, they recalled the events that took place from the night
before they went into action up until the wounded private was161

carried to a field hospital. The events that occurred in Afghanistan
were gradually reenacted through each soldier’s flashback scenes.
Through the reenactment, the fact that both Sergeant Hughes andPrivate Henderson were in love with Master Corporal Young andthat they had fallen into a tangled love triangle became apparent.
Their relations would probably have become more sexually suggestive if the play was performed as a staged production, but the four
actors added gestures and delivered their lines with excessive anger
and anxiety, which conveyed the closed and skewed nature of
the army.
The master corporal must have been made a woman because
there are actually many Canadian women who join military
service. In the talk session after the reading, an audience member
pointed out that the play lacked the perspective that the Taliban
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SPECIAL FEATURE

were also humans. The play brought to life the contradictions anddifficulties of the expeditionary forces’ missions that were supposed to bring peace to disputed regions.
Niino, Morihiro
Niino Morihiro was born in 1958 and is the former President of the Japan Centre
of International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT/IATC). He translates plays
and studies the theatre of German-speaking countries. He has written a numberof books, including Theatre City Berlin (Theaterstadt Berlin) and Shittehosii kuni
doitsu (literal title: Germany, A Country I Want You to Know About). He hastranslated Postdramatic Theatre (Postdramatisches Theater, joint translation), Dea
Loher’s The Final Fire (Das letzte Feuer), Joachim Gauck’s autobiography Winter in
Summer, Spring in Autumn, Memoirs (Winter im Sommer, Frühling im Herbst.
Erinnerungen), among many others. He has also translated Yael Ronen’s Third
Generation (Dritte Generation) and others. He has received the 2nd Yūshi
Odashima Drama in Translation Award. He is also a professor at Rikkyō University.
Common Ground © Hosaka Megumi
This Is War © Ishizawa Chieko

162(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute
President

Nagai Taeko

Vice-Presidents

Abiko Tadashi
Yoshiiwa Masaharu

Managing Director Sota Shuji
Directors

Ataka Risako
Ito Hiroshi
Ozasa Yoshio
Odagiri Yoko
Kasuya Haruo
Kano Toyomi
Kida Yukinori
Saimyoji Ikuko
Sakate Yoji
Shindo Yoshikazu
Nakayama Kaori
Hayashi Hideki
Hishinuma Yoshiaki
Matsuda KazuhikoMiwa Elica
Wazaki Nobuya

Auditors

Kishi Masato
Kobayashi Hirofumi

Advisers

Otani Nobuyoshi
Sakomoto Jun-ichi
Tanokura Minoru
Nagae Iwao
Nomura Man
Hatano Yoshio
Fukuchi Shigeo
Hori Takeo
Matsuoka Isao163

(As of March 27, 2019)

Theatre in Japan

Theatre Yearbook 2018

Companion Volume‘Theatre Abroad 2019’(Japanese)
These articles do not appear in‘Theatre in Japan 2019’.

World Theatre Day Message by Carlos Celdrán
164

Theatre in Asia and Africa
China
South
Korea
TaiwanIndia
ThailandSigns of Documentary Theatre---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tamura Yoko
Theatrical Diversity and Antipathy Towards Older Generations---------------------- Lee Seung-gon
A Year of Dynamic Change-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yu Fang
Theatre as a Means of Confronting Society------------------------------------------------------- Tsurudome Satoko
Defying Infrastructure Problems, Silver Linings Revealed in International Collaborations
and Interdisciplinary Approaches---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pawit Mahasarinand

Theatre in the Americas and Oceania
Memories of the First World War, 100 Years After the Armistice--------------------------- Kanzaki Mai
CanadaUnfinished Feminism: What is the Constitution of the United States to Me?---- Tonooka Naomi
U. S. A.
Theatre Beyond Walls------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yoshikawa Emiko
MexicoArgentina / Gender and the Performing Arts in South America------------------------------------------------ Kariya Hiroko
Uruguay
Australia Stage Adaptations of Australian Literature--------------------------------------------------------------- Sawada Keiji

Theatre in Europe
U.K.
ScotlandBureaucracy and Representational Power------------------------------------------------------- Motohashi Tetsuya
Scottish-Japanese Connections Through Theatre, and a Socially andHistorically Engaged Theatre Scene----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nakayama Kaori

Germany /Austria / Tolerance at a Crossroads, Unrestricted Transgression----------------------------------------- Hagiwara Ken
Switzerland
Returning to the Problem of Diversity------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fujii Shintaro
FranceA Theatre as an Open Religious Place?--------------------------------------------------------- Yamanouchi Haruhiko
Italy
From Hyperrealism to Comedy and the Fantastic------------------------------------------------------- Tajiri Yoichi
Spain
Pride Overcoming Struggles---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iwata Miho
PolandRomania Tsuruya Nanboku IV’s The Scarlet Princess:

A Romanian Take on a Kabuki Classic------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shichiji Eisuke

SwedenFinland
RussiaNew Works Revealing Hopes for the Future------------------------------------------------------------------ Komaki Yu

165

Contemporary Theatre in Finland: Disruption and Expanding Fields---------- Hanna Helavuori
The World Cup and Festivals------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinozaki Naoya

Developments in Japan and Overseas
Looking Towards the Next 130 Years of Shinpa —————————————————————— Goto Ryuki
Inheriting Classical Performing Arts ————————————————————————— Hosho Kazufusa‘Detours’ Revealing Another Side to the City: McDonald’s Broadcast University andTokyo School Excursion Project ———————————————— Takayama Akira (Interviewed by Soma Chiaki)

Overseas Tours Report
Why Did a Japanese Artist Stage a Story About Africans in Paris?
Léonora Miano’s Révélation Red in Blue trilogie, Directed by Miyagi Satoshi ——————— Yokoyama Yoshiji

Special Feature: ”Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 10”
Review: Is This War? Hannah Moscovitch’s This is War ——————————————————— Seki Tomoko
Review: Common Ground: Forgiveness Breaking the Chains of Hatred ————————— Sugiyama Hiromu

Theatre in Japan

Theatre Yearbook 2018

ITI Centres (as of 27th March, 2019)

166

Americas

AfricaArgentina
BrazilCuba
MexicoPuerto Rico
U.S.A.
Venezuela

Algeria
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Central African Rep.
Chad
Congo Dem. Rep.(Kinshasa)
Congo Rep.(Brazaville)
Egypt
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Madagascar
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Niger
Nigeria
SenegalSierra Leone
South Africa
Sudan
Togo
UgandaZimbabwe

EuropeArmenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium(Flanders)Belgium(Wallonia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
CyprusCzech Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
FinlandFranceGeorgia
Germany
GreeceHungary

Iceland
Italy
KosovoLatviaLuxembourg
Macedonia FYROM
MonacoNetherlands
Romania
RussiaSerbiaSlovakia
Slovenia
Spain
SwedenSwitzerland
TurkeyU.K.

ArabAlgeria
Egypt
Fujairah (UAE)
Iraq
JordanKuwaitMoroccoOman
Palestine
Saudi Arabia
Sharjah (UAE)
Sudan
Syria
Yemen

Asia PacificArmenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
China
Chinese Taipei
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Iran
IsraelJapan
Korea Rep. /South Korea
Mongolia
Philippines
RussiaSri Lanka
Vietnam

167

The list of ITI Centres is updated as needed on the ITI website below.
International Theater Institute ITI / Institut International du Théâtre ITI
Office at UNESCO UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
Headquarter in Shanghai 1332 Xinzha Road, Jing’an, Shanghai 200040, China Tel: +86 (0)21 6236 7033
info@iti-worldwide.org / www.iti-worldwide.org

Theatre in Japan

Theatre Yearbook 2018

国際演劇年鑑ITI Japanese Centre’s
Theatre Yearbook
since 1972
ITI is an NGO under the umbrella of UNESCO
and has some ninety branch centres around the world.
ITI Japanese Centre, which was founded in 1951, has been publishing ‘Theatre
Yearbook’ since 1972. From 1997, the planning and editing of ‘Theatre Yearbook’ isbeing carried out in two parts, of which one is titled ‘Theatre in Japan’ for readers
overseas and the other is titled ‘Theatre Abroad’ for Japanese readers.

Theatre in Japan (in English)
Noh, Kyōgen, Kabuki, Bunraku, Musicals, Contemporary Theatre, Theatre forChildren and the Youth, Puppet Theatre, Japanese Classical Dance, Ballet,
Contemporary Dance, Butoh, Television Dramas and other special topics including
a report on ITI Japanese Centre’s reading project ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones’.
Additionally, if you have any comments or requests regarding ‘Theatre Yearbook’,
please contact our centre and give us your feedbacks.

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東宝演劇https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/

国際舞台芸術ミーティング in 横浜 2020
Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama 2020
国際舞台芸術ミーティング in 横浜）
TPAM（ティーパム、は、同時代の舞台芸術に取り組む国内外のプロフェッショナルが、公演プログラム

やミーティングを通じて交流し、舞台芸術の創造・普及・活性化のための情報・インスピレーション・ネットワークを得る場でTPAM 2020 は2020 年 2 月8日［土］～ 2 月16日［日］に開催す。
予定です。
最新情報は www.tpam.or.jp まで！
TPAM (Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama) is a space where
professionals from various places in the world who explore thepossibility of contemporary performing arts exchange throughper formance and meeting programs to gain information,
inspiration and network for the creation, dissemination andvitalization of performing arts. TPAM2020 in planned to be held Sat
8 – Sun 16 February, 2020.
Please visit www.tpam.or.jp for the latest information!

The Retreat (work-in-progress open workshop)by Thanapol Virulhakul at TPAM2019
Photo by Hideto Maezawa