Theatre Yearbook 2014
Theatre in Japan
Published in March, 2014
Japanese 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
Tel: +81-(0)3-3478-2189 / Fax: +81-(0)3-3478-7218
mail@iti-j.org / http://iti-japan.or.jp© Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute 2014
All rights reserved. Requests for permission to reproduce material
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 2013
under the ‘Program for Nurturing Upcoming Artists
who lead the next generation’.

Editor-in-chief Tanokura Minoru
Director in charge Sota Shuji
Editor Nakajima Kana
Editorial Staff Iki Terumi, Goto Ayako, Sakurai YumikoTranslation William Andrews, James Ferner,Mark Oshima, Sumida Michiyo
Proofreading Tove Bjoerk
DTP Staff Nakamura Tomoko, Yamada Yasushi
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Printed in Japan

Foreword
The Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute is a non-profit organization that plays apart in the international network comprised of National Centres of approximately a hundred
countries and regions constituting the International Theatre Institute (ITI), which is a nongovernmental organization under the umbrella of UNESCO.
The preamble of the UNESCO Constitution begins with the famous phrase “since wars
begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed”. In Article 3 of the standing rules of the Japanese Centre of International Theatre
Institute, it is stipulated that the purpose of the Centre is “to contribute to the development of
culture and realization of peace in Japan by deepening multilateral understanding and facilitating
the creations and exchanges of theatre and dance based upon the purpose of the UNESCO
Constitution”.
Theatre and dance are media that have the excellent attributes of helping people to takeinterest in each other and enabling us to think about man and the society by sharing time andspace together. Even in today’s society in which means of communication have developed andthe volume and speed of conveying information have increased dramatically, the role of theatre
and dance that help us gain deeper insights into man and society will not be taken away.
The Japanese Centre has continued to publish the Theatre Yearbook since 1972. From 1997,
we started publishing it in two parts, namely ‘Theatre in Japan’ (the English version) for readers
outside Japan and ‘Theatre Abroad’ (the Japanese version) for domestic readers. Starting fromthe FY 2011 edition, we have been implementing the publication by receiving commission fromthe Agency for Cultural Affairs under the ‘Program for Nurturing Upcoming Artists who leadthe next generation’.
Furthermore, we have been presenting reading performances under the project in order tointroduce remarkable plays of the world since 2009 as part of the research study activities topromote international theatrical exchange. In 2013, we translated and presented three plays from
Palestine, Afghanistan and Algeria for the first time in Japan in the fifth round of the ‘Theatre
Born in Conflict Zones’ series.
As of July 1, 2013, the Japanese Centre made a transition from an incorporated association
into a public interest incorporated foundation and made a new start. We will continue topublish the Theatre Yearbook believing that continuation and accumulation provide the bases
for culture.
We hope that you will give your continued support and cooperation to our activities in theyears to come.
March 27, 2014
In commemoration of the World Theatre Day

Nagai Taeko
President
Japanese Centre of International Theatre InstituteCONTENTS
5 Shots from the Performing Arts in Japan in 2013

The Japanese Performing Arts in Japan in 201334 Noh and Kyôgen Nishi Tetsuo
42 Kabuki and Bunraku Mizuochi Kiyoshi
51 Musical Hitomi Hagio
59 Contemporary Theatre Yamaguchi Hiroko
67 Children’s and Youth Theater and Puppet Theater Yokomizo Yukiko
76 Japanese Classical Dance Hirano Hidetoshi
86 Ballet Urawa Makoto
94 Contemporary Dance and Butoh Tsutsumi Hiroshi
103 Television and Radio Kotaki Tetsuya

Developments in Japan
113 New Developments in Co-Productions, Growing from Networks of Regional Theatres and Producers / Ogura Yukako
118 Report on the Traditional Japanese Performing Arts Workshop on Noh / Odagiri Yoko

Developments Overseas
124 GATS Festival and ATEC Festival / Hishinuma YoshiakiSpecial Feature
130 Report on Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 5 / Goto Ayako
140 Companion Volume ”Theatre Abroad 2013” in Japanese
142 ITI National Centres

N.B. Japanese names are basically written in Japanese way :family names come first and given names second.

日本の
舞台芸術
を見る

Shots from the Per forming Ar ts in Japan
in 2013Noh

6

Kanze Kiyokazu,
National Noh Theatre,
Okina (The Aged Man)
© National Noh Theatre

Umewaka Genshô, National Noh Theatre, Super Noh Zeami © National Noh Theatre

Kongô Tatsunori, Kongô Noh Theatre, Shakkyô (The Stone Bridge) © Kongô Hisanori / Yamaguchi Hiroko

7Ôshima Masanobu, Ôshima Noh Theater, Tokusa (Scouring Rushes) © Ikegami Yoshiharu

Kyôgen8

Nomura Man, National Noh Theatre, Iori no Ume (The Plum Blossom Hut) © National Noh Theatre

Yamamoto Tôjirô, National Noh Theatre, Tsurigitsune (Fox Trapping) © National Noh TheatreShigeyama Sensaku IV, Suou Otoshi (The Dropped Gift) on November 17th, 2005
© Shigeyama-Kyogen-kai / Kawanishi Yoshiki

9

Nomura Mansai, Mansaku no kai Kyogen Company / Mitsui Memorial Museum, Kusabira (Mushrooms)© Masakawa Shinji

Kabuki

10

New Kabuki-za theatre opened
on April 2nd, 2013.
© Shochiku

Onmyou-ji (Sorcerer),
Ichikawa Somegorô,Nakamura Kankurô©ShochikuKanadehon Chûshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), Matsumoto Kôshirô © Shochiku

11

Ichikawa Danjûrô XII playing the role of Kamakura Gongorô Kagemasa in Shibaraku (Stop a Moment!)
at Kabuki-za (May 2003). © Shochiku

12

Kabuki

Sukeroku yukari no Edo zakura (Sukeroku’s Cherrytrees in Edo), Ichikawa Ebizô © Shochiku

13

Kumagai-Jinya (Kumagai’s Battle Camp), Nakamura Kichiemon, Kataoka Nizaemon © Shochiku

14

Bunraku

National Bunraku theatre, Shinjû Ten no Amijima (The Love Suicides at Amijima)© National Bunraku Theatre cooperated by NPO Ningyo Joruri Bunrakuza Mutsumi-kai

National Bunraku Theatre, Igagoe Dôchû Sugoroku (The Vendetta at Iga Pass)© National Bunraku Theatre cooperated by NPO Ningyo Joruri Bunrakuza Mutsumi-kai

National Theatre, Ôtônomiya asahi no yoroi (Ôtônomiya’s Armour)© National Theatre cooperated by NPO Ningyo Joruri Bunrakuza Mutsumi-kai

15

National Theatre, Sonezaki shinjû (The love suicides at Sonezaki)© National Theatre cooperated by NPO Ningyo Joruri Bunrakuza Mutsumi-kai

16Musical

HoriPro Inc.,
Merrily We Roll Along© Watabe Takahiro

Shiki Theatre Company, The Little Mermaid© Shimosaka Atsutoshi

Toho co,.Ltd, Les Misérable © Toho co,.Ltd

17

Citizens Arts Administration Center of Toyama / Toyama City,
Aubade Hall The Masterpiece Musical Performance Series Hello, Dolly! © studio wood

Contemporary Theatre18

mum & gypsy, cocoon © Iida Koichi

Komatsu-za Ltd. / HoriPro Inc., The army on a tree © Abe Takayuki

Modernswimmers, Be Dead © Kaneko Hiromi

19

New National Theatre, Tokyo, Edward II © Yakou Masahiko

Contemporary Theatre

20

Saitama Gold Theater, Raven, We Shall Load Bullets © Miyagawa Maiko

NODA MAP, MIWA © Shinoyama Kishin

21

Ishinha, MAREBITO © Inoue Yoshikazu

22Children’s and Youth Theater / Puppet Theater

Puppet Theatre PUK, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ © Nakatani Yoshitaka

Gekidan Urinko Theater Company, Crime and Punishment © Shimizu Jiroo

Nissay Theatre Family Festival 2013 Musical Puppet Show “Go! Go! the Monkey King” © Saegusa Chikashi

23

Shiki Theatre Company, Das doppelte Lottchen © Abe Akihito

24Japanese Classical Dance

Wakayagi Kichikoma,
Kiyomoto Hyôtan (The Gourd)© Video Photo Saito

Fujima Kanemon,
Fujima Kanjûrô,Kotobuki Shiki Sanbasô© Shochiku

Fujima Shûtarô, Fujima Shûnosuke, Kurui-jishi (The Crazy Lion) © Fujima Shûtarô

25
Bandô Mitsuteru, Creative original Japanese traditional dance Seshûmu – cesium (Eternity – Cesium) © Video Photo Saito

Ballet© New National Theatre, Tokyo

26

The National Ballet of Japan, Ballets Russes Stravinsky Evening Les Noces © Shikama Takashi

Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo, The Lady of the Camellias © Yamahiro Yasuo

Michiko Sasaki Ballet Company, The Fountain of Bakhchisaray © Furuichi Eiji (TES OSAKA)The Tokyo Ballet,
Mats Ek’s Carmen© Hasegawa Kiyonori

27

Shinohara Seiichi Ballet Recital
DANCE for Life 2013 “femme fatale”© Tsukada Yoichi / Ito Sayaka

Contemporary Dance / Butoh

28

Saburo Teshigawara+KARAS, SECOND FALL © Abe Akihito

Mika Kurosawa & Dancers, Minimal Dance Project vol. 3 Big River © Tsukada Yoichi

CONDORS, TIME IS ON MY SIDE © HARU

29

Co. Yamada Un, The Rite of Spring © Hatori Naoshi

30Contemporary Dance / Butoh

Owlspot Theater (Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation) / Toshima-ku, Owlspot produce
Kanshosha (Appreciator) © Ikegami Naoya

Umeda Hiroaki, 4.temporal pattern © Hatori Naoshi

Sankai Juku, Umusuna – Memories before History © Sankai Juku

31

Kasai Akira, I dance the Japanese Constitution © Kamiyama Teijiro

Contemporary Dance / Butoh

32

Kawaguchi Takao, Kazuo Ohno © Kamiyama Teijiro

Project Ohyama, Odorubaka © Matsumoto Kazuyuki

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 2013

NOH and KYOGEN

30 years have passed since the National Noh Theatre was founded in
1983. The National Noh Theatre is apart from holding its own programs of Noh and Kyôgen, also involved in the training of performers and collecting written materials on Noh, and in 2013, there werenumerous 30th anniversary programs commemorating the occasion.
Some of these featured

Noh and Kyôgen 2013
The 30th Anniversary of the Opening of
the National Noh Theater andAwards for the World of Noh
Nishi Tetsuo

Kanze Kiyokazu in Okina(The Aged Man), Umewaka
Genshô in Yôkihi (Imperial
Consort Yang Guifei; theKan no kakari and Utenadome -variant), Kongô
Hisanori in Tsuchigumo

34(The Earth Spider; Chisuji no den- and Sasagani-variant) and others
on September 15th. Also Ôtsuki Bunzô performed Sumiyoshi môde
(Visiting the Sumiyoshi-shrine; the Yorokobi no mai-variant) on
September 16th, Tomoeda Akiyo performed Hagoromo (The Feathers
Robe; Maikomi-variant) and Nomura Man Iori no ume (The Plum
Blossom Hut) on September 17th. Finally, Nomura Mansai performed
the Rômusha (The Old Warrior) on September 20th.
In addition, there were special events hosted by the National
Noh Theatre itself to commemorate its 30th anniversary including
Umewaka Genshô in Super Noh Zeami (written by Umehara Takeshi,
premiere April 19th), Katayama Yûsetsu in Sekidera Komachi (Komachi
at the Sekidera-temple; May 29th), Kongô Hisanori performing Dôjôji
(The Dôjôji-temple; ancient version, November 1st), Yamamoto Tôjirô
in the Kyôgen play Tsurigitsune (Fox Trapping) and Nomura Mansaku
performing Taiko-oi (The Drum-carrier; December 7th).
Furthermore, in October there was a special month-longprogram at the National Noh Theatre titled: ‘Gekkan Tokushû/Zeami 650 Years’ featuring the following works attributed to Zeami;
on October 2nd, the play Hakuraku ten (The Poet Bai Juyi; Nagakijo
no den-variant), on the 9th, Unoha (Cormorant Feathers); on the 12th,
Sanemori (The Warrior Sanemori), on the 18th, Ukon (The PoetUkon) and on the 24th, Tôru (Minister Minamoto Tôru; Jûsan dan no
mai-variant) and others, were performed. The same special program isbeing repeated this year with the same five plays performed over fivedays in January.
The Kongô Noh Theatre in Kyoto which moved from Muromachidori to Karasuma-dori ten years ago, offered a program to celebrate its
10th anniversary at the new location on November 24th with Kongô
Hisanori performing Okina (Junitsuki ôrai-version) and Hagoromo(Shôgi no monogi-variant) and Kongô Tatsunori performed Shakkyô
35(The Stone Bridge) among others.
In other parts of the country, the Kita school Ôshima Noh
Theatre (Hiroshima Prefecture, Fukuyama City; owned by theÔshima Family), which has been holding performances on a regularbasis, celebrated its 100th anniversary on December 22nd. The theatre has slightly fewer than 300 seats and holds four or five regularprograms a year. Ôshima Masanobu performed Tokusa (Scouring
Rushes), and Shiotsu Akio performed Shakkyô among other works.
The Encouragement of the Arts Award from the Minister of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for the year
2012, went to Kanze school shite actor and 26th head of the family
Kanze Kiyokazu. Born in 1959, he is the eldest son of Kanze Sakon
XXV, and has also been the recipient of the Encouragement of theArts Award for a New Performer from the Minister of Education. He presides over the Kanze Kai and is a member of the Japan
Theatre in Japan

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NOH and KYOGEN

Nohgaku Association. The award was in recognition of his performances in Teika (The Poet Fujiwara Teika; Sodekagura and Tsuyu no
himotoke-variant), Eguchi (The Courtesans at Eguchi; Hyôjôgaeshivariant) and Akoya no matsu (Akoya’s Pine Tree) amongst others.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Arts Festival Grand Prize 2012
(Theatre Division) for excellence went to Kanze school shite actor
Ueda Takuji (Kansai), and Izumi school Kyôgen actor Nomura Mansai(Kanto). At present, the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Arts Festival isheld separately in Kanto and Kansai and the awards ceremonies areheld on different days. Ueda Takuji is the 2nd son of Ueda Teruya. He
performed Sumidagawa (Sumida River; at the Teru no Kai). Nomura
Mansai, on the other hand, is the eldest son of Nomura Mansaku andperformed Hanago (Mistress Hanago; at the Kyôgen Gozaru no Za).
36

Both performers are members of the Japan Nohgaku Association.
The Japan Art Academy Prize went to Kanze school shite actor
Asami Masakuni. He was born in 1941 as the 5th son of Asami
Masatake. He studied with his father, as well as Kanze Hisao andKanze Tetsunojô VIII. He is also a recipient of the Encouragementof the Arts Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, and The Kanze Hisao Memorial Hôsei
University Noh Theatre Award and a Member of the Japan Nohgaku
Association. He has successfully performed such specially transmitted
roles as Sotoba Komachi (Stupa Komachi), Obasute (Abandoned Old
Woman). The present award was primarily given for his performancein Higaki (The Ghost in the Fence).
The Kanze Hisao Memorial Hôsei University Noh TheatreAward was given to Hata Hisashi, a researcher in Nohgaku, andAwaya Yoshio, a shite actor of the Kita school; the Saikai Award wasgiven to the Isshiki-chô Association for the Preservation of Nohgaku.

Hata Hisashi was born in 1939, and has been a member of the
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, a professor
at Musashino University and the head of the Center for ResearchMaterials on the Noh Theatre at the same. At present, he is an hono­rary member of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and a guest professor at Musashino University. He has co-written:
Noh/Kyogen, Composers and Plays (Iwanami shoten), Nohgaku daijiten(Encyclopedia of Nohgaku; Chikuma shobô) and others.
Awaya Yoshio was born in 1949, the eldest son of Awaya Shintaro
and studied under Kita Minoru. He presides over the Awaya Kai andhas performed Dôjôji, Ômu Komachi (Parrot Komachi), Shakkyô andother important works. He is a member of the Japan Noh Association.
The Isshiki-chô Association for the Preservation of the Noh
Theatre is an organization located in Ise city (Mie prefecture), and37

having inherited the Ise Sarugaku tradition, the group takes part inthe ceremonial Isshiki Noh that is presented at Isshiki Shrine and also
carries out other programs of Noh Theatre.
In the spring decorations ceremonies, the Order of the RisingSun, Silver and Gold Rays was awarded to Komparu school shite actor
Honda Mitsuhiro. Born in 1942, he is the eldest son of Honda Hideo.
He received tutelage under his father as well as Komparu Nobutaka
and is a member of the Japan Nohgaku Association. In the falldecorations ceremonies, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with
Rosette went to Kanze school actor Ôtsuki Bunzô. Born in 1942, heis the eldest son of Ôtsuki Hideo. He received tutelage under his father as well as Kanze Hisao and Kanze Tetsunojô VIII. He is also amember of the Japan Nohgaku Association.
Although it has been three years since the Great Kanto Earthquake, programs of Nohgaku for the relief of the earthquake victims
Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

NOH and KYOGEN

are still being held all over the country. March 9th at the Ôhori Noh
Theatre, March 11th at the Yamamoto Noh Theatre, March 13th at
Kyoto Kanze Kaikan and July 30th at the Kanze Noh Theatre aresome of the programs for the benefit of the reconstruction held during the year and the proceeds of these events were donated as charity.
There were a number of endeavors under the name Shinsaku(new) Noh as well as Sôsaku (original) Noh, for example Sakurama
Ujin performed in Sengû (The New Temple; May 26th at the Izumo
Shrine), Kanô Ryôichi in Jeanne d’arc, (June 29th, Kumamoto Prefectural Theater), Umewaka Naohiko in Undine (August 1st and 2nd,
Kenchôji-temple) and others. There was also Umewaka Genshô’s
Super Noh Zeami, (September 7th, Nara Prefecture Ôyodo-chô Bunka
Kaikan), which was premiered at the National Noh Theatre in April.
38

In a unique project, the Kanze school shite actor Shimizu Kanji,
a member of Tessen Kai, organized a program entitled, ‘Gojô-Noh’(five ‘old man’ plays; January 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, Tessen Kai
Nohgaku Kenkyu jô). A play where the shite enters the stage in theform of Jô (old man) is referred as a ‘Jô-mono’ (Old Man Play) but
in these five pieces, one play a day for five consecutive days, Shimizu
Kanji played the role of shite in all of them. The works were, Ema(Votive Tablet), Michimori (The Old Warrior Michimori), Saigyô
zakura (The Cherryblossoms of Saigyô), Utô (Rhinocero Auklet), andChôryô (Strategist Zhang Liang), and they were presented in orderaccording to the five categories of Noh plays.
Noh and Kyôgen paintings of the Japanese-Style Painter,
Kawanabe Kyôsai (1831-89) were exhibited at the Mitsui Memorial
Museum’s Special Exhibition (April 20th – June 16th). Along with theNoh paintings there were also paintings of Noh masks and various
sketches on exhibit. Associated with that was the event ‘Kyôsai Paints

Kyôgen no Kai’ held June 1st at the National Noh Theatre. Nomura Mansaku preformed Sanbasô and Nomura Mansai performed
Kusabira (The Mushrooms) in hakama attire.
Moving on to the performance of the important works, the past
year had many performances of Dôjôji. Those which were ‘hiraki’(first performance of a piece) had much significance for younger
actors essaying the challenge to gain recognition of their ability tostand on their own as actors, but on the other hand, there is also a
deep meaning for the more experienced performers who return to therole again and again. Performances of Dôjôji are listed in order of date(with variant performances omitted).
Mikata Madoka, Kanze Yoshimasa, (March), Kamei Yuji, Honda
Fuyuki, Ueda Kimitake, Umeda Yoshihirô, Katayama Kuroemon,
Ueno Yuzô, Ueda Takuji, Kanze Yoshimasa (June), Akamatsu
39

Yoshihide, Kanze Tetsunojô, Umewaka Genshô, Kongô Hisanori,
Honda Mitsuhiro, Uzawa Hikaru.
Among the so called, ‘Naraimono’ (specially transmitted works)
those that are thought to be the most profound are the Old Woman
Plays. The names of the shite actors who performed these are given inchronological order.
Sotoba Komachi – Ôtsuki Bunzô, Kobayakawa Osamu, Komase Naoya,
Ueda Takahiro, Yamada Sumio, Sakurama Ujin,
Umewaka Genshô.
Omu Komachi –Nishide Akio, Uzawa Hisa.

Obasute –Kagawa Seiji, Katayama Kuroemon, Tanimura Ikuko,
Umewaka Masaharu, Kanze Kiyokazu, Komparu Yasuaki.

Higaki –Kanze Kiyokazu, Katayama Yusetsu, Nomura Shiro.

Sekidera Komachi – Katayama Yusetsu.

Memorial Noh Programs are presented not merely as offerings

Theatre in Japan

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NOH and KYOGEN

to those who have passed away, but also as an opportunity for theirsuccessors or descendants to attempt great works and other especiallychallenging roles for the first time. The program names (including
Kyôgen) are listed in order of date.
Ôtsuki Hideo 23nd Memorial Noh, Okada Rôei 7th Memorial,
Kobayakawa Yasushi 23rd Memorial, Umewaka Kichinojô 3rd
Memorial, Nomura Matasaburô 7th Memorial, Morimoto Shirô17th Memorial, Yamamoto Takashi, Shigeyama Sensaku (Nohgaku
za Jishû Kôen), Shigeyama Chûzaburô IV, 3rd Memorial. Umewaka
Manzaburô II 23rd Memorial, Ômura Takeshi 33rd Memorial, Uzawa
Masashi 17th Memorial.
The Noh performers who passed from us in 2013, are listed as follows:40•Hirota Norikazu (March 10th) Kongô school shite actor, 89 years old.
•Taniguchi Masayoshi (March 20th), Ishii school Ôtsuzumi performer, 86 years old.
•Shimabara Shunkyô (April 3rd) Komparu school shite actor 80,
years old.
•Wakebayashi Koichi (April 9th) Kanze school shite actor, 78 years
old.
•Watanabe Saburô (July 24th) Hôshô school shite actor, 95 years old.
•Kunieda Yoshio (August 29th) Kanze school shite actor, 79 years old.
•Kakei Koichi (August 30th) Ôkura school Ôtsuzumi performer, 82
years old.
•Adachi Reiko (September 30th) Kanze school shite actor, 88 years old.
Persons other than Noh performers, who have passed away, are next
listed•Hoshida Yoshimitsu (January 23rd) Nohgaku Critic, 85 years old.

•Fujishiro Tsugio (February 4th) Editor, 90 years old.
•Seida Hiroshi (May 16th) Nohgaku Researcher, 80 years old.
•Shigeyama Sensaku (May 23rd) Ôkura school Kyôgen performer,
93years old. He was the eldest son of Shigeyama Sensaku III,and received tutelage under his father as well as his grandfather,
Shigeyama Sensaku II. He was the recipient of the Arts Encouragement Prize of the Ministry of Culture, the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival Prize and the Kanze Hisao Memorial
Hôsei University Noh Theatre Award and had been designated an
Important Intangible Cultural Asset (National Living Treasure)and a Person of Cultural Merits, he was a Member of the Japan Art
Academy and has received the Order of Cultural Merit. Writings
include Sengorô Kyôgen Banashi.
41

Nishi, Tetsuo
Nohgaku critic born in 1937, graduated from Saitama University. He was
employed at Tokyo-dô shuppan and has held positions as adjunct instructor
at Musashino University, Department of Literature and at Bunka Gakuin;
Review Board Member of the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival Nohgaku
Department/Theatre Department; Board Member of the Arts Encouragement
Classical Arts Department/ Theatre Department; Japan Arts Encouragement
Society (National Noh Theatre) Advisory Panel. Co-author of Nohgaku Daijiten(Encyclopedia of Nohgaku, Chikuma shobô).

(Translation: James Ferner)

Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

KABUKI and BUNRAKU

The Kabuki-za, which underwent reconstruction due to its age, reopened in April. The fifth in a line that was first inaugurated in 1889,
this newest version of the Kabuki-za appears to be carrying a highrise building on its back, though in keeping with the design concept:‘succession through time’ the theatre’s exterior, stage, seats and lobby
have retained all that was

Kabuki and Bunraku in 2013

The Opening of the New Kabuki-za Theater,
the 300th Anniversary of the Death ofTakemoto Gidayû and the 360th Anniversary of
the Birth of Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Mizuochi Kiyoshi

good in the older design,
which in the new modern
framework makes for awonderful theatre.
Beginning in April andcontinuing for one full year,a ‘Kokera Otoshi’ program42

to commemorate the reopening has been underway. From April to June, top stars including
Sakata Tôjûrô, Onoe Kikugorô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura
Kichiemon, Kataoka Nizaemon, Bandô Tamasaburô, Nakamura
Baigyoku and Bandô Mitsugorô joined forces in a three-part program
which featured some of the most popular classical Kabuki plays. Although the best seats were priced at 20,000 yen, the shows enjoyedlarge audiences and there was a lineup of performances that superblyreflected the stage of maturity that Kabuki has reached at present.
Among the pieces performed were in April, Kumagai jinya (Kumagai’s
Battlecamp) and Moritsuna jinya (Moritsuna’s Battlecamp), two stately
performances that were in the true style of Kabuki-performances
including Gidayû-chanting. In May, Meiboku Sendai Hagi’s Goten
and Yukashita-acts (The Disputed Succession of the Date-family, The
Mansion- and The Below the Floor-acts) were solid performances, andthe glamorous onnagata (actor specialized on female roles), BandôTamasaburô and Onoe Kikunosuke were enchantingly seductive inKyôkanoko musume ninin Dôjôji (The two maidens at the Dôjôjitemple). In June, there was a lineup of pieces with top stars joined bysome of the popular rising talents destined to be the key players of thenext generation, which included a performance of Sukeroku yukari
no Edo zakura (Sukeroku’s Cherrytrees in Edo), with Ichikawa Ebizôtaking the lead, along with Nakamura Fukusuke, Onoe Kikugorô,Nakamura Kichiemon, Ichikawa Sadanji and others. It was a splendidly gorgeous performance.
In July the programs were performed in two-parts, returning
temporarily to the three-part schedule in August, but stabilizing intheir regular two parts in September. During these three months the
programs featured younger popular stars in leading roles. In July,
Kagamiyama gonichino Iwafuji (The Second Appearance of Iwafuji at
43

Mt. Kagami) and Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan (Ghost Stories of Yotsuya);
in September, Shin Usuyuki Monogatari (The New Tale of Usuyuki)
and a new Kabuki play, Onmyoji (The Sorcerer) were staged. Thesefour pieces featured the 40 year-old Ichikawa Somegorô along with
Onoe Shôroku, Onoe Kikunosuke, Ichikawa Ebizô, Kataoka Ainosuke, Nakamura Kankurô in their 30’s, and all of the performances- three great classics and one new creation - surpassed expectationsin terms of acting and expression and were testimony to the grandupbringing that the current generation of actors has received and thathas come to fruition this year.
Starting in October, two of the three great Kabuki works,
Yoshitsune senbon zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry
Trees) and Kanadehon Chûshingura were performed in their entirety. In October, Onoe Kikugorô playing Tadanobu, Nakamura
Kichiemon playing Tomomori and Kataoka Nizaemon playing Gonta
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were the lead actors in each act of Yoshitsune senbon zakura and they
were joined by the Onnagata Sakata Tôjûrô and Nakamura Baigyoku.
November and December were devoted to Kanadehon Chûshingura:
the November performance had Nakamura Kichiemon playing
Yuranosuke and Onoe Kikugorô playing both Hangan and Kanbei
along with a cast of veteran stars and in December, Matsumoto
Kôshirô played Yuranosuke, Bandô Tamasaburô played Okaru withthe other roles taken by the younger stars, Ichikawa Somegorô, Onoe
Kikugorô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Ichikawa Ebizô, Nakamura Shidô, andNakamura Shichinosuke. In these consecutive performances of thisgreat work, the veterans and the young stars alike amply displayed theirrespective talents, which made for an outstanding show both months.
By December 8th, audiences at the Kabuki za topped the one mil44

lion mark, and considering that half of these spectators were travelingto Tokyo from all over the country, it shows that Kabuki’s popularity
has indeed risen to a new level.
On the other hand, Ichikawa Danjûrô who had performancesscheduled, passed away suddenly in February, and both BandôMitsugorô (from September) and Kataoka Nizaemon (from November) were unable to perform due to illness. Nakamura Fukusuke, who
was meant to formally take the name Nakamura Utaemon VII in
March of 2014 had to cancel his performances from the middle ofNovember due to cerebral hemorrhaging, causing the ceremony ofsuccession to be postponed. Further, Nakamura Kichiemon sufferedfrom a gustatory disorder, though he did manage to carry out his
performances. This is a concern to all and one hopes that these unfortunate occurrences are not the result of exhaustion due to overwork.
At the National Theatre in January, an old play of Kawatake
Mokuami, Yume no ichi otokodate kurabe (The Competition ofGallant Men on the Market of Dreams), was staged with Onoe
Kikugorô in the lead, newly arranged with a modern look. In October,
Matsumoto Kôshirô, Ichikawa Somegorô performed the lead of thegreat classic acts Jinmon (The Enemy Gate), Kumiuchi (Battle) andKumagai Jinya from the play Ichi-no-tani futatabi gunki (War-recordsof the Second Battle at Ichi-no-tani). In November, Sakata Tôjûrô,Nakamura Kanjaku and Nakamura Hashinosuke played the central
roles in Igagoe dôchû sugoroku (The Vendetta at Iga Pass) and in December, three rare works relating to Chûshingura were presented in a
program entitled Shirarezaru Chûshingura (The Unknown Treasuryof Loyal Retainers). All of these projects were worthy accomplishments, suited to the National Theatre.
Also in January at the Shinbashi Theatre, there was the memorial performance to commemorate the one-year-day of the death of45

Nakamura Jakuemon. His son, Nakamura Shibajaku performed
Otoku in Keisei Hangon kô (The Courtesan of the Hangon Incense),and Okaru in act seven of Kanadehon Chûshingura, roles that his
father was famous for, displaying the remarkable progress he has madeas a performer.
The popularity that Kabuki has enjoyed in Tokyo has apparently
spread all around the country. Programs at Osaka’s Shôchiku za haveincreased with Kataoka Ainosuke active there throughout the year.
The announcement of the succession of the stage-names Ichikawa
Enô, Ichikawa Ennosuke and Ichikawa Chûsha were celebrated withperformances which began last year at the Shôchiku za and from there
moved to Nagoya’s Misono za, Kyushu’s Hakata za and finally to
Kyoto’s Minami za during 2013. Ichikawa Enô only performed when
he was feeling physically up to it, but Ichikawa Ennosuke was fullof vigor in Yoshitsune senbon zakura and Kurozuka (The Demon at
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the Black Hill), appearing not only at large theaters, but touring allover the country. Nakamura Kankurô brought down the house at
the Hakata za’s large stage. Ichikawa Ebizô embarked on a rigorous
performance tour starting in January with Asakusa Kabuki, then in
February with a strenuous program at Le Theatre Ginza, and afterwards vigorously staging various programs of his own. These are thepositive aspects of 2013, but on the down side, the Misono za, that had
been an important home base of Kabuki with a long history, closed
temporarily in March. There is talk of reconstruction but no details
are forthcoming.
In 2013, Kabuki enjoyed a rich, full year, but there were alsofrequent problems, and one had a strong sense that the changing of
the guard in the actors corps from the old generation to the new pro46

gressed rapidly.
In Bunraku, the art of Jôruri Puppets, last year marked the50th anniversary of the Bunraku Association, the 300th memorial of
Takemoto Gidayû, the creator of ‘Gidayû bushi’ – the chanting stylein use today – as well as Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s 360th birthday.
As a result, there were a number of pieces connected to these two
personages performed in both Osaka and Tokyo.
The Osaka Bunraku Theatre, the home base of Bunraku, staged
five programs over the course of the year. In January, both to celebrate the New Year and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the Bunraku Association, the program began with a performanceof Kotobuki shiki Sanbasô (The Ceremonial Sanbasô Dance ofLongevity), and then in the day and evening shows there was a lineupof popular festive pieces with mass appeal such as Yoshitsune senbon
zakura, Hiragana seisuiki (The Records of the Rise and Decline of
the Heike Family), and Honchô nijûshi ko (Twenty-four Dutiful

Children). In April, the day performance featured the acts Yukashita
and Nozakimura (At Nozaki Village) from Meiboku sendai hagi, as
well as the piece, Tsuri Onna (Fishing for wives). The evening show
was a complete performance of Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s great
work Shinjû Ten no Amijima (The Love Suicides at Amajima). Bothprograms had audience numbers surpassing those of last year. The
June program, aimed primarily at high school students with its Bunraku Appreciation Workshop, had performances of Hidakagawa iriai
zakura (The Cherryblossoms at the Crossing of the Hidaga River),a lecture entitled ‘Welcome to Bunraku’, and a performance of Ehon
taikôki (The Tycoon’s Exploit) both in the morning and afternoon.
The lecture was assisted by younger Gidayû-chanters, shamisenplayers and puppeteers, who gave a clear demonstration of how thenarration, music and puppets work together to create the fascinat47

ing expressiveness of Bunraku. The same program was held on thetenth and the 19th in the evening starting at six o’clock under the title,‘Bunraku Appreciation Workshop for Adults’. These lectures had agreat significance for making Bunraku known to an audience that was
mostly composed of members of the younger generation in thier 20s
to 30s (80.4%).
In July, the ‘Special Bunraku Program for Summer Vacation’ washeld in three parts. Part one (11:00) was for parents and their children
and featured Kintarô no Ôgumo taiji (Kintarô Subdues the Great
Spider) a work based on a popular fairy tale, and a lecture entitled‘What’s Bunraku?’. Also a performance of Urikohime to Amanjaku(The Melon Princess and Amanjaku the devil), a play based on a folktale, was staged. Part two (14:00) was a performance of act four fromthe masterpiece, Imoseyama onna teikin (The Teachings for Womenat Mt Imose) and part three, the ‘Summer Late Show’ (18:00) was
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Natsumatsuri Naniwa kagami (Summer Festival at Naniwa). The
family show had an increase in audience numbers from last year. In
November, the work Igagoe dôchû sugoroku, previously performed inTokyo in October, was staged in its entirety over both the day- andevening shows. The day-time show began at 10:30 am and included the
Tsurugaoka prologue which had not been performed in Tokyo.
In Osaka, we saw audience numbers rise from last year but, incomparison to Tokyo, the economy has been languishing for sometime and ticket sales have been suffering.
There were four Bunraku performances held in Tokyo at the
National Theatre’s Small Stage. Because of the large population ofTokyo with its neighboring cities as well as its large number of classicaltheatre fans, Bunraku programs have continued to enjoy full houses
48

there. The influence of the Great Tôhoku Earthquake had cast a shadow
on theatergoing the last two years, but things seem to be recovering
this year with attendance at any given performance up to over 90%.
The February program in Tokyo was in three parts: Part one featured the last part of Sesshû gappô ga tsuji (Meeting at the Crossroads
in Settsû), part two Kokaji (The Swordsmith), Kuruwa bunshô (Lettersfrom the Pleasure Quarters), and Sekitori senryô nobori (The Sumo
Wrestler’s Banner of a Thousand Gold Coins), and finally part three,act four of Imoseyama onna teikin. The May program, in honor of the360th Anniversary of the birth of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, featured
Sonezaki shinjû (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki) and Kumagai jinya
during the day and Shinjû Ten no Amijima, and Kotobuki shiki Sanbasô in the evening. The September program was a complete performance of Igagoe dôchû sugoroku held in in conjunction with Osaka’s
Bunraku Theatre. This work, which is no longer performed in its entirety as a Kabuki play, received so much notice that tickets practicallysold out in advance. In December, both morning and evening shows
were the ‘Bunraku Appreciation Workshop’ for the benefit of beginners and included a performance of Dangô-uri (The Dumpling Peddlers), the lecture ‘The Fascination of Bunraku’, and a performanceof Terakoya (The Temple School). The evening program featured
some of the leading younger performers in: Ôtônomiya asahi no yoroi(Ôtônomiya’s Armour) and Koimusume mukashi hachijô (The Love
Inspired Murder). Otonomiya asahi no yoroi is a piece that was reconstructed by the shamisen player Tsurusawa Kinshi over a periodof three years, using what was left of the original score. This was thepiece that made the career of the famous puppeteer, Takeda Izumo I.
With its interesting content and puppet work worthy of Bunraku, it
was one of the top picks of the year. In addition, in the spring and fall
there was a tour all over Japan.
49

Of this year’s performances, Shinjû Ten no Amijima and Igagoedôchû sugoroku, staged in both east and west, with the appeal of
its real Bunraku–style narrative, were the year’s all around best
achievements. In addition, Imoseyama onna teikin, Terakoya and
Natsumatsuri Naniwa kagami were all good, solid performanceswith all three artistic components in top form.
Among the Gidayû chanters, the eldest: Takemoto Sumitayû andTakemoto Gentayû both had to cancel a number of performances
due to their age. Toyotake Sakitayû who has become the backboneof the chanting corps was active throughout the year. Next in line,
Toyotake Shimatayû, Toyotake Hanafusatayû, Takemoto Chitosetayû
and Takemoto Mojihisatayû provided solid chanting. The younger
Toyotake Rosetayû and Toyotake Sakihotayû showed promising development and have become able to take on some of the bigger works.
However, on the whole, one can’t deny that there is a shortage of
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personnel in Bunraku today.
Tsurusawa Kanji, the elder of the shamisen-players is in good
health, but also Tsurusawa Seiji, who tops the list in ability, followedby the middle ranked Tsurusawa Seisuke, Tsurusawa Enza, Toyosawa
Tomisuke, Nozawa Kinshi and Tsurusawa Tôzô all had their abilities
on display this year.
Indeed, of the three artistic components of Bunraku today, theshamisen is in the best shape and even among the younger players
there are quite a few up and coming prospects.
Amongst the puppeteers, Yoshida Minosuke and Yoshida
Bunjaku are healthy, but, in terms of physical condition, were notexpected to perform as much as before and so Kiritake Kanjûrô,Yoshida Tamame and Yoshida Kazuo have been entrusted big roles.
50

Kiritake Kanjûrô has a wide repertoire, being able to handle leading
male (tachiyaku) and female (onnagata) roles as well as aged characters.
Yoshida Tamame excels at the larger-than-life male roles and YoshidaKazuo has displayed his expertise at the Onnagata roles. Also Yoshida
Tamaya and Toyomatsu Seijûrô have shown their skills, while theyounger Yoshida Ichisuke, Yoshida Kôsuke and Yoshida Tamaka havebeen developing.
Mizuochi, Kiyoshi
Born in 1936. Graduated Waseda University Department of Literature
specializing in Theatre. In charge of the Mainichi Shinbun’s Arts and Cultural
News Department from 1970, Mr. Mizuochi also served as that department’s
vice-chairman, a member of the Editorial Board and Special Committee
Member before his retirement. Affiliate member of the Editorial Board. From
2000, Professor at Obirin University, retiring in 2007. Professor Emeritus.
Writings include: Kamigata Kabuki, Bunraku, Heisei Kabuki haiyû ron and others.

(Translation: James Ferner)

The numbers of musical performances in Japan are increasing year by
year and there were many musicals produced in 2013 as well. Other
than the old and new musicals that originally started on Broadway
and in London’s West End, there were Viennese musicals, musicals
from Paris and South Korean musicals from Seoul, which weretranslated and presented inJapanese, and also original
musicals mounted by bothlarge and small production

A Retrospective of Musicals
in 2013

there were many revivals

Even More Variety
in the Musical Sceneof translated musicals that

Hagio Hitomi

companies. On top of that,have ongoing popularity.
When you look around the world, it is probably only in Tokyo, that51

there is such a wide variety in the musical lineup, and to have so many
options to choose from is a welcome situation for the audience.

The Fruits of Original Musicals
Among the several musical productions in 2013, Les Misérables, as
was expected, drew most attention. As is well known, it is a West End
musical that has remained popular since its Japan premiere in 1987.
This time, based on the new version that started off in London back in
2009, drastic revisions were made in the staging and it was presented to
the Japanese audience for the first time. Due to the expectations fromthe musical fans and the extraordinary hit of the film version of Les
Misérables in December 2012, the new version aroused the interest ofpeople who usually do not go to see musicals. Thanks to these factors,
the performances at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo between May andJuly, and the following tour to Hakata-za Theatre in Fukuoka, Festival
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MUSICALHall in Osaka and Chunichi Theatre in Nagoya, and the triumphantreturn to the Imperial Theatre were all enormously successful.
Laurence Conner and James Powell directed the new version
of Les Misérables, and it was a visual production that drew fully
on projected images (designed by Matt Kinley). It took a concreteand clear-cut approach that stimulated the audience’s imagination
through the usage of minimal set and dramatic lighting, which wasexactly opposite to the old version. It was accessible to the audience
who came to see the show after seeing the film version. On the other
hand, considering the feelings of the longtime fans of ‘Les Mis’, theco-directors added detailed directions that were unique to the Japaneseversion, and this effort turned out to be effective. It reminded us that52

musicals are live stage performances and therefore they evolve by receiving influence from the audience.
As for musicals with theatrical achievements, The Cat That
Lived A Million Times was very impressive (January-February). It was
produced by Horipro, which now has a strong presence following
the Shiki Theatre Company and Toho, the two major production
companies of musicals in Japan. It was based on Sano Yoko’s picture
storybook, which had been dramatized into a musical in the past (byPhilippe Decouflé) and this time it was a new production by the Israeli
directorial duo, namely Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak (who alsochoreographed and designed the show). It was a vivid stage production.
Besides the simple structure and beautiful colours of the scenic
design, we were reminded anew that the stage is indeed a three-dimensional space by how the stage was used in this production. The

characters suddenly appeared not only from below the stage but also
from the ceiling and the walls, which surprised the audience and was
also persuasive in the dramatic sense. By necessity, the actors wererequired to have physical capacity to do all such movements and I
was fascinated by the acting, singing and dancing ability of Moriyama
Mirai, who played the wayward cat character naturally and at ease.
The performance of Mitsushima Hikari, who played the parts of thewhite cat and also the girl, was also wonderful, as she danced sinuously and sang with her transparent voice. It was indeed a lively andbeautiful production.
For that matter, I would also like to mention that Horipro has
been partnering with Komatsu-za Theater Company to present playswith music written by Inoue Hisashi, and this year, to my delight,
53

they presented one of Inoue’s early works under the title of Boon andPhoon. It was revived for the first time since its premiere in 1975, andit was as if we had found a new work by Inoue although he is not with
us any more to write new plays.

A New Production Originating Outside Tokyo
Although it was presented in Tokyo for only three days, Hello,
Dolly!, produced by Aubade Hall in Toyama Prefecture, thrilled theaudience. It was a production that premiered in Japan in 2012 at thesame theatre. This year, after the revival at Aubade Hall, it toured
to Tokyo for the first time (in August). Hello, Dolly! was a great hiton Broadway back in 1954 and it was also made into a film. When it
opened in 2012, the fact that the Japan premiere of such a successful
title was realized in Toyama was surprising. In the past, there had been
an attempt to produce the translated version of Hello, Dolly!, which
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MUSICAL

was, however, not realized. In other words, it had turned into masterpiece that was never presented to the public in Japan with Japanese
cast, and for that reason, to have premiered the Japanese version at aregional theatre was even more surprising.
The production of Hello, Dolly!, which is based on a story
about marriage-related confusions caused by a cheerful widow andportrayed with an array of famous numbers, was amusing and filledwith the sense of happiness, making the audience relish the joy ofwatching musicals. The company was comprised of experienced actors
such as Tsurugi Miyuki and Honma Kenichi, who played the main
roles, and an ensemble that was chosen locally through auditions,which is often the case with musicals that originate in regional areas.
54

There were some amateurs among the cast but they did pretty well ontechnical levels too. Above all, it was quite moving to see the highlightscene, in which the performance of the brass band of the local highschool was incorporated into the storyline without making it soundcontrived. The enthusiasm of making a high-quality production basedin the local community could be felt. Time and money is required to
produce musicals, usually making it difficult for regional theatres tocarry out independently. The example of Hello, Dolly! will probably
become a good guideline in the future for having managed to realize
the production while manifesting the local identity.

The Japan Premiere of Fresh Productions
One example of an old Broadway musical that was produced inJapan for the first time, many years after its original premiere, wasMerrily We Roll Along ——We Still Move On (presented in November)and it was quite impressive. It first opened on Broadway back in 1981.

It is based on a play that was premiered in 1934 and Stephen Sondheim
wrote the songs and lyrics for the musical. It may be because the show
did not get good reviews when it premiered on Broadway that it was
not translated and presented in Japan. After many years, it was finallypresented in Japan, which may perhaps be because in recent years themusical had been reviewed anew in London and on Broadway too.
The story begins in 1976 when three young men, who used totalk about their dreams, reach middle age. The states of the three men,
who have taken different paths in their lives, are depicted, and in theend, they land in 1957 and talk about their original intensions. The setting of 1957, which was when the first artificial satellite in the historyof mankind was launched, effectively highlighted the fresh dreams andbonds of the three men. The refreshing feeling of the production owed
55

to Miyamoto Amon’s direction and the fresh cast. In other words, it
was the triumph of the direction.
Actually, when I saw the off-Broadway performance of the title in
the past, I was not very impressed. It may have been because veteranactors were cast based on their acting and singing skills or perhaps
because it had problems in the direction that created a strong senseof nostalgia and left a negative impression. However, in the Japanpremiere version, a positive approach was taken, going back to thecharacters’ starting line and re-examining their dreams and bonds.
Such intention was implied in the subtitle and it was indeed a stage
production full of freshness.
The Japan premiere of Little Mermaid was another productionthat was full of fun. It premiered in Japan to commemorate theTheatre in Japan

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MUSICAL

sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Shiki Theatre Company.
For Shiki Theatre Company, it is their third Disney musical following
Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. It is a musical adaptation of
the successful animation film that premiered on Broadway in 2008.
It required a huge budget but fell behind expectations. Therefore it
was not produced in Japan straight away but was finally introduced
to Japan after it was revived in Europe in 2012. It consisted of two
picture-book-like acts, of which one had the background set underwater where the mermaid swam using a flying system and the other was
the background that had shifted onshore, and thus it was a very visual
production. It was an enjoyable production and the audience was able
to enjoy Alan Menken’s rhythmical musical numbers. Incidentally,
Shiki Theatre Company also revived Ri Koran, Foreign Hill and56

Southern Cross one after another under the program titled Historical
Trilogy of the Showa Era to commemorate its sixtieth anniversary andmoreover repeatedly presented musicals from its repertoire.
In terms of new productions, Next to Normal was another musical that had a great impact. It was based on the subject matter ofdepression, depicting a family of today. It originated off Broadway
and was premiered on Broadway in 2009. It won the Pulitzer Prizeand to be honest, the theme was very heavy. When I saw the premiere,
I thought about the pride and the big capacity of the creators ofAmerican musicals to have realized such a production. I had imagined,
however, that it would be difficult to present the title in Japan andtherefore I was all the more impressed when it was actually translated
and presented in Japanese as well. The caliber of the actors who managed to sing the difficult numbers and perform difficult roles indicatedthat the level of Japanese musical actors in general had improved.

Multinational Musicals and the Spillover Effect From Korea
The originating country of musicals is becoming more and more
multinational. Since Elizabeth was premiered in Japan (1996), Mozart!,
Dance of the Vampires, Rebecca and Rudolf, The Last Kiss have beenpresented, and Viennese musicals have taken root in Japan. Romeoand Juliet, which toured to Japan after its successful run in Vienna,
originated in Paris, as did Mozart, The Rock Opera, which premiered
in Japan in 2013. Additionally, The Count of Monte Cristo by the same
writer-composer duo as Rudolf, The Last Kiss, which originally started
in Switzerland, also premiered in Japan in 2013.
The benefit of having musicals from various parts of the worldis that after acquiring the rights to the music and script, the staging
can be changed freely. There may be nothing surprising about it but
57

actually it has not been possible with the big hits from Broadway and
London of recent years. As seen in the success of Elizabeth, if there
were good musical numbers and the directors understood the sentiments of the Japanese audience when they directed the musicals, there
were chances that they would become popular successes. The Japanesemusical producers are making their antenna go up around the world,
searching for potential hit musicals presently.
Such situation of Japanese musicals may seem quite amazing but
there have also been quite a lot of repercussions from South Korea.
The capital Seoul has become a huge hub of musicals over the past ten
years and the number of musicals presented in Korea has surpassed
that of Japan. In an article published in the New York Times at theend of 2013, a producer from Broadway wrote, “South Korea has now
become an important buyer of Broadway musicals.” In fact, A Tale of
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Two Cities (premiered on Broadway in 2008) and Next to Normal aswell as The Count of Monte Cristo, that originated in Switzerland, were
all presented in Seoul before coming on the Japanese musical scene.
There have also been an increasing number of cases in which original musicals from small theatres in Seoul are translated and presented
in Japanese. The original Korean production of Chonganne–Oishii
Jinsei Otodokeshimasu (We Will Deliver Your Life) was also presented
in November (the Japanese version was presented in April). It was presented at Amuse Musical Theater opened in April 2013 as a resident
theatre for Korean musicals, where seven productions have alreadybeen presented during the opening year.

58

I also wanted to write about original musicals by The Musical-za
and ATELIER DUNCAN but I have run out of space. It seems that
the Japanese musical scene is still in the making.
Hagio, Hitomi
After her career as a newspaper journalist, she became a film and theatre
critic. She writes theatre reviews for Tokyo Shimbun and running columns
for musical magazines. She is the author of Take Me to the Musicals, A Hundred
People of Les Misérables, etc. She has also written and edited books such as
Broadway Musicals–All About the Tony Awards and My First Musical Film–Hitomi
Hagio’s 50 Best Selections.

(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)

More than two years have now passed since the Great East Japan
Earthquake but the marks left by the earthquake and tsunami still run
deep, and no end is in sight for the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Following the general election at the end of 2012, Prime Minister Abe
Shinzo has made a comeback and the economy has improved somewhat due to drastic monetary easing. Nonetheless,economic disparity remains
as grave as it was before, as
the government eyes the restarting of the nuclear
power plants and aims toContemporary Theatre in 2013
Theatre Artists in their Thirties,
Leading the Way in Examining
the Post-3.11 Reality
Yamaguchi Hiroko

pass a resolution on theright to collect self-defense. Meanwhile, diplomatic relations with59

China and South Korea have soured, and the Special Secrecy Law
forced through parliament at the end of the year has been widely criticized as a serious erosion of the public’s right of access to information.
The theatre world also protested against the law in a joint statementby theatre companies, including Engeki Shudan En, Zenshinza, Haiyuza, Bungakuza, Mingei and Mumeijuku, while the International
Theatre Institute-Japanese Centre, Japan Playwrights Association and
AICT-IATC Japan issued a statement calling for a measured debate.

Young and Mid-Career Artists Confronting Reality
In such a society of stagnation and such festering ugliness, whatstood out in 2013 were the works by artists in their thirties that boldly
confronted the world today.
One of the highly acclaimed works was mum & gypsy’s cocoon.
Adapted from the manga by Kyo Machiko (b. 1980), it was written and
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CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

directed by Fujita Takahiro (b. 1985). Although not specified per se,
the setting was Okinawa in 1945. It told the story of young girls, basedon the Himeyuri students (the so-called Lily Corps), and who experience the horrors of war. Rather than studying the war as history,
though, the play succeeded in winning audience empathy throughvividly employing the bodies of the young actresses living in the here
and now.
Horai Ryuta (b. 1976) gave us two plays that left a strong
impression. The first was Ki no ue no guntai (The army on a tree)(Komatsu-za, HoriPro), which was adapted from a work of the same
title left by the late Inoue Hisashi. It is the story of two soldiers who,
not knowing the war has ended, hide for two years in a banyan tree on
Okinawa. The other was Shinde, iru (Be Dead), written and directed60

by Horai at the end of the year for his own theatre company, Modernswimmers, and which examined the “absence” of a Fukushima female
high school student who runs away while staying at her aunt’s houseas an evacuee from the Fukushima accident.
Okada Toshiki (b. 1973) and his company chelfitsch have participated in many overseas theatre festivals, and in Genzaichi (Current
Location; premiered in 2012) and the new play Jimen to yuka (Groundand Floor), both of which he wrote and directed, he expressed the tensions of living in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Jimen to yuka
also incorporated issues of income disparity, revealing a cross-sectionof society.
In Kemono no hashira (Beast Column), written and directed byMaekawa Tomohiro (b. 1974) and staged by his company Ikiume,a mysterious column falls down on a city, preventing people fromthinking or feeling happiness. This column is a metaphor for nuclear
power and radiation, connecting sci-fi narrative with reality today.

Ryuzanji’s Atomic Storm took Tsukuda Norihiko’s play, written in
1992 when he was 28, and radically revised it into a musical. Directedby Nakayashiki Norihito (b. 1984), the musical presented with ribald energy, anger and humor a near future where new nuclear power
plants are being built thick and fast, meaning a plan is made to disposeof the used nuclear fuel monthly. Meanwhile, Nakatsuru Akihito(b. 1973) wrote and directed Raihosha (Visitors) for his company
Trashmasters, dealing with the issue of the Senkaku Islands.
Plays confronting modern history also attracted attention. Ori
Kiyoshi (b. 1972) wrote Kokugo no jikan (Japanese Language Class) forfukinkobo, which considered language and human identity throughthe enforcing of Japanese language education on the Korean peninsular when it was governed by Japan. In Chi wo wataru fune—1945:
Achikku muuzeamu to kijutsushatachi (The Ship that Crosses the61

Earth: The Attic Museum and the Describers), Tegamiza’s Osada Ikue(b. 1977) explored the ethnology research institute created by businessman Shibusawa Keizo in his home, and the fates of the people
who gathered there. Scriptwriter Ishikawa Ken (b. 1978) and director
Hisawa Yusuke (b. 1976) of the troupe Chocolate Cake revived Tate,uetaru mono yo (Arise, ye prisoners of want), a portrayal of the United
Red Army incident, and also staged a new play, Chiten no kimi (TheLord Who Rules), with the Taisho Emperor as its protagonist.
And not just playwrights, the work of directors from this generation was also singular.
Mori Shintaro (b. 1976) staged Jean-Paul Sartre’s Dirty Hands(Subaru) and Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II (New National
Theatre, Tokyo), plays rarely seen in Japan today, brilliantly resurrecting their universality. With productions of Martin McDonough’s The
Pillowman (Natori Theatre Office), Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming
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CONTEMPORARY THEATRE(Runs First), Michael Hollinger’s Opus (New National Theatre,
Tokyo), and David Mamet’s The Cryptogram (Setagaya Public Theatre), Ogawa Eriko (b. 1978) exhibited her masterly finesse in directing
contemporary British and American drama (and, with the exceptionof Opus, her translating as well). Tani Kenichi (b. 1982) was also acclaimed for his translation and direction of Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s
Last Session (Dull-Colored Pop).
Miura Motoi (b. 1973) broke down and restructured Chekhov’s
plays using his unique verbalized stage language. With his troupe
Chiten he constructed Under Throw, a new theatre space in Kyoto
City, opening with Chiten no kinmiraigo (Chiten’s Near-Future Language), which staged a text made from a collage of a sci-fi narrative

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and newspaper articles from the day of the performance.

Veterans Still Strong
Those long working at the forefront of the theatre world in Japan
also left a strong mark this year.
Director Ninagawa Yukio has now turned 78 but staged hit productions one after the other with star actors in the lead roles, from
Shakespeare’s Henry IV and The Merchant of Venice to Kara Juro’s
Modoken (Guide Dog) and Kara-ban take no shiraito (The Water
Magician, Kara-Version). On the other hand, at the Sai-no-Kuni
Saitama Arts Theater in Saitama Prefecture where Ninagawa serves
as artistic director, he develops work with two groups: Saitama Gold
Theatre, with senior performers, and Saitama Next Theatre, withyounger performers. He staged brilliant theatre with unknown actors.
In particular, with the Saitama Gold Theatre he produced Karasu yo,
oretachi wa tama wo komeru (Raven, We Shall Load Bullets) (written
by Shimizu Kunio), where elderly women took over a courtroom.

This radical piece of theatre that swayed established authority overwhelmed audiences through the vigor and potency performed by theactually aged bodies of the women. The Paris run was also acclaimed.
Noda Hideki, based at the Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Theatre
where he is artistic director, performed the lead role for the first timein a play he did not write, Onore naporeon (L’honneur de Napoléon)(written and directed by Mitani Koki), as well as writing, directing andstarring in MIWA by his own company NODA MAP. The meeting ofthese two popular writers for L’honneur de Napoléon made a big stir.
In MIWA, Noda deftly created a kind of biographical play based on
Miwa Akihiro, the actor and singer still working today, with the roleshared by two performers, Miyazawa Rie and Furuta Arata. Miwa
is from Nagasaki and experienced the atomic bombing of the city.
He is openly homosexual and has weathered the ups and downs of63

working in the entertainment industry. He sang a self-penned song
symbolizing his unwavering way of living at the NHK Kohaku Uta
Gassen New Year singing contest TV show at the end of 2012 andit was a sensation. Though it might just be coincidence, Noda’s playthus appeared in the midst of the umpteenth surge in Miwa’s popularity. Mitani also wrote and directed another successful new play,
Horobuittsu to no taiwa (Dialogue with Horowitz).
Among revivals of older work, there were also productions that
attracted attention for re-interpreting the present.
Bungakuza staged a Brecht play for the first time with Life ofGalileo (directed by Takase Hisao), accusing a scientist who is silent in
the face of the truth. The realism that this theatre company has madeits forte connected the theme more strongly with our daily life in thewake of the nuclear disaster. With his own troupe Nagatsuka Keishi(b. 1975) directed Miyoshi Juro’s Okashita mono (Risk-Takers) (1952),
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an acute condemnation of nuclear weapon and which also resonatedwith the present day. And in Fukuda Yoshiyuki’s Nagai bohyou no
retsu (The Long Row of Grave Stones) (first produced in 1957), staged
by Miyata Keiko, artistic director of the New National Theatre,
Tokyo, the tale of a university which finds its autonomy and freedomof scholarship suppressed in 1938 reverberated in our current society.

2020 and Changes in the Support Environments for the Arts
Since the inauguration of the Japan Arts Fund in 1989, public
support for the arts has greatly expanded. Although issues still remain,such as the immaturity of the operating environments and the paucityof subsidy compared to overseas, discussion has been growing in arange of places, including local government, over how to give public
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support to theatre and artistic activities, and the kind of contributions
that the arts can make to society.
What has attracted attention here is the framework of the arts
council, the system for supporting the arts started in the UK thatmaintains a fixed distance from the state. Not simply allocating subsidies, experts also appraise results and offer suitable advice and suggestions. Drawing on this as a model, arts councils have now began toroll out through the Japan Arts Fund (national), and in Tokyo, Osaka
Prefecture and Osaka City, and Okinawa Prefecture. The structuresand functions are different but all has begun, embracing the sameproblems that face the arts in Japan: staff positions, ambiguities of jurisdiction, understaffing of experts, and deficiencies of budget. It will
surely take more time until each organization is functioning fully, but
we can expect them to build connections between society and the arts.
A case study might be the Saison Foundation. It was founded in
1987 out of private investment by Tsutsumi Seiji, who passed away

in November 2013. In the 2012 fiscal year it provided a total of 60
million yen in subsidy to 47 applicants, mainly in theatre and dance.
But not only funding, the detailed counseling from its full-time staff
with knowledge and connections also provides much assistance toyoung and mid-career artists.
There was also a new development with the establishment of theOpen Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM) forstage producers to talk proactively. Aiming to gather industry people
together in a private capacity and upgrade the environments for thearts, it has started to run symposia and meetings. Here too core membership is made up of theatre producers in their thirties.
Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympic Games andParalympics. Cultural events will accordingly be coming under review
from now. It is forecast that in connection with the Olympics Tokyo
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will see its cultural budget expand. The wisdom and motivation oftheatre people will then be tested when it comes to how to use thiseffectively and play a part in creating a rich cultural city.
Amongst this, the drift of international performing arts festival
Festival/Tokyo (F/T) has drawn attention. F/T13 was the sixth time
the festival had been held and took place for one month over November and December with the theme “travels with narratives”. After thefestival had closed, though, it was announced that program director
Soma Chiaki (b. 1975) was being replaced from 2014 by Ichimura
Sachio (b. 1949).
While diplomatic relations turned frosty, the performing arts
nonetheless created strong ties with East Asia. BeSeTo, the theatre
festival started by director Suzuki Tadashi with Chinese and Korean
theatre people, was held for the twentieth time, and for the first timein Japan in three years. Co-presented by the Japan Foundation and
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Aomori Museum of Art, SHUGEN – Celebration/Expression (written and directed by Hasegawa Koji) was a Japanese-Chinese-Koreanco-production, staged in all three countries.
Osaka theatre company Ishinha staged the epic MAREBITO*(directed by Matsumoto Yukichi) on Inujima, an island in Okayama
Prefecture, as part of the Setouchi Triennale, a contemporary art
event. Incorporating the actual sea into the play, the stage on thissmall island connected through the intermediary of water out to Asiaand the world.
* Marebito is an ancient Japanese word referring to a divine spirit or being thatbrings a gift from afar.

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Yamaguchi, Hiroko
Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1960. Graduated from the Department of Scienceat Ochanomizu University. In 1983 she joined the Asahi Shimbun newspaper,
working at its Tokyo and west Japan (Fukuoka) branches, and Osaka head
office. She worked mainly as a reviewer and reporter on cultural news, inparticular for theatre. After working on the editorial board , she is now a leader
writer.

(Translation: William Andrews)

For several years now, the trend has continued of fewer children
being born and this year is no exception. In depopulating areas, due
to the consolidation of elementary and middle schools, the numberof schools is declining. This is tied to a reduction in the number ofpeople to see children’s and youth theater and has an influence on theactivities of theater troupes.
According to the data
up to 2009 compiled by
the Nihon Jidô Seishônen
Engeki Gekidan Kyôdô
Kumiai (Japan Children
and Youth Theater TroupeChildren’s and Youth Theaterand Puppet Theater in 2013
A Summer Full of Family Festivals
Yokomizo Yukiko

Association) or Jienkyô for short, elementary school performances aredown to 25.29%, middle school performance are down to 16.50% and67high school performances are down to 27.06% compared to the peakfigures. Productions like ”Oyako Gekijô (Parent and Child Theater)”and “Kodomo Gekijô (Children’s Theater)” which were meant to expose children to top-quality culture are particularly low and are down
to 13.12% of their peak. Schools are losing the ability to invite theater
troupes to give performances and with performances that charge admission, putting the burden on the parents and guardians of the children to carry the cost, there are an increasing number of households
that have difficulty surviving economically and an increasing numberof household that are unable to spare money for admission fees to theatrical performances. In the 2011 fiscal year, the percentage of students
in elementary and middle school that require financial assistance hasrisen to 15.6%.
The “Jidô Engeki Chihô Junkai Kôen (Children’s Theater Regional Tour)” sponsored by the Nihon Jidô Engeki Kyôkai (Japan
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Children’s Theater Association) aims at showing fine quality children’s
theater to the children in places with declining populations and this is
its 54th year. In spring, 13 theater troupes toured, including “Puppet
Theater la Clarté” and “Gekidan Urinko Theater Company” and in
autumn 17 troupes toured, including “Poplar Theatre Company” and“Gekidan-Angel.” Even though these tours have the support of arts
foundations, they charge admission. One of the results is that due tobudgetary restraints the theater troupes present small-scale plays withsmall casts.
By contrast, the “Tour of Authentic Cultural Arts for the Children that will Support the Following Age to Experience (formerly
known as ‘Performances of Authentic Stage Arts’” sponsored by theJapanese National Cultural Agency is beginning to be very influen68

tial. It sponsors free performances in elementary and middle schools
throughout Japan of music (including opera, orchestral and choral
music), children’s theater (including puppet theater), dance (balletand other forms), and traditional Japanese performing arts (including
Kabuki, noh and kyôgen). The budget is 4.784 million yen, an increaseof 282 million yen over the previous year. Dividing the country into
9 blocks, there were a total of 1,500 performances by a total of 106
groups including Puppet Theater “Puk”, Gekidan “Kaze-no-Ko (Children of the Wind)”, Gekidan “Nakama (Friends)”, Tokyo Engeki
Shudan “Tokyo Theatre Company Kaze (Wind)”, Nihon Philharmonic Orchestra, Ôkura School Shigeyama Kyôgen Kai, Kobayashi
Noriko Ballet Theater and Wanpaku Yose (Children’s Rakugo
Theater).” These performances included workshops and artists weresent to a total of 2,500 separate venues. As a rule, there are supposed
to be 2 performances in 6 years for elementary schools and 2 performances in 3 years for middle schools, but the schools themselves applyevery year for performances by different genres. Since the performances are free, this has had the undesirable effect of making schools
only want these performances and avoid the performances sponsoredby private organizations that must charge for the performances. The
schools apply to local municipal and prefectural governments andthese institutions select what schools get what performances so atpresent, the role of the Japanese Cultural Agency is simply to provide
financing.
Performances aimed at children are concentrated in the summer.
This year was the 41st “Summer Vacation Children and Youth Theater
Festival” (July 20 – August 7 at the Zenrosai Hall and Puk Theater)
sponsored by Jienkyô. In addition to Hoshi no Ôji-sama (The Little
Prince) and Boku wa Afurika ni Sumu Kirin Desu (I am a Giraffe
Living in Africa)” by Gekidan “Nakama,” there were 22 theater
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troupes performing 24 different pieces plus 6 workshops.
One of the most prominent international festivals, the “Kiji­
munaa Festa 2013,” the popular name for the “2013 Kokusai Jidô
Seishônen Engeki Fesutibaru Okinawa (2013 International Children
and Youth Theater Festival Okinawa),” was held for the eighth time.
Sponsored by Okinawa City and ECO Okinawa, it was held from
July 20 to 28 with events at 7 venues. There were 17 groups invitedfrom abroad that gave a total of 58 performances and 13 groups
invited from Japan that gave a total of 52 performances. For pieces
sponsored by the presenting groups themselves, there was one groupfrom abroad with 3 performances and 8 groups from Japan with 24
performances. There were 32,000 total audiences. There were many
notable groups including the superb acrobatics of “Funmo,” a groupfrom China and a silent piece from the Russian group “Handmade”
with a new genre of dance using arms, legs and fingers. The Kijimunaa
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Festival has grown into a festival that is now highly regarded abroad.
For his achievements with this festival, Shimoyama Hisashi, the overall producer of the festival was recognized by the Japanese government, which gave him the Arts Prize of the Minister of the Ministryof Culture and Science.
The Osaka International Children and Youth Art Festival“TACT/FEST” (July 29 – August 11) had 9 groups from abroad
performing 9 pieces, including Aston’s Stone from Sweden and Mr.
Adam and Mrs. Eve from Denmark. The performance venues were
scattered and included the Osaka Abeno Kumin Center and libraries
and combined with the relatively weak local connection, there were
only audiences of 3,000. However there was high regard for the hard
work of artistic director Nakadachi Kôhei who persisted with holding70

the festival despite almost no public financial support.
The Nissei Theater Family Festival (July 20 – August 25) commemorated its 20th year. This also corresponds to the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Nissei Theater and was a lavish presentation with five pieces from genres as varied as concerts, opera, ballet,
Kabuki and musicals performed on weekends. This festival intended
to allow parents and children to enjoy theater together in a luxurious
location began in 1993. In addition to Alice’s Wind Instrument Concert,a musical puppet play by the Ningyô Gekidan “Hitomi-za” entitledTobidase ☆ Songoku (Go! Go! the Monkey King), the opera Hansel
and Gretel, the Tani Momoko Ballet Troupe’s Swan Lake, and forthe first time in five years, there was a performance of Kabuki. Onoe
Kikunosuke and Onoe Ukon presented the comic Kabuki dance, BôShibari (Tied to a Pole) and Kikunosuke presented the solo dance,
Sagi Musume (The Heron Maiden).
There were many musicals aimed at children. The Gekidan Shikitheater troupe presented a dramatization of a novel by the American
writer of literature for children and young adults Lloyd Alexander,
Ningen ni Naritagatta Neko (The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man),
and a dramatization of a novel by mystery writer Akagawa Jirô, Yume
Kara Sameta Yume (Waking Up From a Dream Into a Dream). The
musicals The Lion King and The Little Mermaid are continuing theirlong runs. It is now 33 years since the first presentation of Peter Pan inJapan. The first Peter Pan was Sakakibara Ikue and this year Yuzuki
Fuka made her debut, making her the 9th actress to play Peter Pan.
The musical Happa no Furedi– (Freddy, the Leaf) production and original concept by Hinohara Shigeaki, showed the preciousness of life
through the story of the life cycle of a leaf. Among the many presentations this year, there was also the silhouette play Yasashii Rion (The
Gentle Lion) by the Kage-e Ningyô Gekidan (Shadow Play Puppet
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Theater Troupe) “Tsunobue” which is commemorating the 50 anniversary of its founding.
First in the best 3 productions of theater directed at children
and youth was Tsumi to Batsu (Crime and Punishment) by Gekidan“Urinko” (original by Dostoevsky, script and direction by Yamazaki
Seisuke). This was a very moving production that boiled down thisvery long novel into a two-hour play directed at young people andwhile remaining true to the difficult to understand world of the original and its themes, could be sufficiently understood by young audiences. The second was Iede de Densha (Running Away From Home by
Train) by “Clarté” (original by Asano Atsuko, script by Matsumoto
Akiko and directed by Miyamoto Atsushi). Sakurako is a young girlwho has a fight with her mother and gets on a train to run away fromhome. It was an entertaining puppet play that used a giant set representing a train and that clearly showed the changes in her feelings andTheatre in Japan

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the ultimate reconciliation of Sakurako and her mother. The third
was Mezase! Himitsu no Koppajima (Wake Up, Secret Koppa Island!)by Gekidan “Tanpopo (Dandelion)” (original by Shirogane Yumiko,script by Matsushita Tetsuko and directed by Fujita Asaya). It usedprojections and concisely showed the way that the protagonist matured as he went through various adventures.
During the winter vacation, performances of children’s theaterby established modern theater companies were particularly striking.
These included musicals like Futari no Rotte (Das dropplte Lottchen=Lottie and Lisa) by Gekidan “Shiki,” and Scrooge by Hori Pro andplays like Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru (The Night of the Milky Way Express) by the Tokyo Engeki Ensemble, a dramatization of Marshak’sMori wa Ikite Iru (The Twelve Months) by Gekidan “Nakama” and72

a staging of the poet Tanikawa Shuntarô’s Obake Ringo (Just One
Apple) by Engeki Shudan “En.”For puppet theater, the annual “Iida Puppet Theater Festa”(August 6 – 11) is the largest puppet theater festival in Japan. It is heldin the city of Iida in Nagano Prefecture and is commemorating its
15th year. This year the period was extended from 4 days to 6 days.
It was held together with the “Asia Puppet Theater Festival.” In addition to puppet theater troupes from South Korea and China, the “Ty
Chien Troupe” from Cambodia, the theater troupe “Khao Niaow”
from Laos and the “Yakshagana” puppet theater from India came to
Japan and in addition to performances held joint workshops. From
5 Asian countries there were 11 troupes including both traditionaland modern troupes. Of the troupes giving performances, there were
108 professional troupes and 162 amateur troupes and including
troupes only watching performances, the number of puppet theater
people participating numbered 367 troupes and 1884 people. The total

number of audiences was 47,033 and it was supported by a volunteer
staff of 2,573. The city of Iida was very lively with performances inplaces ranging from cultural halls and municipal centers to parks.
In Japan, small puppet theater troupes with only one or two
members are very numerous and among them, the puppeteer TairaJô stands out as a star. It is said that there are 2,000 troupes, but how
accurate this figure may be is unclear.
One example of a puppet theater troupe is Gekidan “Puk.” It has
its own Puk Theater (capacity 100) and has 72 members in the troupe
which usually move in two groups. In order to guarantee a supply ofartists, the troupe has begun a training school and of the graduates ofthe short course, 4 have entered the troupe, increasing the organization’s fighting power.
The major summer production The Wizard of Oz (Tokyo,
73

Kinokuniya Hall) also toured all through Japan. There were also creative touches with the puppets; Dorothy was small and cute, but the
Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man were almost life-size. The traditional
performance at the end of the year was Juni no Tsuki no Takibi (TheTorchlight of the Twelfth Moon) at the Puk Theater which was full.
By contrast to Marshak’s Mori wa Ikite Iru, this piece was a staging ofa Slovakian folk story (script and production plan by Kawajiri Taiji).
There is also the “La Pupa Teatro” series, which is billed as, “puppet theater that adults want to see.” In October this series presented amodern version of Aesop, Yakusoku (The Agreement) and Kachikachi
Yama (Crackling Mountain: The Rabbit’s Revenge on the Badger). At
the same time, in response to a request from a theater going group to
create a play for children aged 0 to 3, Ara, Doko da (Where is This?)(by Kanzawa Toshiko). The theater troupes “Clarté,” “Hitomi-za” and“Musubi-za” also created pieces in response to this request.
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The Japanese National Cultural Agency sponsored the “Jidai o
Ninau Kodomo no Bunka Geijutsu Taiken Jigyô (The Project for theChildren that will Support the Coming Age to Experience Culture
and the Arts)” selected as puppet theater troupes: “Puk,” “Gaishi Sokkyô Ningyô Gekijô (Mr, Guy’s Improvisatory Puppet Theater),” “Kawasemi-za,” “Edo Ito Ayatsuri Ningyou-za,” Edo Ito Ayatsuri Ningyo“Youkiza” and Kage-e Ningyô Gekidan “Minwa-za” and had themtour and give performances throughout Japan. As part of this project,“Puk” presented Tebukuro o Kai ni (Going to Buy Gloves) (original by
Niimi Nankichi, script and direction by Shibasaki Yoshihiko) and The
Nutcraker (original by Tchaikovsky, arrangement and production planby Kawajiri Taiji, directed by Hase Akio) and spent one year touring
Hokkaido and the areas in Tohoku affected by the earthquake and74

tsunami, with 99 performances in 86 days.
The “Puk” troupe has a large group and a small group and thisyear there was a great increase in performances. In 2013 there were27 pieces, and 406 total performance days and a total of 494 performances (in 2012 there were 310 performance days and 373 total
performances). It was a very busy and fulfilling year and the new
productions were Odango Kororin (The Dumpling Goes Falling)”(by
Kawajiri Taiji, directed by Kurihara Hiromasa) and a Ukrainianfolk story Tebukuro (The Gloves) (script by Nishimoto Katsuyoshi,
directed by Ii Haruhiko).
“Youkiza” presented Aoi no Ue and Kantan from Mishima
Yukio’s Modern Noh Plays directed by Matsumoto Susumu (June 19– 23, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre East). It was advertised as a production on the eve of the commemoration of the 380th year since thefounding of the troupe.
When “Hitomi-za” appeared as part of the “Nissei Family

Festival” they introduced several innovations including large puppets
suitable for a large theater like the Nissei Theatre.
The O Fujin Prize for Children and Youth Theater is given to afemale theater professional for long time contribution to children andyouth theater (awarded by the Nihon Jidô Engeki Kyôkai) and the23rd prize was awarded to Izumi Rin.
Yokomizo, Yukiko

75

Theater critic. Regular Director of the Japan Theater Association, memberof Tomin Gekijô series evaluation committee, member of Kabuki
Circle Productions. After being an editorial executive at the Jiji Tsûshin
communications company, she has been a judge for the arts festival sponsoredby the Japanese National Cultural Agency, a member of the theater committeeof the Geijutsu Bunka Shinkô Kikin (Arts Culture Foundation) and a lecturer inthe Arts Division of Nihon Daigaku University. She is a member of the BuyôHihyoka Kyôkai (Dance Critics Association), Saitama Bungeika Kyokai (Saitama
Prefecture Writer’s Association) and the Kokusai Engeki Kyokai (International
Theater Institute). Her published translations include Practical Stage Make-Up(joint translation) and her books include Yume o Kataru Yakusha-tachi (Actors
Talk of What They Dream of Doing).

(Translation: Mark Oshima)

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JAPANESE CLASSICAL DANCEJapan has arrived as a modern nation and in light of its unstable tendencies, the need for education in traditional culture has begun to beelucidated as a matter of national policy. But when we say, ‘traditional
culture’, it must be acknowledged that traditional nationalist spirit orlove of one’s hometown which were current in the Meiji Period andhad their own basis in the

A Look Back at Nihon Buyo in 2013

Meiji Restoration’s return

Expectations of an Artistic Creativity
from a Hybrid of Traditions

which became the prerog-

Hirano Hidetoshi

to the traditional view,
ative of the late modern
nation, must never be confused with the independentview of traditional culture held by the people.
76

In considering Japan’s modern cultural arts, the first thing thatcomes to mind is the rise and establishment of western music within
the 150 year history of music of the modern era that connects the endof the Edo Shogunate with the Meiji, Taisho, Showa and Heisei periods. This is reflected in the strongly rooted and continuing love theJapanese people have for village festivals, and at the higher, national
level for Gagaku, Nohgaku, Kabuki and Jôruri Puppet Theatre, alla part of the culture of the townspeople in Edo. However, from theperspective of local culture, these performing arts were domestic culture imported from the cities. So what we refer to as modern local
culture was three-layered, mixing the local cultures of the villages, theculture imported from the cities with western culture that was justbeing introduced.
Last year’s catchwords would have to be ‘baigaeshi’ (double payback) represented spiritually in the Chûshingura (Treasury of Loyal
Retainers), the tale of the masterless Samurai of Akô and made

popular last year by a TV series ’Hanzawa Naoki’, a tale about abank clerk who seeks revange today. Another would be ‘omotenashi’(selfless hospitality) represented by the modern culture of the pleasure district and made relevant in connection with the addition ofsign-language interpretation to the speeches at the election of Tokyo
as the Olympic city 2020, and ‘jejeje’ finally (exclamation of surprise),which represent the culture of the village and was made popularthrough the popular TV series ‘Amachan’ last summer. The traditional
culture pulses through the minds and bodies of the Japanese people
and the educational community needs to lower the threshold and passon the traditional view to children.
The cultural history of Japan, being an island nation, is a continual introduction of things foreign which are digested into a unique
Japanese form, thereby creating something new and original. The
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beauty that results from this is something that we can call a ‘hybrid
culture’. But if, for example, this hybrid culture should become uniform with the ancient classical culture, it would turn into somethingexclusive and isolated and fraught with a danger of becoming savage.
The view of traditional culture of the nation in the Meiji era, having shifted from the ancient imperial system to a constitutional monarchy, began – learning its lesson from western culture - to educate
the people in democratic ideas, and what we refer to as ‘Japanesemusic of the late modern era’ stands in the same position as democratic education. The history of Japanese physical expression in themodern era too was reflected against the flourishing Kabuki culture
and the culture of the entertainment districts, which fundamentallysupported Kabuki. The present Japanese Classical Dance (along withJapanese traditional music) finds its existential value at this point of
convergence between western and traditional culture.
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1. The Forms of Expressiveness – ‘Suodori’ and ‘Onnagata’.
Last year, the Ballet dancer Morishita Yôko performed the roleof Clara in The Nutcracker, even though she was 65 years old, andbrought the house down. This was an event of global proportions.
This kind of reception of an artist, that leaves them completely
exposed to the audience, has the same sense of values as Suodori,in which the performer is connected with the audience. Wakayagi
Kichikoma in ’Kyûjussai no Recital’ (Recital to commemorate the91th birthday, June 15th, National Small Theatre), performed theKiyomoto piece, Hyôtan (The Gourd) and received a standing ovation which went on until she took a curtain call which is unusual for
Nihon Buyo. Three years earlier, Kichikoma had a vertebral compression fracture and it was thought impossible for her to make a come78

back. However, those around her recalled her mother, Kichikoma II
at the age of 90 and made the preparations to see the recital through.
Perhaps the feeling of oneness with the audience resulted from thisjoint effort. Although advanced in years, she was able to present
the audience with the fruit of her blossoming art. Fujima Shûtarô
performed the Nagauta piece, Kurui-jishi (The Crazy Lion; March
31st, National Large Theatre) together with Shûnosuke, and the audience could enjoy both the spirit of the Shishi (lion) and flowering
discipline and dedication of the performers. This piece is based on
the Noh play Shakkyô (The Stone Bridge) done in a Kabuki style,transplanting the original piece to an indoor space and imitating thelion’s movements created a marvelous atmosphere.
Bandô Mitsuteru’s original piece, Seshûmu - Cesium (Eternity– Cesium; September 21st, National Large Theatre, Celebration of
Mitsuteru’s 65 years as an artist, composition and choreography by
Mitsuteru) deserves praise as contemporary Suodori. The previous,Kuro -on Clone (Black Sound – Clone) was also an attempt at a contemporary theme, but this piece, performed as the culmination of alife of 65 years as an artist of expression, made a sincere effort to deal
with the issue of the Great Kanto Earthquake, and was a wonderfulattempt to take responsibility for future life.
Artists impersonating women are often appearing on variety
shows on television lately, probably due to the import of western wigs
and cosmetics. In Taisho and Showa periods brilliant New Female
Impersonators (Shinpa Onnagata) were so successful, they were designated Intangible Cultural Assets. They were fascinating and lost nothing to the appearance or popularity of modern female actresses, in fact
they had more impact on the viewers than a female actress, expressing
a sense of gender transcending sexuality. Perhaps this art developed
79

because the female impersonator as such, is a piece of Japaneseoriginality derived from Buddhism. Two endeavors, which were notproduced by the ‘Onnagata’ of Kabuki, but were original means ofartistic expression in the form of a female impersonator-dance stoodout during 2013. One was Saruwaka Seizaburô’s Yamato-gaku piece,
Kashiku Dôjôji (The Courtesan Kashiku visits the Dôjôji–temple;
March 5th, National Small Theatre, the 67th Saruwaka Program). His
grandfather, Saruwaka Kiyokata I wrote and choreographed the work
and Saruwaka Kichiyo performed this wonderful piece displaying theart of the classical Geisha translated into the art of the Onnagata.
In this world of the New Female Impersonator, something different from the Kabuki Onnagata, was skillfully expressed. The otherendeavor to enter a new realm that was not Kabuki Onnagata, wasmade by Fujima Kiyotsugu at the ‘Hanatsugu kai Fujima Kiyotsugu
Buyo Recital’ (November 2nd, Kioi Small Hall Agency for Cultural
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Affairs Arts Festival Grand Prix Winner). The recital included thetwo works Higuchi Ichiyô (Higuchi Ichiyô, Woman and Author) andOriki (The Weavingloom), both Yamato-gaku compositions from the
New Theatre Style adapted to Buyo. In addition, in Yozakura shibaibanashi (Talks about Kabuki under the Cherryblossoms at Night)
which Kiyotsugu both wrote and choreographed, he portrayed a
Taiko-mochi Geisha from the Yoshiwara brothel districts of the earlyShowa period, brilliantly transplanting a favorite role of the Kabuki
actors he admires to Buyo

2. The Law concerning the Activation of Theaters andMusic Halls and the Present Nihon Buyo.
The law enforced last June concerning the activation of theat80

ers and music halls (abbr. ‘Theater Law’) was aimed at correcting theflaws of the so called ‘hako-mono’ government policy responsible forplanning the activation of the cultural arts in local areas through theconstruction of public buildings. Not relying on municipal projects
to put local cultural centers into use, it encourages independent projects. In recent years, following the footsteps of the Unit Nihon BuyoGroup ‘Ko no kai’, their elder sibling ‘Goyô kai’ was also picked up
last year by a local cultural center.
Speaking of theaters, the Kabuki za in Ginza has reopened after
its renovation, and is a topic of interest not only reactivating Ginza
and Tokyo, but having an impact on the whole country. ‘Shôchiku
Grand-Kabuki’, which has been touring the country hitting the public
cultural centers, has enjoyed great success and the long arm of themedia, reaching every part of the country, has been a great help to the
local management.
The ‘Kabuki-za Special Programme of Buyo in Commemoration

of Reopening’ (September 27th) contained performances of Kotobuki
shiki Sanbasô (The Ceremonial Sanbasô Dance of Longevity; performed to Gidayû chanting and Hayashi music by Fujima Kanemonand Fujima Kanjûrô); Naginata Yashima, (Yashima’s Naginata-sword
Dance; performed to Jiuta singing by Inoue Yachiyo); Shôjô (Shôjô,
the Sake-drinking Seaspirit; performed to Hayashi music by Onoe
Bokusetsu); and Maboroshi Wankyû, (The Vision of Wankyû; preformed to Kiyomoto music by Hanayagi Jusuke). The musicians anddancers performing are connected to the world of the entertainment
districts and value their fans highly, and one could say this program
strongly exuded the spirit of ‘selfless hospitality’ – ‘omotenashi’.
The catalyst that set the wheels in motion leading to the introduction of the Theater Law – beginning with the demand of theperforming arts groups – was the introduction of arts management81

methodology from western culture. We need to investigate the link
between the traditional and modern arts, the rural areas and the cities
as well as the connection between folk performance, Kabuki and thepresent Nihon Buyo, and in particular, performances in smaller theaters and spaces.
A number of years have passed since Hasegawa Kôji of theHirosaki Theater Company, which was a forerunner of local theatres, became the Artistic Director of Performing Arts at the Aomori
Museum of Art, and last year he organized an international joint project between artists from Japan, China and South Korea, sponsoredby the International Monetary Fund and the Aomori Museum of Art:SHÛGEN – Celebration/Expression (text and direction by Hasegawa
Kôji), and was performed in the three countries at eight locations
during October.
South Korea’s International performance group was outstanding
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and overwhelmed the audiences, Nakamura Toyonojô, a JapaneseClassical Dance Performer and resident of Hirosaki also exhibited avisible stage presence. In addition to his dancing, he included a sketchof a wedding manager suddenly demanded to play piano at a reception, superbly executed. He is privately both pianist and professor at
Hirosaki University, a man with many talents.
With this project, Hasegawa brought something splendid to a local
area, something which wouldn’t happen at the center of Japanese culture.

3. Training of Traditional Arts Performers in the Midst of
Globalization
The symposium held by the Agency for Cultural Affairs,‘Encouraging Children’s Talent through Art - Considering Methods
82

of Facilitation Through the Cultural Arts’ (July 16th, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies – GRIPS, Sôkairô Hall) was a project
which was a parting gift of former Cultural Affairs Agency Chairman
Kondô and was meant to be “…an examination of the potential ofwhat education in the cultural arts can accomplish and of methodsof utilizing facilitators in the days ahead.” Although the focus was onclassical music and fine art, the inclusion of traditional performing
arts was significant.
The Japanese Classical Dance Association’s ‘Cultural Arts
Experience Project for Children who will Lead the next Generation’(sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs) which tours elementary schools each year, has recently adopted the code of courtesyof traditional performing arts lessons: Bowing in greeting at the beginning and at the end, an imposition, which, though not exactly inaccord with this global age, has been attracting students. It is the same
greeting procedure as in the training of professionals. In contrast, theMinistry of Education, Science and Culture has recommended theDepartment of Health Education and Welfare Dance Education takean opposite direction; introducing Hip-hop dance into its physicaleducation and dance curriculum. What we need is some theoreticalsupport to help bridge the gap between Nihon Buyo and dance education in schools.
If one wants to establish Nihon Buyo in the way that ‘Nihon-ga’– Japanese painting – was established through Okakura Tenshin andother artists in the Meiji period, the 2000-year history of Japanesephysical expression would need to be untangled. I here, present six
key general ideas related to the art of expression used by JapaneseClassical Dance Performers.
An education of the art of physical expression that could shine
amid the history of Japanese physical expression would include the83

following elements:
1. Performing with ‘empty body’ technique – expression by means of:tiara/celestial crown/ head-covering masks/ mask/ white painted
face/red painted face/ costumes.
2. Dance with song – the Kuniburi no Utamai dance of the Gagaku
tradition, Imayô/Rôei with its Hyôshi Mai (rhythmic dance) Shirabyôshi Mai of the Heian Period/ Kusemai/ Buga (dance withchanting) from the Noh of Zeami/ rhythmic dance from Kabuki etc.
3. Dance with Hayashi-instruments – Tamai/Gosechi no mai (festival
dance), Dengaku traditional song and music in rice cultivation/
Hayasu arts. Nohgaku, Goninbayashi, Kabuki, Debayashi style.

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4. Gakubu music/dance – Samai and Umai (left and right dance) from
Gagaku, Jô, Chû and Kyû no Mai from Nohgaku and other dances,
Kabuki rhythmic pieces, dancing to instrumental music.
5. Shinkui (action/speech/thought) including the use of the bodyaccompanying Buddhist Shômyô and other chants, physical expression derived from Sarugaku and Nohgaku in Kabuki.
6. Standing, imitative styles of the Jôruri Puppet Theatre and the physical expression of Kabuki.
With these key ideas as its basis, the National Theater and MusicHall Art Management Kenkyû Kai 2014’ workshop will be held
84

February 6th , 2014.
‘Suodori Costumed Dance’, dressing up in traditional Japanese
attire and danced to a ‘1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…’ beat, is where the mainstream
present Sôsaku Buyo (original Buyo) of Nihon Buyo is at present, butthey shouldn’t get stuck there. If the culture of local festivals, culture
during the late modern period as well as western culture could cometogether and form a hybrid, what an awakening for the Japanese artsof physical expression that would be!
We would like to look forward to the cultural originality that our
nation, because it is an island, is capable of.

4. Summary
Last year Kabuki Dance, which has been designated an ‘Important Cultural Asset’ and falls into the genre of the present JapaneseClassical Dance, had its customary full schedule of programs including the Dance Association program of the Japanese Classical DanceAssociation at the National Theater as well as others. Also, last year,
programs remembering the departed ancestors of the Hanayagi
school, Onoe school, Fujikage school and others were remarkable. In
Kyômai and Kamigata mai, both designated ‘Important Cultural
Assets’, the iemoto of the Inoue school Yachiyo with her daughter
Yasuko and the Yamamura school iemoto Waka with her son Yû
made their debuts at the National Theatre. The 5th iemoto of the
Yoshimura school Kisho was awarded the Agency for Cultural Affairs’
Prize for Arts Encouragement. On the down side, former iemoto Yûkihas regretfully had both his art and his pupils, Kiyo, Keiin, Chihiro
dissipate. Failing to win the Grand Prix at the Cultural Affairs
Agency’s Arts Festival, the Prize for Excellence went to the Tamayû
no Kai (Izumi Hiroki and Hanayagi Tamaito) and Saruwaka Eikô.
85

Hirano, Hidetoshi
Classical Japanese Dance critic, born in 1944 in Sendai City, graduated fromWaseda University at the Theatre Institute of the Literature department,
specializing in Kabuki. He worked at a publisher, and was responsible for theediting of Okinawa Performing Arts, Kikan, Folk Performing Arts, Gekkan, JapaneseMusic and Classical Dance and others. Seeking to investigate the art of physicalexpression, he became a critic. He is an expert committee member of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Arts Council.

(Translation: James Ferner)

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BALLET

During 2013, the general mood in Japan seemed to have becomeslightly more positive due to the price increase and the depreciationof the yen under the easy-money policy of Abenomics, which is the
economic policy carried out by the Abe Cabinet that was inaugurated
in December 2012, as well as the fact that Tokyo was selected as thecity to host the Olympics

Ballet in 2013

High-Quality Activities around Japandespite Difficult Circumstances
Urawa Makoto

Games in 2020. In reality,
however, the situation still
remains severe when looking at the slow progressof the recovery and reconstruction works after theGreat East Japan Earthquake that occurred in March 2011 and the86

following accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima alongwith the decreasing population caused by the declining birth rate.
The world of ballet in Japan was also influenced by this situation.
The number of ballet schools and ballet classes are on the decline, andtherefore the ballet companies and ballet studios that rely on opera­ting schools and classes as their source of income are facing financial
difficulties. This trend, however, is more significant in rural regions- in the large city areas, many performances are still being held.
Ballet in Japan is not based on the activities of ballet companies
contracted to public theatres that receive public subsidies as in othercountries, especially Europe. With the exception of the National
Ballet of Japan, there are a number of private companies, which are
not attached to theatres and are independently managed. Althoughsome of the companies do receive public subsidies, most of them carryon with their high-quality activities based on earnings from teaching
student dancers.

Let us take an overview of ballet activities in Tokyo during
December 2013 as examples clearly indicating the characteristics ofballet in Japan. December is known as The Nutcracker season worldwide. In Tokyo alone, more than ten companies mounted productionsof this title with the cumulative total exceeding forty performances.
Most of the productions were performed with a live orchestra andused a chorus in the snow scene. Moreover, in each production, revisions were added to innovate the staging and choreography while
taking on the classical style. In 2013, Kubo Koichi, who is the artistic
director of NBA Ballet Company, which is the first incorporated
non-profit organization in Japan, choreographed a production of The
Nutcracker with contemporary spatial background by incorporating
new attempts in the scenic art and projected images. Other companies
have also presented The Nutcracker during the last couple of years
87such as the National Ballet of Japan’s Vasili Vainonen-version directedby Maki Asami, Star Dancers Ballet’s Peter Wright-version directedby Suzuki Minoru, and Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre’s Vainonen
and Kobayashi-version, directed by Kobayashi Noriko, which wererespectively new productions based on conceptual revisions of thelong-lasting versions. Still further ballet companies presented The
Nutcracker directed and choreographed by its representatives, such as
Shimizu Tetsutaro of The Matsuyama Ballet, Mitani Kyozo of Maki
Asami Ballet and Kumakawa Tetsuya of K-Ballet Company, each ofthem having their own original highlights and appeals. Ballet Piccolo,
a mid-sized ballet company, also presented The Nutcracker inviting
Japan’s top-level dancers Shimomura Yurie and Sasaki Dai. Furthermore, Tani Momoko Ballet, which is one of the major companies, presented The Nutcracker in January and The Tokyo Ballet has Bejart’s
version of the title in its repertoire. In January, Sadamatsu-Hamada
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Ballet company based in Kobe came to the New National Theatre,
Tokyo and presented the company’s own version of The Nutcracker
choreographed by Sadamatsu Shoichiro.
Although not as often as in Tokyo, The Nutcracker has been presented annually by companies such as Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet in
the Kansai area as well as by the Ochi International Ballet in Nagoya,and the situations in these regions are not much different from Tokyo.
However, in the rest of the country, it is extremely difficult to put onballet performances not just in December but also in general.
On the other hand, in the large city areas, many ballet companies
carry out their activities based on their own particular policies as referred to above in the examples of productions held in December.
In 2013, there were no major changes in the general situation of88

ballet in Japan compared to previous years but I would like to refer tosome distinctive activities.
First of all, let us take a look at commemorative projects in 2013.
2013 was the hundredth anniversary of Stravinsky’s The Riteof Spring (choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky) premiered by Ballets
Russes back in 1913. The National Ballet of Japan did not take up thistitle but instead presented The Firebird (choreographed by Michel
Fokine), Apollo (choreographed by George Balanchine) and The
Wedding (choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska) under the Stravinsky
Evening program. As for The Rite of Spring itself, Maurice Béjart’s
version was presented by The Tokyo Ballet at the Spring Festival inTokyo. The Rite of Spring was choreographed by Yamada Un and presented in the field of contemporary dance as well. To commemorate
the two hundredth anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, Maki Asami
Ballet revived The Lady of the Camellias co-choreographed by Azari
Plisetski and Asami Maki. The Kyoto-based Higaki Ballet Company

also presented the upgraded version of The Lady of the Camellias
choreographed by Konishi Yukiko, which was favourably received inEurope. Yukari Ballet and Chika Goto’s Step Works Ballet, which areboth based in Nagoya, also revived the compact versions of the same
title that were choreographed by Mochizuki Norihiko and Nakajima
Nobuyoshi respectively.
The major ballet companies in Japan are continuing their performance activities by presenting standard classical ballet that are popularsuch as Swan Lake, Giselle and Don Quixote as well as modern works
by Japanese and foreign choreographers in their repertoires. The sametendency goes for mid-sized companies. However, you often see thephenomenon of the same title (other than the ones mentioned above)
being presented intensively by both large-scale and middle-scale com89

panies during the same year. In 2013, it was Coppélia and Cinderellathat were frequently performed, and this is a trend that has continued
since 2012.
Among the noteworthy Coppélia productions last year, there
was a new version by Tetsutaro Shimizu of The Matsuyama Ballet,
which was produced as a requiem for the 11. 3 earthquake and tsunami disaster, and it was revised and remounted in May. In July, theKyoto-based Kamiya Michiko Ballet company presented Coppélia
directed and choreographed by Shinohara Seiichi, who paid attention
to every detail of the production. Noma Ballet based in Sakai City
in Osaka (Directed and choreographed by Noma Kei) and Sapporo
Buyo kai (Directed and choreographed by Chida Masako) alsopresented Coppélia in September, respectively adding unique ideas.
When counting the productions only staging the third act of Coppélia,many more companies can be added to the list. As for Cinderella,
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BALLETK-Ballet Company, Ballet Chambre Ouest and Star Dancers Ballet
revived their productions of the title during the first half of the year.
In November, Jinushi Kaoru Ballet Company based in Osaka produced Cinderella choreographed by Jinushi Kaoru, who exploredthe original choreography of the Prokofiev/Zakharov version, andit was premiered at Festival Hall that was reopened after renovationand expansion. In April, Codemari Ballet Studio led by Otake Mika
produced the Kaitani Yaeko version that was premiered in 1951 (sixyears after the premiere of the original Zakharov version) by putting
together the essential parts. In July, Yuki Morita Ballet Studio basedin Shizuoka presented Cinderella choreographed by Morita Yuki andYuri, and in autumn, the Shimura Masahiro Yuko Ballet Studio, basedin Saitama, presented the title choreographed by Yamamoto Kosuke,
90

who used to dance for Birmingham Royal Ballet. Middle-sized companies that have stayed active, such as Yamaji Ballet Shinjin-no-kai(Kuretake Nobuyuki) and other companies around the country, alsopresented Cinderella and in each production, attention was paid to thedramatic expression. Besides the popular titles already mentioned, amemorable production was The Fountain of Bakhchisaray, presented
by Sasaki Michiko Ballet to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversaryof the company. It was a remarkable production with depth throughthe wonderful performance of the perfectly-cast Shimomura Yurie,
Noma Kei, Sasaki Dai, Yamamoto Takayuki amongst others.
Looking at original works or premieres of existing titles, notmany were presented in 2013, which may perhaps reflect the harsheconomic situation. Japan Ballet Association, which is an organizing
body of people who are involved in ballet activities, has been puttingemphasis on cultivating new choreographers through Ballet Creation,

a performance project commissioned by the Agency for Cultural
Affairs. It is difficult to produce full-length ballet productions and dramatic ballet productions nowadays due to economical constraints andthe situation is the same worldwide. Under such circumstances, productions that drew attention were the premiere of Mats Ek’s Carmen
by The Tokyo Ballet (November), to which Sylvie Guillem was invited.
Also Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 choreographed by Uwe Schulz andpresented by the Tokyo City Ballet and Matthew Bourne’s Dorian
Gray (produced work) were staged. They were all Japan premieres ofalready-existing pieces, performed by Japanese dancers. Only very few
new large-scale productions were presented during 2013. Among them,
Femme Fatale drew the greatest attention for its ambitious endeavor. It
was choreographed by Shinohara Seiichi and presented at his recital.
Shimomura Yurie danced the parts of the women of fate, namely
91

Carmen, Marguerite (The Lady of the Camellias) and Salome, andSasaki Dai, Yamamoto Takayuki as well as Kasai Mitsutake, from theworld of butoh dance, performed the roles opposite to her. There werealso two promising choreographers in the genre of dramatic ballet,
namely Kanbe Juri, who choreographed Love and Revolution based on
Les Misérables that was presented by Michiko Sasaki Ballet in Nagoya,
and Ito Noriko, who choreographed I Pagliacci for Tani Momoko
Ballet based on the opera although it was not a full-length ballet.
As for choreographers who already have track record, theabove-mentioned Shinohara Seiichi choreographed his original versionof Romeo and Juliet for Matsuoka Reiko Ballet based in Nagoya andFukagawa Hideo choreographed original works or re-choreographedclassical ballets for various companies around Japan, such as The
Firebird for the Nagoya-based Théâtre de Ballet company. Moreover,
Kawaguchi Setsuko in Nagoya revived Yerma and Tago Suwako in
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BALLETTokyo revived The Scarlet Letter A, both past works well received.
However, in Japan, no matter how good the production may be, theygenerally disappear with the choreographer. Unlike in the West, there
is no system for taking record of the works through notation so thatanyone can revive it at anytime. At the same time, there is no system
to transfer the copyright and performing rights properly either. Establishing such systems are important challenges for the future of balletin Japan - besides establishing the profession of choreographers.
I will briefly consider some of the incidents in the ballet worldthat deserve special mentioning. On July 25th, Shimada Hiroshi,
who has held important posts such as the head of the Japan Ballet
Association, and on August 5, Matsuo Akemi, who led Matsuo Akemi
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ballet, passed away. It is said that ballet in Japan started for real after
the Second World War. To be more precise, when The Tokyo Ballet(different from the current Tokyo Ballet) presented the full-length
ballet of Swan Lake in 1946, one year after Japan’s defeat in the war,
it became the starting point in the true sense. In this memorable performance, Shimada danced the part of Prince Siegfried and Matsuo
played Odette/Odile. Kaitani Yaeko and Azuma Yusaku, who werethe counterparts of the double cast, and Komaki Masahide, who directed and choreographed the production, have already passed away,
and the death of Shimada and Matuso meant that all the central figures that established the foundation of ballet in Japan have deceased,making it an unforgettable year for the ballet world.
Another point that I would like to mention is foreign companies
visiting Japan in 2013. World-famous ballet companies such as Béjart
Ballet Lausanne, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The New
York City Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet as well as an array ofprominent dancers such as Manuel Legris and Vladimir Malakhovcame to Japan. However, the value of the Japanese yen to the U.S.
dollar and Euro dropped almost 40% during this year. If the exchange
rate remains at this level, it will become difficult to invite foreign companies. We must carefully observe how the monetary situation will
influence the ballet world and ballet lovers in Japan.
Urawa, Makoto
Autonym is Akira Ichikawa. He is Professor of Management Culture at Shoin
University and dance advisor of The Association of Public Theaters and Halls.
He has written articles for various newspapers and magazines as a dance critic.
He has served as the member of numerous committees of organizations suchas the Agency for Cultural Affairs and has also sat on the jury of a number ofdance competitions.

(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)
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CONTEMPORARY DANCE and BUTOH“Contemporary dance is no longer interesting.” “The craze is over.”
People have been talking like this for a while. With the final editionof composer Sakurai Keisuke’s Azumabashi Dance Crossing (August,Asahi Art Square) in 2013, it felt like the booming dance scene inJapan had converged. The popular event showcasing trendy and edgy
arts across multiple genres

Contemporary Dance andButoh in 2013

had been held 12 times,featuring a total of 130 artists and groups since 2004.
However, the proportion

Tsutsumi Hiroshi

of dance in recent years.

94

From the End of the Boom to
Reinterpreting History andthe Rise of the Next Generation of
Choreographersof art, music and theatre
increased with each edition,leaving just token elements
This also linked in to thegeneral tendency to stop inquiring into what dance is and what isparticular to the Japanese contemporary dance scene. Critics were
excluded from the selection committee and jury for the Toyota Choreography Award; it has ceased to be a platform for re-defining the concepts of dance and choreography, and instead turned towards showcasing accessible dance that is understandable to anyone as “dance.”
Even so, artists continue to question existing dance and still display
energy in their work.
Teshigawara Saburo staged Dancer R’s Cell (January, Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre), the result of dance workshops teaching his
unique method to young people aged between 13 and 18. At Theater
X, Teshigawara also staged Spring, in one night (Haru, hitoyo ni shite;
March) and Dodo (Dodo to kichigai-tachi; June), based on the works
of writer Bruno Schulz. Teshigawara collaborated actively with musicartists, working with Suzuki Masato for Mugendai paipu orugan nouchu (Infinity: Pipe Organ Universe) at Geigeki dance (April, Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre), and with the Vox Clamantis choir at La
Folle Journêe au Japon 2013 (May, Tokyo International Forum). In
August, he opened the art space Karas Apparatus in Ogikubo, holding workshops and exhibitions, as well as starting the Hibi appudeito
suru dansu (Daily Update Dance) series which has a public creation
process, leading up to a full performance, Dai 2 no aki (Second Fall;
September, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre). He topped off his phenomenal year of work in October by choreographing a world première for
the Paris Opera Ballet, Darkness is Hiding Black Horses.
Kurosawa Mika & Dancers search for the dance-like instinct inside their bodies through highly improvised performances. In 2013, thetroupe staged Big River (Japanese title: Ookina onna no odori = Dance95of the Large Girl; February, Theater X) and Shokuji no keikaku (Meal
Plan; September, Okurayama Memorial Hall, Yokohama). Kurosawa
also choreographed Kakeru onna (Galloping Women; April, Spiralgarden), a dance duet by Uemura Naoka and Morishita Maki.
Dance company CONDORS staged Apollo (May, Sai-no-Kuni
Saitama Arts Theater) and Time Is On My Side (August, Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre, national tour). CONDORS leader Kondo
Ryohei also choreographed the New Bon Odori Dance Festival (July,
Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park) and Mirai kara kita tegami (Letter fromthe Future; September, Ajinomoto Stadium), the pageant for the
opening ceremony of the 68th National Gymnastics Tournament.
AKATZKI, a unit formed by members of CONDORS, staged Sakura
no mori no mankai no shita de kisu shite (Kiss me under the full-bloom
cherry blossom forest; March, Theatre Tram), while CONDORS
dancer Fujita Yoshihiro created solo work and CONDORS colleague
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Hirahara Shintaro also produced his own solo and ensemble dance
pieces during the year.
With Mahi hikidashi shitto (Paralysis, Elicitation, Envy; October,
Kanagawa Arts Theatre [KAAT]), Ide Shigehiro’s Idevian Crew exhibited greater deft as they interweaved humor and pathos in a drama
about a family living in a house and the youth adopted into it.
Morishita Maki also created a dance work with artist Tabaimo,
Sabi kara deta mi (Fruit From Rust; October, Aoyama Round Theatre). Also featuring Butoh dancer Kitamari and hip-hop dancer
Kawamura Mikiko, it was an extraordinary spectacle.
With Hajimari no maachi o matte ita (We Were Waiting For the
Beginning of March; March, Morishita Studio), Tokyo rururu (June,
Kichijoji Theatre) and Tsumaru tokoro yoin (After all, lingering; Octo96

ber, KAAT), ELECTROCK STAIRS, led by street dancer KENTARO!!,
continued to present new work and create experimental dance.
Company Co. Yamada Un, led by Yamada Un, created an original stage adaptation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (February,
Chigasaki Citizens Cultural Hall; December, Aichi Arts Center,national tour). Filled with sudden movement delicately and dynamically fostered, this acclaimed and richly witty dance work brimmedwith vitality. Yamada also revived her solo dance piece Dictee(March, Setagaya Public Theatre), based on the experimental novel
by Korean-American artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, as well as
performing the dance duet amness (October, KAAT), with Ikeda
Fumiyo (Rosas).
Iwabuchi Teita and Seki Kaori revived Hetero (June, Aoyama
Round Theatre), and also premiered Conception (July, Yokohama Red
Brick Warehouse 1) and Amigurekuta (October, Sai-no-Kuni Saitama
Arts Theater). On a bare, almost silent stage their still, sensitive dancesaw them interact as they searched physically for signs and contact
between their skin.
Onodera Shuji, who is head of Company Derashinera and originally trained in mime, had a busy year, premiering Carmen (January,
Kobe Art Village Center), reviving Ihojin (The Stranger; February, Setagaya Public Theatre), and performing Game in Paris (March, Maisonde la culture du Japon à Paris) as well as Kanshosha (Appreciator;
August-September, Owlspot Theater). There was also Silenzio (July,
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre) with actress Harada Tomoyo and balletdancer Shuto Yasuyuki, Nora (December, Owlspot), based on A Doll’sHouse, at the Contemporary Ibsen Festival, and the outdoor The
Mermaid (April-October, around Seto Inland Sea), starring Minami
Kaho at the Setouchi Triennale 2013, and Psycho (October, Cerulean
Tower Noh Theater) with Noh actor Tsumura Reijiro, based on
97

Alfred Hitchcock’s film. Kanshosha, created out of Onodera’s meetingwith two deaf people in workshops he did over three years at a schoolfor the deaf in Otsuka in Toshima City, was particularly vivid in what
it presented about the role of public theatre alongside the potential for
non-verbal dance and mime.
New York-resident Hashimoto Mana performed Presley (September, Atsukobarouh) as a work-in-progress. Hashimoto learnt classicalballet from a young age and then moved to America in 1993, studying
at Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, but an unexplained visual disability worsened and she lost her sight. However,hoping that it would offer opportunities to re-examine society and thedisabled, she has continued to dance. In Presley Hashimoto lovingly
dances with a fancy shirt that belonged to her late father, a fan of Elvis
Presley. It was a sublime dance piece, seeming to wrestle with her own
circumstances while tracing happy memories.
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Noism1, the dance troupe attached to the Niigata municipal
theatre Ryutopia, put on ZAZA inori to yokubo no aida ni (ZAZA:
Between Prayer and Desire; June, KAAT). In the years since it was
first formed the dancers have changed, but artistic director Kanamori
Jo’s continued creative drive and vitality are still evident.
Former NDT dancer Nakamura Megumi was one of the choreographers, along with Kanamori, for the DANCE to the Future2013 series (March, New National Theatre, Tokyo) with the New
National Theatre’s ballet company. Also at the New National Theatre(NNTT), Nakamura worked with Shuto Yasuyuki on two productions in October: Une Petite Maison was premiered, themed arounda house built by architect Le Corbusier, while she also revived Shakespeare: The Sonnets, which featured characters from Shakespeare’s
98

oeuvre. At the National Children’s Castle, she choreographed dancers
Suzuki Yukio and Hirahara Shintaro in Asleep to the World (March,
Aoyama Round Theatre). She also worked on dance duets with Oka
Toshiko, creating Tanztheater-esque scenes in the première of Memai(Vertigo; October, BankART Studio NYK) and the revival of Shiroi
yoru (White Night; December, Theater X).
Oka leads Ensemble Sonne, which staged Passive Silence (February, ArtTheatre dB Kobe, Aichi Arts Center; March, Theater X). The
performance took the abstract, difficult theme of the body exposed
to various external pressures and encompassed it in a static yet sensitive dance.
In Trip Triptych (June, NNTT), Hirayama Motoko adapted
French Impressionist paintings into dance. She then worked with traditional music to create part of Oto no ibuki (The Breath of Sound;
October, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan), which also included a contribution
from Moriyama Kaiji.

The receptacle for alternative and extraterritorial art, originallytaken up in the field of contemporary art, is far from absent in dance.
The Aichi Triennale 2013 (August-October, Aichi Arts Center andother venues) saw a range of Japanese and international artists participate, including Fujimoto Takayuki, Shirai Tsuyoshi, Ho Ho-Do,Jiří Kylián, Mathilde Monnier, Arthur Nauzyciel, Jecko Siompo, andUmeda Hiroaki. The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial and the Setouchi
Triennale have also programmed performing arts, and art festivals arelikely set to grow as platforms for dance work.
On the other hand, Butoh remains doggedly blind to the trendsof the era. The Butoh that Hijikata Tatsumi originally founded was an
attempt to create the antithesis of ballet’s physically beautiful movement, to challenge stereotypes and taboos. That stance remains thesame today.
99

Sankai Juku premiered Umusuna: Memories before History
in Lyons in 2012 and then took it on a Japanese tour (January,
Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center; May, Setagaya Public Theatre).
The stage was divided in the middle by a straight chasm; at the back,sand poured down, dancing as if to keep balance. From start to finish, the sand piled up, representing the unchanging elements of earth,water, air and fire, with the ensemble less dancing as treading on theearth, nestling, with Amagatsu Ushio’s unique dance seeming to takea grand overview that transcended the reason of nature. Mother Earthhas been changing since prior to recorded history, nurturing time asconflict follows conflict. The stage design evoked plate tectonics while
no doubt there were also some in the audience for whom it recalled
the 2011 Tohoku disaster.
With the Butoh JE Executive Committee’s The Dream of
Descending to the Ocean (October, Za-Koenji), third-generation Butoh
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dancers Kudo Taketeru and Wakabayashi Jun led a call for the Butohof the next generation and male dancers, to exhibit their energies tothe full in both Japan and overseas. The performance was a defiant
dance attempting to go back to a primary physicality in the face of
today’s information society.
The Suzuki Yukio-led Kingyo premiered a new work, Waltz(August, Theatre Tram). The dance overflowed in savage energy amidst
a minimal yet refined style, setting a new destination for this company.
Tanaka Min conceived and directed Nidomemo shojiki sekimen
hoko (The Second Time Too I Will Honestly Blush and Walk; August,Kirari Fujimi in Fujimi City, Saitama Prefecture) for Watashi no kodomo = Buyodan (My Child = Dance Troupe). This long-term project100

built on monthly workshops that anyone could apply to attend, facing
up to memories and one’s own body as if reverting to being an innocent child, encountering unknown movement and forgotten language.
Kasai Akira created a dance duet, Spiel (May, Asahi Art Square),with Emmanuelle Huynh, the French choreographer, dancer and artistic director of Centre national de danse contemporaine – Anger(CNDC). The pair imitated each other’s movements, engaging in a
dialogue brimming with jest. For eurythmic dance company Generis
he created Chotachi no korona (The Corona of the Butterflies; September, Kokubunji Izumi Hall). In a lecture he gave ahead of this performance on “the body expanding beyond the skin”, Kasai pointed to
how Steiner’s threefold social order of liberty, equality and fraternity
had still not yet been achieved in the world, and he commented on theexamples of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,
the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,
and the Constitution of Japan. He made the case that revising (thatis, corrupting) the Constitution of Japan, the document that inscribes

the polity of the nation, would defile the country. He then created asolo dance, Nihonkoku kenpo o odoru (I dance the Japanese Constitution; October, BankART Studio NYK).
Kasai’s solo, along with the aforementioned Nakamura and Oka
pairing, was performed as part of the Ohno Kazuo Festival 2013
(September-November, BankART Studio NYK), which also included
the participation of Newcomer H (Sokerissa), Kakuya Ohashi andPhilippe Chehere, Yuval Pick, Ikemiya Nakao’s Dance Company
Nomad~s, and Ohno Yoshito. The program formed an interesting
retrospective on both Butoh and modern dance.
Meanwhile, Kawaguchi Takao’s Kazuo Ohno (August, d-Soko)
stirred up controversy in how it set out to make a perfect copy of one
of Ohno’s major works through viewing video records, transcribing
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the features of the movement into sketches and text, and then analyzing this.
In Odorubaka (Dance Stupid), Project Ohyama head Furuie Yuri,
while being a member of the post-CONDORS generation, went backand watched documentary footage and imitated the movements ofJapan’s modern dance pioneer Ishii Baku, producing a parody with acontemporary interpretation.
This year also saw former Dairakudakan dancer Mukai
Kumotaro perform the solo Butoh? (December, space EDGE), in
which he used a YouTube video to attempt a perfect imitation of a
Hijikata Tatsumi dance.
Creating something based on video footage in this way, without
contact with the antemortem performance, results in a meta-perspective, and the audience too will enjoy the work aware in advance of aspects of the original. It provides a chance to re-interpret conventional
dance and no doubt such experiments will continue to be updated and
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increase in the future.
In fact, a younger generation is now taking the lead, having been
influenced by their predecessors. Particularly striking are those emerging from the universities with newly established courses majoring instage arts. At the head of the pack here is J. F. Oberlin University,
which has produced the energetic activities of Shiraga Momoko
and her Momonga Complex, as well as Kitao Wataru’s Baobab, 21stCentury GEBA GEBA dance company (producing co-creations
between eight dancers, including Irite Anna, Tsujita Aki and Inoue
Daisuke), and Kaeru-P, the dance unit by Ozono Koji and Hashimoto
Noriyasu. In the Kansai region, there are also dance units emerging from Kyoto University of Art and Design, such as dots, which102

is led by Kori Gen and combines dance with media art, as well as
KIKIKIKIKIKI, centering on the work of Kitamari, and the uniqueperformances of dancer Kyogoku Tomohiko.
All this means that it is clear now the growth that contemporary dance has enjoyed in Japan has also fostered the next generationof artists.
Tsutsumi, Hiroshi
Editor, copy writer, theater and dance critic. A editor of art-, entertainment-,
theater- and drama magazine, became a editor and copy-writer of IT. Planning/
editing “Soratobu Kumonoue Dangoro Ichiza: Acharaka Saitannjo” (The Flying
Dangoro Party In The Sky, “Rebirth of Acharaka”), Performing arts magazine,“Bacchus”, “Gendai Doitsu no Pafo-mingu A-tu” (Performing Arts in Germany
Today).

(Translation: William Andrews)

In the same way as in the December 2012 Diet election for the Houseof Representatives, in the July 2013 election for the House of Councilors, the Liberal-Democratic Party had an overwhelming victory
and the coalition government between the LDP and the Komeito
maintained a majority in both houses. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has
indicated that he wants torevise the constitution, relying on this majority and at
the end of the year, without
much debate, the Special
Secrets Law was passed.
There are many problems

Television and Radio in 2013
The 60th Anniversary of the Beginning of
Television Broadcasting in Japan anda Reevaluation of the Power of Television Drama
Kotaki Tetsuya

such as the expansion of103

the definition of official secrets, how much objectivity the institutions
charged with keeping a check on this will have and how the law will
be applied to investigative activities. This law limits the freedom tocollect information and report and the right of the people to know
has been infringed on and it is a question how citizens and the media
should respond to this. This is an age in which there are questions of
how far the tense relationship with power must continue.
The fact that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo is brightnews, but one must also note that this will give an opportunity for the
cozy partnership between politicians, bureaucrats and business to berevived and take advantage of the opportunities for increased public
works projects. So even as recovery from the East Japan Earthquake
and the clean-up of the Fukushima nuclear power plant are delayed
and postponed, public work projects will be concentrated in Tokyoand there will be increased pressure to restart nuclear power plants.
It is impossible to overstate how much this Tokyo-central, economic
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growth above all policy has brought the problems of Japan today.
Television journalism must keep a strict watch on this power structureand how it impacts on these regions and the lives of ordinary people.
When considering the way that information about the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear reactor was concealed in combination with thecurrent Special Secrets Law, there are few better examples of goodinvestigative reporting than the NHK Special Meltdown series. ‘File
1: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant – What Happened at theTime of the Crisis’ appeared in 2011 and ‘File 2: The Truth About theChain of Events’ broadcasted in 2012. This year followed with ‘File 3:
The Blind Spots of Cooling the Nuclear Reactor.’ Based on interviews
with 400 people and a vast amount of data, it showed that with the104

miscalculations and misunderstandings about the emergency coolingsystem for the Number 1 Reactor, clearly there was inadequate understanding of the cooling system and even insufficient technical knowledge of the actual operation of the reactor. This report won the Main
Prize of the 39th Broadcast Culture Foundation. Despite Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s efforts to control NHK through appointments tothe managing committee, I would like NHK to continue with projects
like this series embodying the true spirit of investigative reporting.
There are starting to be dramas treating the social problems
produced in the 1960’s during Japan’s period of high-speed economic
development. Orinpikku no Minoshirokin (The Ransom Money of the
Olympics, Terebi Asahi) treated the theme of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the tragedies of the workers brought in to build the facilities,
in this case the victims of the construction of the National Athletic
Stadium. The SBS Special Shi no Toge – Jinpai to Tatakaitsuzukeru
Ishi (The Thorns of Death – A Doctor’s Unending Fight Against
Pneumonoconiosis, Shizuoka Hoso) was a documentary that tookthe story of a doctor who has been treating the elderly suffering fromlung disease caused by inhaling fine particles like mine dust and asbestos while working and through this story, showed how many victims
there were in the shadows of the prosperity of that time. The workersof that time in the mines and building skyscrapers are the sufferersof asbestos poisoning of today and the tragedies caused by this finedust continues today. This documentary won the Age of Regionalism
Video Festival Prize for Excellence.
The NHK Special series Ninchisho 800 Mannin Jidai (The Ageof 8 Million People with Dementia) had two programs that dealt very
directly with caretaking of people with dementia, a topic that is very
close to everybody: 1) Haha to Musuko 3000 Nichi no Kaigo Kiroku(Mother and Son: Record of 3000 Days of Caretaking) and 2) Koritsu
105

suru Nichisho Koreisha (Isolated Elderly People with Dementia).
The first program was a record made by former NHK documentary
filmmaker Aida Yutaka of his own life of caretaking. Through thecheerful view of his days of taking care of his mother, it taught what
is most important. But at the same time, it showed how great a gap
there is between the reality of people caretaking and the system that is
supposed to support it. The second program very graphically showedelderly people with dementia that are isolated from society and refuse
caretaking. This showed the problems involved with caretaking verygraphically. The format of the program that considered both families
and society made the arguments very convincing. This series won the
51st Galaxy Award for Monthly Programs.
The NHK Special, Sekai Hatsu Satsuei! Shinkai no Chokyodai
Ika (First Filming in the World! Deep-Sea Giant Squid) and Nettchu
Koma Taisen – Zenkoku Machikoba Funtoki (The Passion of theSpintop Competiton – A Record of the Fight of the Small Factories
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TV and RADIOAll Over Japan; Tokai Terebi) were both, in a different way, very thrilling documentaries. The ‘Deep-Sea Giant Squid’ overwhelmed withthe mysterious sight of the giant squid shining with a golden light.
The passionate efforts of researchers and advances in filming technology made possible the discovery and filming of the squid, and thisbackstory provided its own fresh excitement, and also won the 39th
Gold Prize for Programs of the Broadcast Foundation). ‘The Passionof the Spintop Competition’ showed the workers at small factories
participate in a competition to make the best spin tops. It was entertaining to watch the workers at these factories enjoying themselves
as they became absorbed in the competition. Even with somethingthat seems like a trivial child’s game, the craftsmen making these tops106

pay attention to every single detail and the program made clear that
this is the very root of the Japanese approach to making things. This
program won the 51st Galaxy Prize for the First Period.
Variety programs continue to be in the doldrums and this year,
their negative features were particular striking. For example, both
Hoko X Tate (Spear and Shield = Contradiction, Fuji Terebi) andMatsuko no Nihon Bokashi Banashi (Matsuko Deluxe’s Japanese
Stories that Can Only Be Told By Concealing the Faces of Celebrities, TBS) had to be stopped for inappropriate production approaches.
It’s been a long time since people started saying that audiences
have stopped watching television dramas, but in 2013, there were two
dramas that were so popular that they produced catch phrases thatwere awarded the top prize for popular words of the year. The 15 minute long morning drama series Amachan, (NHK) produced the phrase“je, je, je (a phrase indicating surprise),” and the drama series Hanzawa Naoki (TSB) produced the phrase, “bai gaeshi da! (Take it backdouble fold!).” Both dramas became a social phenomenon because ofthe closed off nature of Japanese society today, but they also wereboth dramas that were well-crafted entertainment.
Amachan was a dramatic series that could be enjoyed in all kindsof ways. A girl in high school named Amano Aki (Nonen Rena) who
was shy and withdrawn in Tokyo suddenly has to go to her mother’s(Koizumi Kyoko) native town on the Kita Sanriku coast in the Tohoku
region and eventually becomes a widely loved idol. The scenario by
Kudo Kankuro showed how Aki’s desire to become an idol leads to athree generation conflict in her family with her mother and grandmother, and also her relationships with the people of the area and how
they become increasingly important, but the program also took a goodlook at the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. It is rare to have adrama with this many interesting features, beginning with making the107

local dialect phrase “je, je, je” into a popular sensation, the memorable
supporting cast, beginning with Miyamoto Nobuko as Aki’s grandmother, the way that the question of Aki becoming an idol involves all
three generations of women in her family and the broad range ofmemories and emotions that this can incorporate, the depiction of thehuman relationships, which was very close without becoming cloying,
the many references to hit dramas of the past and the many little jokes,
and, looking at the earthquake and tsunami from the point of view ofthe people that actually live there. The special quality of Amachan canbe seen by the fact that at the Tokyo Awards 2013, Amachan took
seven awards: the Dramatic Series Grand Prize, prize for leading actress (Nonen Rena), supporting actress (Koizumi Kyoko), scenario
writer (Kudo Kankuro), producer (Kurube Kei), director (Inoue
Tsuyoshi) and a special prize (Otomo Yoshihide for music).
Hanzawa Naoki is set in a mega-bank and showed the moral andvengeance drama of investment section chief Hanzawa Naoki (Sakai
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Masato) with a touch of the chivalrous drama of the old yakuza movies in a way that must have been deeply satisfying to people working
in large institutions. This drama featured the catch phrase, “Yararetara,
yarekaesu. Bai gaeshi da! (If they get you, get back at them. Get backat them double!)” in the many stirring speeches the protagonist addresses to his boss, the powerful eyes and spirit that threatens to drageveryone around it into the situation of Sakai Masato, the actor in
the role, the menacing presence of the supporting actors playing thevillains like his boss and bureaucrats and sharp and vigorous directing(Fukuzawa Katsuo). This drama was successful and evoked such a
big response because it brought the original novels by Ikeido Jun tolife so vividly. It drew in middle-aged men who are not usually con-108

sidered part of the potential audience for television dramas and also
was watched by middle-aged women. That this was possible is an important hint for how in the future to think about dramas as television
entertainment.
‘Woman’ (Nihon Terebi) was not entertaining and easy to understand like Amachan and Hanzawa Naoki. This was a series that
required you to look closely and listen carefully to catch every little
pleat of the love and hate relationship between mother and daughter.
Koharu’s (Mitsushima Hikari) husband dies and while raising two
children, she struggles with poverty and illness and finally goes to staywith her mother (Tanaka Yuko) with whom she parted with both ofthem hating one another. The script (Sakamoto Yuji) and direction(Mizuta Nobuo) concentrates the drama of their love and hate relationship by showing it in their conversations between the living roomand the kitchen. The mother stands in the kitchen and the daughter
looks down at the dining room table, they turn their backs to eachother and exchange words. This tense and stubborn time until they

can finally talk face to face made a strong impact on showing how
impossible it is for a person alone to do anything. This drama waspraised abroad and won the MIPCOM Buyer’s Award for Japanese
Drama at the International Sample Market · MIPCOM 2013 held in
Cannes, France.
In dramatic series, Saiko no Rikon (The Best Divorce, Fuji Terebi)
and Naku na, Hara-chan (Don’t Cry Hara, Nihon Terebi) were entertaining in their deft and profound presentation of human psychology.
Saiko no Rikon showed two couples as they get divorced, and it was
painful to watch the isolated images of the man and woman as they
hearts are frozen by the wretchedness of hating each other. All thesubtleties of the relationship between husband and wife etched out by
Sakamoto Yuji’s script were acted out sensuously and with pathos by
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Eita and Ono Machiko and Ayano Go and Maki Yoko. This made thehuman relationships depicted in this drama leave behind a heartrending feeling and the series won the Heisei 25 Japan Commercial Broadcaster’s Association Top Prize for Excellence. In Naku na, Hara-chan,
the device used to draw viewers into sympathizing with the drama
was clever and enjoyable. The shy heroine (Aso Kumiko) releasers
her daily stress by drawing manga. She has the hero of her manga(Nagase Tomoya) constantly say bad things about her workplace,then suddenly, he appears before her and says “You got to change
things yourself.” This premise allows all kinds of comic give and takebetween Nagase and Aso and without seeming to, shows the struggle
that people have to go through before they ready to work to move
forward in their lives and won the Tokyo Drama Award 2013 Prize for
Excellence in Dramatic Series.
It has been two years since the earthquake and tsunami in easternJapan and as a single episode drama, ‘Radio’ (NHK) communicated
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the very raw feelings of the people in the affected areas, which wemust not forget. The location is Onagawacho in Miyagi Prefecture.
Affer the earthquake, a girl who is a high school student (Kariya
Yuiko) is living in temporary housing and is depressed and reclusive.
She becomes a member of the staff at an emergency disaster FM radio
station and this leads her to taking the first steps towards recovery.
She is encouraged when her feelings and the emotions of her
coworkers communicates to the radio listeners and the people following them on the Internet, and she loses heart when people don’t
seem to understand how they feel. She says, “I thought people werecalling all the things I valued the most a pile of rubble,” and when shesays that her blog takes off like wildfire. In the days that pass like this110

for her, in the mutterings of the people around her, in the landscapeof the now empty lots with patches of remaining snow, the feelingsof the people in the affected areas come across so vividly that it isalmost painful. And from far away, the calls of recovery that are only
voices cast a shadow on their lives. The script was written by Isshiki
Nobuyuki and as a notable drama of 2013, it won many awards, including the 68th Prize of the Arts Festival of the Japanese Cultural
Agency, the Tokyo Drama Award 2013 for Excellence in Single
Episode Dramas and the 50th Galaxy Prize for Excellence.
Isshiki Nobuyuki also wrote the script for the documentary-drama Aku Yu o Korosu – Kayokyoku no Osama Densetsu (Killing
Aku Yu – The Legend of the King of Popular Songs, NHK · BS
Premium) showed the anguish of a lyricist that had hit the top. This
story was transformed into a drama with an interpretation unique tothis scenario writer. One night when Aku Yu (Fukikoshi Mitsuru) istaking a break from writing, he happens to enter a small bar in a backalley, and the proprietress and the customer sing his hit songs, oneafter another and shout their praise and criticisms. While all of this isgoing on, he only looks down and listens. Most documentary-dramas
only try to reenact the facts of what happened. But in this drama,
in his wordless time in that bar, Aku Yu’s pain and resignation as hefaced having to lose the glory of the past came out clearly. This wastruly a portrait of Aku Yu that only Isshiki could create.
It is the 60th year since the beginning of television broadcasting. In
2013, the main television broadcasting tower has changed from Tokyo
Tower in the center of Tokyo to Tokyo Sky Tree in shitamachi downtown, but it has also been a year for re-evaluating television drama.
In radio, the following two programs were particularly excellent.
The special news report Genpatsu Sagyoin ga Kataru Ni Nen (TwoYears as Told by a Worker in Nuclear Energy, Mainichi Hoso) is a111

very precious report of a worker involved in the clean-up after thedisaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Reactor. While always facing thecontrols on investigation placed by the power company, this reporting
went on steadily over a long period and showed the true conditionsof the workplace very clearly where the workers must constantly be
exposed to radiation as they deal with severe conditions and a numbing of the senses. I want to express my admiration for the faith anddetermination of the reporters and producers of this program, and it
also won the Heisei 25 Japan Commercial Broadcaster’s Association
Prize for Excellence in News Programming, 50th Galaxy Prize for
Excellence. In My Life – Kaigo no Shigoto to Bi-toruzu to (Caregiving
Work and the Beatles, Kita Nihon Hoso) shows a welfare caregiver
named Kawade Teruko who sings famous songs of the Beatles andthrough this, you see her life and the deep enveloping love that animates her. This excellent program was very moving in bringing out
the harmony between Kawade’s singing voice and her life. It won the
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Heisei 25 Japan Commercial Broadcaster’s Association Top Prize for
Excellence in Entertainment Programs. I want to emphasize that bothof these programs made full use of the special qualities of radio.
Kotaki, Tetsuya

112

Critic, Professor Emeritus at Nihon Daigaku university (specializing in thecultural history of television). Executive Director of the Hoso Hihyo Kondankai(Broadcast Critics Benevolent Association), special advisor to the organizing
committee of the International Drama Festival in Tokyo, director of Nihon
Kyakuhon A-kaibusu Suishin Konso-shium (Consortium to Create an Archive
for Japanese Scripts) and member of the Hoso Bangumi Shushu Shimon
Iinkai (Broadcast Programming Collection Advising Committee). Among otherpositions, he has been head of the selection committee for the Galaxy Prize, ajudge in the arts festival sponsored by the Japanese National Cultural Agency
and a member of the BPO Hoso Ronri Iinkai (Broadcast Standards Committee).
Among other books, he has supervisied “Terebishi Handobukku (Handbook of
Television History)” (Jiyu Kokuminsha), and was a co-writer on “Terebi Sakkatachi no 50 Nen (50 Years of Writers for Television)” (NHK Shuppan).

(Translation: Mark Oshima)

The communication was peculiar yet comic, unfurling through fragmentary language and movement, like a conversation between fairies
that had arrived on Earth for the first time. This was Niwa mitai
na mono (Something like a garden), a dance work by choreographer
Yamashita Zan, known for using unique methodologies and structures,and which was performed
in 2011 in Itami, Yokohama
and Yamaguchi as a co-production between theatresin the three cities (Ai-Hall,
ST Spot, Yamaguchi Center
for Arts and Media. In Yokohama, the performances

New Developments in
Co-Productions, Growing from
Networks of Regional Theatres
and Producers
Ogura Yukako
113

were held at the Kanagawa[Developments in Japan]

Arts Theatre). The stage design was by Kamiike Takuya, who built asmall hut to simulate the theatre space in his base in Takamatsu andactually lived inside it for several months while he created his design.
From the epic stage design to the props, the performers recruited in
Itami and Yokohama, the production staff, Yamashita himself, andall the people and the objects – everyone and everything involved in
the performance worked through the creative concept of “speculating
while migrating” to each of the places in the tour.
Two public theatres (Ai-Hall and YCAM) came together with
the non-profit-run ST Spot Yokohama with the aim of making a new
dance work by Yamashita Zan, though not with one of the theatresas the main venue but rather as a co-production harnessing eachtheatre’s specialties. Ai-Hall handled the rehearsals in Kansai andcoordinating the performers and staff, and as it was the location forthe première, also allocated its theatre for ten days of rehearsal and
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPANYamashita Zan, Niwa mitai na mono (Something like a garden) © Abe Ayako (both)technical adjustments, before the production then went on tour. ST
Spot took care of the rehearsals in Yokohama and, as a venue well114

versed in working with limited resources, also handled the accounts
for the production, while from YCAM, with its unique bevy of media
technology specialists, Hama Satoshi (YCAM InterLab) assisted withthe programming and system design.
The work everyone was involved with was that of searching forthe “co-production” that was right for the participants. Regional theatres each have their own missions and kinds of audiences, and so theway they communicate and do their accounts will differ in the public
and private sectors, and even between different public venues. This
co-production developed while discussing these dissimilarities. Therealready exists a network for public theatres, formed by the JapanFoundation for Regional Art-Activities in order to create partnerships
between public venues, as well as a cooperation program for supporting regional cultural and artistic activities. The Agency for Cultural
Affairs is also working to promote partnerships and cooperation
between theatres and music halls, and supports touring performances.
Even with such frameworks in place, there are still many challenges,

and we felt the potential to discover different methodologies and diverse paths.
The supervisors from the three venues also knew each other prior
to starting the project, and that the co-production could be realized
was down to how they already understood their respective work orientations. This made the team newly aware of the importance of suchnetworking and increased their desire for it to spread.
Almost at the same time that this project was taking place, there
were new developments related to constructing networks of fellow
theatre producers in Japan. More opportunities began to appear for
producers to get together, such as through the Saison Foundation
and Komaba Agora Theater’s joint foundational courses for artistic
directors and producers at self-producing theatres, the courses run by
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Next (Nevula Extra Support), and TPAM (Performing Arts Market
in Yokohama). This led to many people beginning to sense the significance of networking. Since the earthquake and tsunami that occurredin northeast Japan in March 2011 and the problems that arose that
could not be solved by the power of individuals alone, the necessity
for sharing information and networks has become a burning issue.
Preparatory meetings promptly began in order to create a networkthat would bring everything together while also still embracing individuals’ ideas and each respective party’s directions. Following an
October 2012 kick-off meeting in Kyoto, ON-PAM (Open Network
for Performing Arts Management) was born in February 2013 withthe premise of initiating democratic, open discussions between peers.
ON-PAM is a network of Japanese and international membersconnecting audiences with artists and arts organizations. People working to promote production practices in the performing arts participate
voluntarily, sharing and exchanging frequently updated information
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPANand ideas through their work, aiming to form a place that connects todeveloping activities. It is currently
working via three committees: theCultural Policy Committee, the International Exchange Committee, andthe Regional Partners Committee, to
ON-PAM’s Regional Partners Committee meeting in Sendai

which I belong. The Regional Partners

Committee learns from a range of approaches to performing arts inregional areas, and extracts and applies universal lessons from these– both successes and failures – aspiring to create new networks andvalues. In its first year in 2013 it held committee meetings in three116

locations: Kyoto, Sendai and Tottori. The process of trial and error
continues to consider how to utilize this fledgling network and initiate
new movements.
2013 also resulted in several interesting developments and newworks that harnessed each network. Mamagoto, Shiba Yukio’s theatrecompany, was commissioned by the Aichi Triennale 2013 and produced Nihon no otona (Japanese Grown-Ups), a play for both adults
and children. After its première in Aichi it toured to Toyohashi,
Niigata, Shodoshima and Itami. At Shodoshima there was also another yearlong project. Challenging the obvious modus operandi ofholding performances in a theatre in Tokyo, there was a strong determination here to create original types of activity. Meanwhile, theMuseum of Art in Kochi and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary
Art in Kanazawa both transcended national boundaries and createda work in partnership with overseas organizations. The result was
One Day, Maybe, a site-responsive performance directed by Tristan
Sharps, the artistic director of UK theatre company dreamthinkspeak.

It was developed over three years in partnership between the Instituteof Asian Cultural Development (Gwangju, Korea) and AsiaNow,
and was staged in the three cities of Gwangju, Kochi and Kanazawa.
Kinosaki International Art Center will also open in April 2014 as asite for artist-in-residency programs for the performing arts. There aresurely many further developments to come.
As networks are born and fields and perspectives expand, theframework for performances and their means will continue to develop
more and more. Without resorting to an “anti-Tokyo” stance or “Thisis Regional Japan”-style posturing, if similarly oriented people gather
together, within these kinds of inevitable alignments all manner ofthings begin to happen as a result. Rather than unidirectional globalization, when networks expand in this way it leads to exclusive encoun117

ters and lessons, contributing to a re-appreciation and re-examinationof the value of the locality. I believe that there we can find one of
the keys to unlocking what the future vision for the performing arts
should be.
Ogura, Yukako
Born in Hyogo prefecture in 1976 and graduated from the Faculty of Literature
at Kobe College. In 2008, she became a director of Ai-Hall, a municipal
theatre in Itami City, and she plans and produces the dance performances
and workshops there. She is the Administration Manager for ON-PAM (OpenNetwork for Performing Arts Management), and Chair of its Regional Partners
Committee.

(Translation: William Andrews)

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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPANThe workshop in the traditional Japanese performing arts in noh
was held during the 9 days from August 22 to August 30, 2013 at theTessenkai Noh Theater and Research Center in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo. ITI began this workshop in 1987 with all non-Japaneseparticipants with the aim of widening and deepening knowledge ofJapanese culture abroad.

[Developments in Japan]

From 1998, the partici-

Report on the Traditional Japanese
Performing Arts Workshop on Nohpants were no longer only

Odagiri Yoko

the fundamentals of a genre

non-Japanese and the program was widened to teachof traditional Japanese118

performing arts to people directly involved in stage arts in some way
without distinctions of citizenship. Since that time, Japanese andnon-Japanese study side by side and it has become an annual activity of
ITI each summer and is highly regarded both inside and outside Japan.
The 2013 workshop was the 24th since this program began andwas devoted to classical noh drama. Since becoming a project directly
sponsored by the Japanese National Cultural Agency, this is the secKanze Tetsunojô

ond workshop following the Nihon Buyo (JapaneseClassical Dance) workshop in 2011. The workshop
was taught by 11 teachers from the Tessenkai group
who are shite main actors and there were 26 participants who in the midst of the severe heat of summer had intensive lessons daily from 10 AM to 5:30
PM using the noh play “Hagoromo (The Feathered
Robe)” as base. The schedule was very intense andthe only breaks were the lunch break and the time
between the two afternoon classes, the two breaksamounting to a total of only an hour and a half. The Tessenkai building is in the midst of the high fashion boutiques of the Aoyama district, but once the participants entered the Tessenkai building, they
were immersed in the ancient world of noh and for 9 days, all four
floors of the building were totally devoted to the ITI workshop.
As with the previous workshop under the auspices of theJapanese National Cultural Agency, the theme of the workshop was“training the new artists who will create the culture of tomorrow.”
The main teacher was noh actor Kanze Tetsunojô and the central
concept of his teaching was, “first, the fundamentals and second, also
the fundamentals.” The fundamentals of noh movement, standing,hakobu (“carrying” which is the word used in noh for walking, a way
of walking which is sometimes described as “suri ashi” or “the sliding
119

step.”), and mai(“dance”) are the most crucial things to learn and areuseful to all performing arts east and west. With this in mind, the play
Hagoromo was chosen because it contains strong elements of bothstory and dance.
On the first day, the opening ceremony was held on the mainstage of the Tessenkai. After that, the participants got a rare opportunity to see at close range how the shozoku or “noh costume” was put
on. They watched as one of the instructors had the costume and mask
put on him with the help of three other teachers. As he gradually wastransformed into the role of the angel in Hagoromo, it looked like theparticipants were overwhelmed by the swift and efficient movements.
They were even more overwhelmed by the acting and beautiful danceof an actual performance of Hagoromo that followed by that shite
main actor together with four of the teachers singing as the jiutai chorus. This was a very significant moment because it meant that before
beginning the daily lessons, the students could see the real thing.
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPANThe lesson spaces were the main noh stage and two practicespaces. One class period was 2 hours for a total of 3 periods each day,one in the morning and two in the afternoon. The participants weredivided into three groups that revolved through these three spaces
every day. In other words, this meant that every day, a participant’sgroup would have an opportunity to work on the actual noh stage.
This was a rare and very significant experience and was one of theimportant strengths of the workshop. When the groups were on theactual noh stage they had one on one instruction from the masterteacher Tetsunojô.
In the last half of the workshop, during one of the afternoon periods, two of the par120

ticipants were chosen as models
and had the actual costume andmask put on for the two pieces
that the students were workingon, one the angel of Hagoromo,
Watching close up as the Noh shôzoku is put on to transformthe actor into an angel.

exemplifying the gracious, elegant yugen style and the other avery masculine vigorous piece.
Then all of the participants had
the opportunity to wear the nohmask and to experience the limitation of vision. This was also an
opportunity to see the masks inthe storehouse of the Tessenkai,many of which are very great

Tetsunojô giving individual instruction.

art treasures. On another day,the two afternoon sessions were devoted to trying to apply what waslearned in the lessons and seeing some of the experiments in noh in
lecture-workshops conducted by Kasai Kenichi, noh producer. The
participants worked in pairs moving on the noh stage and spoke a
passage from the ancient chronicle “Kojiki” about the first encounterof the gods Izanagi and Izanami and also experimented with speaking
passages from “Macbeth” as a way of comparing different ways of
doing theater. The noh way of standing and walking on stage doesn’tmean just to stand and walk. When standing, the body is held in sucha way that it is as though the body is pulled in all directions by invisible cords and is kept still in the equilibrium of all these forces. This
fundamental and basic standing position is called the “kamae” and itmeans that even just standing, the noh actor is projecting an infinite
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amount of energy in all directions.
By making the steps fast or slow, strong or weak, accelerating
or decelerating, the friction with the stage made by suri ashi sliding
step (which noh actors call “hakobi”) creates the spacing of an infinite
number of narratives. By doing so, the body moves in all directions
without wavering and creates beautiful lines on stage, which are combined and this is the root of stage expression. In turn, this is combinedwith the regulation of the breath, in other words this expression is
intimately related to the strength of the breath and its careful control.
These hidden features of noh were explained in great detail and thiswas vital not only to understanding noh, but all arts. Art is discoveringthat essential form with absolutely no waste that can communicate toan audience and move them.
Hagoromo is also a play that teaches the importance of peace. Theangel asks for her feathered robe back, but the man who has found it
is greedy for this treasure and refuses to return it. But finally, when
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DEVELOPMENTS IN JAPANhe understands her need for the robe, he agrees to return it, but there
is a condition. She must dance for him. This is the kind of “contract”
that is depicted in this noh play created hundreds of years ago. Now
the problem becomes whether she will get the robe first or whether
she will dance first. He says that if he returns the robe, she will fly
away without dancing, but she says that doubt deceit is only a partof the human world, it does not exist in heaven. He is chastened andwithout fighting, through discussion, trust is created. She wears therobe that she has had returned and as she dances, she returns to theheavens. The words of the song during this final dance describe thatas she dances, prosperity comes to the realm, there is an unending
shower of treasures and peace comes to the world. Hagoromo is a play122

celebrating peace.
When the workshop got settled, I talked to the participants. In
China, it seems that there is a classical dance called “Tennin Sange(The Angel Scatters Blossoms).” An angel wearing a beautiful robe
appears on the shores of a pond and the place is filled with flowers andbeautiful music. She does an elegant dance and eventually returns toheaven. There is no interaction with human beings and no particularly
philosophy, but apparently the famous beauty Yang Kuei-fei loved to
do this dance. In Europe as well, there are stories of creatures fromanother world appearing in human form, but usually, they are not embodiments of goodness like the angel in Japan’s Hagoromo. European
examples are usually like the legend of the Lorelei. One focus of thisworkshop was to draw attention to the excellence of Hagoromo as aprayer for peace. It was a very intense and worthwhile nine days. And
there cannot have been any better setting for the workshop. It becamea very high level masterclass.
In this workshop, there were 8 participants from outside Japan(1 from Singapore, 1 from China,
3 from South Korea, 1 from
Germany and 2 from Poland)and 18 participants from Japanfor a total of 26, plus 5 observers.
We would like to express our
gratitude to the Tessenkai for

While watching the instruction being given on stage,
the participants practice at the same time.

providing the space for this workshop for 9 days and to the instructors
from the Tessenkai, first, the head teacher of the workshop, mastershite main actor Kanze Tetsunojô and the other shite main actors
who served as instructors (Shimizu Kanji, Nishimura Takao, Shibata
Minoru, Umano Masaki, Asami Jiichi, Kitanami Takahiro, Nagayama
Keizo, Tanimoto Kengo, Uzawa Hikaru and Ando Takayasu) as well123

as noh producer Kasai Kenichi. We would also like to express ourappreciation for the interpreters for the workshop, Mark Oshima andJames Ferner.
Odagiri, Yoko
Painter and stage designer. Studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts, postgraduate school of fine arts majoring in Nihonga Japanese-style painting.
Studied in France with a scholarship from the Boursier du Gouvernement
Français at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and theInstitut d’Etudes Théâtrales de Université de Paris 3, with instruction fromthe late Bernard Dort and the late Denis Bablet. After working as part of the
scenographic staff for Le Théatre du Soleil and the Compagnie Roger Blin,
she returned to Japan in 1982. She has created many scenographic works. At
the same time there have been solo exhibitions of her paintings. From 1995 –2009, she was Secretary-General of the Japanese Centre of ITI and at present isa Executive Council of ITI worldwide.
Photographs: Fujii Aki

(Translation: Mark Oshima)

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DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

Seven colleges involved in theatre education gathered in Beijing andtook part in the 3rd Global Alliance of Theatre Schools International
Theatre Festival (abbreviated as GATS Festival) held from September
18 to 28, 2013, at the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing. This festival is carried out every other year under the auspices of the Global

124

Alliance of Theatre Schools[Developments Overseas](GATS) and the Central

GATS Festival and
ATEC Festival

Academy of Drama has
been playing the leading

China’s Central Academy of Drama
Leading the World’s Theatre Educationand operation. GATS is an

Hishinuma Yoshiaki

colleges and it was estab-role in terms of financing
international organization
comprised of drama-related
lished in 2008 by the edu-

cation center of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), which isunder the umbrella of UNESCO. Based on the spirit of UNESCO,
which is to promote world peace and mutual understanding, GATS
has set a goal to promote exchanges of information related to theatre
education on an international level and thereby to contribute to thedevelopment of theatre education projects around the world.
The festival was divided into the performance section and workshop section. In the performance section, the participating schools
had to present a production of a chosen Shakespeare play for the Universal program as well as a production based on their country’s ethnic
and artistic traditions for the National program, and the running time
was set respectively to 40 minutes. The characteristics of the schools
and the individualities of the academic supervisors could be seen in

Theater College students took part from all over the world.

Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music
participated in GATS Festival.

the workshops. The students were able to attend any workshop andthere was an air of youthful zest at each session.
The Central Academy of Drama has established two drama
awards, namely the Award for Best Performance and the Award for
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Outstanding Performance. The student who received the Award forBest Performance (excluding Chinese students) was given qualifications to study at the Central Academy of Drama for six months (during the first semester from September to January of the following yearor the second semester between March and July) in order to refine
their artistry.
The inaugural GATS Festival took place in 2009, the second festival
in 2011 and in 2013 it was the third time around. The seven colleges thattook part were the Central Academy of Drama, Toho Gakuen College
of Drama and Music (Japan), National Academy for Theatre and Film
Arts (Bulgaria), Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (Germany),
Chung-Ang University (Korea), University of Veracruz (Mexico) andKyiv National I.K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television
University (Ukraine). It was the second time for Japan’s Toho Gakuen
College of Drama and Music to participate following 2011.
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DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

The opening ceremony washeld at the Experimental Theatre on
Dongcheng Campus in Beijing, where
the old school building of the Central
Academy of Drama is located. Many
people took part in the ceremony,
including officials of the Chinese
central government such as the headof the Department of International
Workshop led by Sato Akiko (G.com)

Cooperation and Exchanges of the
Ministry of Education and the headof the Department of Education and Science of the Ministry of Cul-

126

ture alongside theatre scholars of the Chinese Dramatic Art ResearchSociety and other specialists, demonstrating the high level of interest
among the Chinese theatrical circle.
This time the assigned play was Shakespeare’s A MidsummerNight’s Dream. Each school competed with their ethnic styles expressed through sophisticated staging and performances, highlighting
their unique interpretations, and impressed the audience with the results of their constant training. The workshops have given experienced
academic supervisors chances to show their achievements, and thecontents seem to be improving every time the festival is held.
Koshimitsu Terufumi, the President of Toho Gakuen College
of Drama and Music, who also directed the A Midsummer Night’s
Dream for the assigned program and Musical Little Women by Louisa
May Alcott, adapted by Fukuda Yoshiyuki for the free program, left
the following comment:

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream was directed based on the concept
expressed in its secondary title ‘The Forest Full of Love’ and it was restructured by putting several couples from other plays of Shakespeare
into the story and introducing Japanese forms of art. As for MusicalLittle Women, it was turned into a musical set in Hiroshima after the
Pacific War, which was different from the original novel, and throughthe eyes of the brave sisters, the follies of war were questioned. Amongother works presented under the Universal program, the production
by the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts from Germany wasmemorable, portraying the conflicted feelings of love amongst the two
couples that live in the modern society. With respect to the National
program, the National Academy for Theatre and Films Arts from
Bulgaria portrayed the abysmal anxieties and terror of the people who
127

lived under the former communist regime by transposing such feelings to a bus that went out of control and it left a strong impression
on the audience.”

Toho Gakuen College, A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Koshimitsu Terufumi, Miura Go

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DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

The closing ceremony was held in the afternoon of September
26 at the outdoor theatre on the Changping Campus, which is underconstruction on a vast site, and the Award for Best Performanceand the Award for Outstanding Performance were presented to thestudents including two participants from Toho Gakuen College. Xu
Xiang, who is the President of the Executive Committee of GATS
Festival and also the President of the Central Academy of Drama, andCorneliu Dumitriu from Romania, who is the Secretary General of
GATS, presented the awards to the winners, and the members of participating schools from various countries and the guests congratulated
them with fervent praise.

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GATS is not the only international organization for drama-related schools in which the Central Academy of Drama is involved andplays the central role. There is also the Asia Theatre Education Centre(ATEC), which was established in October 2005 led by three schools,
namely the Central Academy of Drama, the Theatre Department of
Nihon University College of Art (Japan) and Chung-Ang University,and 15 member schools as of now and 20 other applicant schools thathave been registered are taking part in its activities.
The main activities of ATEC during 2014 are to host the 3rd
Asian Theatre Schools Festival and the 1st World Theatre Education
Convention, which will be held concurrently between May 18 and 23
on the campus of the Central Academy of Drama. The theme of Asian
Theatre Schools Festival is “Modernization of Traditional Theatre”.
With regard to the World Theatre Education Convention, 30 prominent educators and specialists from around the world will be invited as
special guests and preparations are under way, setting a goal to invite

a total of 250 participants from 45 countries. ‘Asia Today—Theatre
Education of the 21st century’ has been set as the unifying theme of
the two conventions.
Through the events organized by GATS and ATEC, people who
are working for theatre-related schools and specialists worldwide are
given opportunities to have gatherings and I cannot take my eyes off
the future activities of the Central Academy of Drama, which is increasingly taking on the pivotal role in theatre education of the world.
Hishinuma, Yoshiaki

129

Hishinuma is a translator and is also a member of the Board of Directors of theJapanese Centre of International Theatre Institute. He has translated modern
Chinese plays such as Farewell Seto-naikai (Bie le, Laihu nei hai) by Deng Youmei
as well as Bull (Niu) and Road Work (Zhu lu) by Mo Yan. Among the works he
has translated that have also been performed in Japan, there are Empress
Dowager (Xitaihou) by Sun Demin, which was presented by Shochiku Co., Ltd.,Go Player (Qiren) and Frog (Qingwa) by Guo Shixing produced by the New
National Theatre, Tokyo, Aboard the Ferryboat Together (Tong chuan guodu)
and Temporary Ward (Linshi Bing Fang) by Shen Hongguang produced by The
Theatrical Company of Toen and The Peony Garden (Mudan ting) presented by
Jiangsu Province Kunqu Theatre and hosted by Nippon Cultural Centre.

(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)

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SPECIAL FEATURE‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones’ is a project planned and produced by
the Japanese Centre of International Theatre Institute and this year
it was held for the fifth time around. At the end of December 2013,‘Part 1’ of ‘Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 5’ was held for five days at
Atelier West of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater. Through the reading
performances, talk sessions,[Special Feature]round-table discussions andReport on
Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 5

crosstalk sessions, plays

Goto Ayako

translated into Japanese andfrom Palestine, Afghanistan
and Algeria, which were
presented in Japan for the130

first time, were introduced.
Additionally, on January 26th, 2014, ‘Part 2’
was held under the title‘Japan-Palestine Theatre
Exchange Seminar’. Ihab
Zahdeh, who is the author
and cast member of thePalestinian play 3 in 1 thatwas introduced during‘Part 1’, was invited to the
Flyer of “Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 5”

seminar.

I would like to review the project as the translator of the Afghanplay Infinite Incompleteness and also as a production assistant who
spent time together with the two guests from abroad.

3 in 1
Written by Ihab Zahdeh, Mohammad Titi and Raed Shuyoukhi (Yes Theatre)
Translated by Yanagiya Ayumi
Directed by Sugiyama Tsuyoshi (Theater Company A La Place)
Performed by Kinomoto Akira (Black Tent Theatre), Shigemori Jiro (Black Tent Theatre)and Hirohata Tatsuya
Date & time: December 19 (Thu) 19:00 / December 21 (Sat) 19:00

From Palestine, the play 3 in 1 by Yes Theatre, which is the one
and only theatre troupe
based in Hebron, thelargest city on the WestBank of the River Jordan,
was presented to the Japanese audience.
131

The play was written by the actors of Yes
Theatre centered round
Ihab Zahdeh in order toexpress their true feelingsand each episode wasbased on the real experiences of the actors. The
main audiences of theplay have been children.
Human beings are
creatures that are con­stantly acting some kind
3 in 1 © Ishizawa Chieko(both)
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SPECIAL FEATUREof part (or role). Above all, Palestine, which is under occupation, is aland where everyone has to act a part in his or her real life on a daily
basis and to this effect actors are people who make their living by acting. Furthermore, in the city of Hebron, where there are many conservative and devout Muslims, theatre activity, from some people’s
point of view, is regarded as an evil practice that is meaningless. However, Yes Theatre believes in the power of theatre. It wants to pass on
the power of theatre to young people who are the bearers of Hebron’s
future. It is trying to provide children chances to experience how to
express their feelings through theatre. In other words, it wants children to be able to exert their potential to the utmost. For that reason,
Yes Theatre is calling on the adults to understand what theatre is about.

132

Through its workshops carried out for schoolteachers and instructors
at culture centres and other activities, the Hebronian society is slowly
but definitely beginning to embrace Yes Theatre. In Hebron, womenare not allowed to perform on stage due to the conservative characterof the locality (although there are actresses in other Palestinian cities).
Last year, Yes Theatre achieved ‘a feat’ of having three women appear
on stage. In ‘Part 2’, we heard stories of how the members of Yes
Theatre worked hard to persuade the families of those women.
Despite the fact that they can barely manage to perform normal
daily activities as a Palestinian and as a Muslim living in Hebron,
which is a conservative Muslim city that has an Israeli enclave at its
centre, the actors, who also have to go through their life by bearing aprofession that is difficult to earn one’s living by, delved into the themeof “how to live” in the drama 3 in 1 and the play attained first place at
the international theatre competition Premio Internazionale ‘Il Teatro
Nudo di Teresa Pomodoro’ held in Milano, Italy, in November 2013.

Their approach as performers persistently searching for a way to liveby exposing (or informing) their way of life came in line with the concept of the competition, which is ‘Teatro Nudo’ (naked theatre).
After the reading performance, a talk event was held with the
speakers Hosoda Kazue (Researcher of Israeli literature and culture
at Chuo University), Muneshige Hiroyuki (Black Tent Theatre) and
its director Sugiyama Tsuyoshi, which helped us to understand more
about the play. Zahdeh and Sato Shigenori, a schoolteacher who has
been creating theatre with high-school students in Fukushima after
the 11. 3 earthquake and tsunami disaster, were invited to ‘Part 2’ heldon January 26, 2014, and a four-hour long seminar was carried out. At
the seminar, Zahdeh gave an introduction to Yes Theatre and 3 in 1,
133

and then Zahdeh and Sato Shigenori had thought-provoking discussions in the talk session, which was followed by reading performances
in Japanese by the participants and also in Arabic by the students of
the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo as well as a reading by Zahdeh
himself in Arabic, which turned into a good quality time. On our way
to the venue, Zahdeh said, “It is by no means easy for me to travel toJapan. This may be the last time. That’s why while I am in Japan, I
want to pass on every bit of information that I have and everything that
I have on my mind now. Although
what I have on my mind may notnecessarily be correct.”
Carrying out the reading performances and having invited Ihab
Zahdeh was made possible throughSeminar with Ihab Zahdeh and Sato Shigenori.
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SPECIAL FEATURE

the cooperative system set up by Imamura Sae and members of Peacebuilders (abbreviated as PB, a specified non-profit corporation working on peace building, which is headquartered in Hiroshima and hasa branch office in Palestine). Moreover, some of the text in 3 in 1 wasintroduced in the ‘Plays to Read’ column of the December 21 issue of134

Nikkan Gendai newspaper.

Reading performance by Ihab Zahdeh himself in Arabic.

Infinite Incompleteness
Written by Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO)
Translated by Goto Ayako
Directed by Kouke Yoshinori (Tokyo Engeki Ensemble)
Performed by Koyama Moeko (Empathy), Hanagasaki Koichi (Alpha-selection),
Otani Kenjiro (AT Production), Okubo Taka and Masaki Hikari (Tokyo Engeki Ensemble)
String instrument (rabab) performed by Satow Keiichi (Afghan music unit ‘Chalpasah’)
Projected images created by Takahashi Keisuke (Nibroll)
Date &Time: December 20 (Fri) 19:00 / December 22 (Sun) 14:00

From Afghanistan, we introduced Infinite Incompletenessproduced by AHRDO (Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization). Additionally, Hjalmar Jorge Joffre-Eichhorn,
who is the co-founder of AHRDO and also the director of theoriginal production of Infinite Incompleteness, was invited to the talksession. Joffre-Eichhorn is half Bolivian and half German, and not an
Afghanistani. He has deeply committed himself to the Afghan society
as a foreigner—in other words, he is in the same position as us—andtaught us many things about the possibilities and difficulties of bringing about peace.
This play was written by collecting voices of people who had experienced losses due to conflicts. Men of three opposing ethnic groups
and one woman talk about the irrational grieves of reality in placeof the disembodied spirits and their kins. Borrowing the words ofJoffre-Eichhorn, actors are ‘weapons of peace’. There are the grief ofbeing deprived of one’s loved ones by an irresistible enemy, the grief
135

of giving birth to new life by placing slight hope for the far future
though knowing that there will be no peace during the life of one’s
child and the grief of not being able to make concessions due to ethnic
distinction despite the fact that they share the same feeling of grief.
The play is woven with such grieves based on the voices directly collected from the people of Afghanistan through the Playback Theatre
method (improvised theater in which the audience and participants
talk about their past experience and act it out). To look back at andtalk about the unwanted past must be hard but Joffre-Eichhorn saysthat theatre has the power to “change tears into energy”.
Putting their lives at risk, the members of AHRDO carry out
activities aspiring for democratization and peace in Afghanistan byproviding opportunities to conflicting ethnic groups to understandeach other.

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136

Satow Keiichi (rabab)Infinite Incompleteness © Ishizawa Chieko(both)

Joffre-Eichhorn took part in the post-performance talk alongside
the director Kouke. We were able to hear from Hjalmar about themembers of AHRDO, about doing plays with the oppressed, about
what it is like be involved in theatre activities that are deeply rooted
in the Afghan community as a foreigner and other matters. As for theround-table talks, Ohashi Hiroshi (the representative of Asia meetsAsia and the leader of the theatre group DA-M, who has invited atheatre group from Afghanistan in the past) and Murayama Kazuyuki(teaches South Asian and West Asian culture at Wako University andsupervised the translation of Infinite Incompleteness) were invited asguest speakers, and it developed into a unique discussion. They werealso able to draw out interesting topics from Joffre-Eichhorn.
Hjalmar Joffre-Eichhorn arrived in Japan ahead of time andshowed up at the studio during rehearsals. There was also an interview by Radio Japan after the performance. The interviews ofJoffre-Eichhorn, Kouke, Koyama, Hayashi Hideki, who is the producer of this project, and Satow’s Rabab performance were broadcast in Afghanistan (Kabul and Herat) and on the Internet radio on
January 5th. The play also appeared in the 56th issue of the magazine
Theatre Arts (published on September 20, 2013). Furthermore, theEnglish translation of the play was published in an American performing arts magazine PAJ (Performing Arts Journal, in the 106th
issue published on January 1, 2014).
I was truly happy to be part of introducing this play in Japan as
the translator and with these members. To live, to die, to love, to killand peace——we had intensive discussions over these words day andnight. Through working on this play, I was able to encounter life and137

words anew.

Post-performance talk with
Joffre-Eichhorn.
© Niwayama Yuka

Joffre-Eichhorn came torehearsal ofInfinite Incompleteness

Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

SPECIAL FEATURE

Le Cadavre Encerclé
Written by Kateb Yacine
Translated by Udo Satoshi
Directed by Hirota Junichi (Amayadori)
Performed by Nishikawa Kotaro (Gekibaka/ Oshare shinshi), Nishimura Sogo,
Asano Chizuru (Ajiwai dodo), Inagaki Kanjyo (Amayadori),
Itoyama Kazunori (Amayadori), Yamamori Shintaro (Higekikaku),
Kokado Maya (Amayadori),Miyazaki Yuma and Numata Seima
Date & time: December 21 (Sat) 14:00 / December 23 (Mon & national holiday) 14:00

From Algeria, we introduced Le Cadavre Encerclé by Kateb
Yacine (1929-1989).
Although this play deals with the Sétif massacre that occurred138

Le Cadavre Encerclé © Yamaguchi Mayuko(both)in 1945, it also has a verystrong sense of modernity.
Niino Morihiro (Professor ofGerman Theatre at Rikkyo
University) appeared in theround table talk after the
performance and said, “Theplay reminded us of the Arabspring that took place fromthe end of 2010 to 2011”. As
the play is written with acomplicated structure and thewords are full of symbolism, it
is by no means easy to understand. However, on December
23, the director Hirota gave
an explanation of the play

before the performance and also the actors’ body had much to tell,which made it considerably easier for the audience to appreciate theplay. After the performance, Udo(associate professor of Arabic andBerber literature and theatre at Kagoshima University) Shichiji Eisuke
Eisuke (theatre critic) and Niino took part in the round-table talktitled ‘Contemporary Theatre of the Arab and Islamic Countries’. Ito
Hiroshi (Professor of French literature) was among the audience, andhaving said that he was studying in France when Le Cadavre Encerclé
was premiered in Belgium (at Theatre Moliere in Brussels in 1958), hetalked about how much buzz the play had caused, making it a deeply
moving session.
In addition, a crosstalk session was held inviting the directors
139of the three plays and Udo, after the performance on December 23,
which was also the closing day of ‘Theatre in Conflict Zones 5’. How
should we approach the society that gave rise to the plays or the people who live in the realities depicted in the plays? How should weunderstand and face them, and what kind of stance should we taketo express them? Not only did the crosstalk session help us to deepen
our understanding of the plays through Udo’s explanation, it also
gave us a chance to get glimpses of the three directors who pondered,struggled and took on the challenge.
Goto, Ayako
Goto was born in 1982. She graduated from the Department of German,
Faculty of Foreign Languages at Dokkyo University and then completed thepostgraduate course of Language and Society at Hitotsubashi University.
After living in Vienna, Goto has worked with the marionette theatre company
Youkiza and also at Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC). She then received
on-the-job training at the dramaturg division of Residenz Theatre (Munich).
Goto now works as a freelancer.

(Translation: Sumida Michiyo)
Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

Companion Volume“Theatre Abroad 2013” in JapaneseHere is the list of the articles which do not appear in this volume“Theatre in Japan 2013”.

World Theatre Day Message by Bret Bailey

140

Theatre in Asia and Africa
China
Korea
VietnamThailandIndonesia
Singapore
PakistanIsraelTurkeyTaiwanMajor Productions and Little Theatre in Beijing and Shanghai————Iizuka Yutori
Theatrical Explorations of Indivisuals Living in History————————Nam Song-Ho
Luu Quang Vu Festival, Interchange Between the North and Southand the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Year————————————— Yoshioka Norihiko
Looking back on Thai Theatre during 2013 with Nikorn SaeTang——Sentoku Miho
From Beckett, Dorfman to Brecht—————————————————Seno Joko Suyono
Ushering in a New Era————————————————————————— Takiguchi Ken
The Pleasures of Theatrical Satire on Independence Celebrations—— Murayama Kazuyuki
Who's afraid of Theatre? ————————————————————— Lilach Dekel-Avneri
Art, Politics, Oppression, Hope...——————————————————— Dikmen Gürün
Hope Found in Two Artists of the Younger Generations——————— Yao Lee-chun

Theatre in the Americas and Oceania
CanadaU. S. A.
MexicoBolivia
Australia

Emerging Trends of Canadian Theatre Seen in Toronto’s New Theatre Venue—— Yoshihara Toyoshi
Theatrical Traditions and New Developments in Musicals————— Tonooka Naomi
Amid the “Violencia“———————————————————————— Yoshikawa Emiko
Two Different Theatre Movements—————————————————— Kojima Mine
Two Contrasting Large-Scale Works—————————————————— Sawada Keiji

Theatre in Europe
U. K.
Beyond the Racism———————————————————————— Motohashi Tetsuya
Scotland 2013, Our Scotland——————————————————————————Nakayama Kaori
Germany Felicia Zeller’s X-Freunde: Sorrow and Criticism of a Workaholic———— Terao Itaru
FranceChéreau’s Death and a New Director for Festival d’Avignon————Odanaka Akihiro
Spain
Words, words: Theatre is based on words———————————————— Tajiri Yoichi
Italy
The “Theatre Rats” Surviving in the depth of the Economic Crisis —— Yamanouchi Haruhiko
Switzerland Theatre in the German-Speaking Part of Switzerland——————— Dagmar Walser
Czech
Theatres at the Mercy of Politics and the Activities of a New Generation—— Petr HolýPolandThe Woes of Public Theatre Companies and Independent Companies Coming to Life—————————————————————————————————————————Iwata Miho

Belarus Theatre: Past and Present———————— Georgy Bartosh / Denis Martinovich“Japanese Culture Days” and Improvizându-l pe Godo—————————Shichiji Eisuke
In a Nation of Diverse Races————————————————————————Komaki Yu
Breakthroughs for Regional Theatres and Mid-Career Directors’ Growing Presence—————————————————————————————————————— Shinozaki Naoya

Developments Overseas
Theatre and Translation — Encounters in Languages——————————————— Hayashi Tatsuki

Special Feature ”Theatre Born in Conflict Zones 5”
Actors Who Cannot Act — A Review Focusing on 3 in 1 (Palestine)———————————— Seki Tomoko
The Current Arab-Berber Theater — Report on the Theatre Festival in Béjaia, Algeria—— Udo Satoshi

Overseas Tours Report
Convey the Japanese Language as a Sound – First Overseas Tour of Company mum & gypsy—— Uematsu Yuko
An International Project Continues to Travel around the World – THE BEE——————Naito Minako
Beyond the Different Cultures – European Tour of Sugimoto Bunraku Sonezaki Shinjû—— Okamura Takio
Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

141

Belarus
Moldova
SwedenRussiaITI National Centres (as of 3rd March, 2014)

North America
U.S.A.

142

Latin America andCaribbean
Argentina
BrazilColombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
MexicoPeru
Puerto Rico
Venezuela

AfricaAlgeria
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Cameroun
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo Dem. ReP
Congo ReP
Cote d'Ivoire
Egypt
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
SenegalSierra Leone
Sudan
Togo
Zimbabwe

Europe
Austria
Belgium (Antwerp)
Belgium (Brussels)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
CyprusCzech ReP
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandGermany
GreeceHungary
Iceland
Ireland

Italy
KosovoLatviaLuxembourg
Macedonia F.Y.R.
MonacoNetherlands
Romania
RussiaSerbiaSlovakia
Slovenia
SwedenSwitzerland

Fujairah
Iraq
JordanPalestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Sharjah
TurkeyArmenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
China
Chinese Taipei
Georgia
Iran
IsraelJapan
Korea
Mongolia
Nepal
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Vietnam

143

Arab Countries

Asia / Pacific

The list of National Centres is updated as needed on the ITI website below.
International Theatre Institute ITI / Institut International du Théâtre ITIUNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, F-75732 Paris cedex 15, France
Tel. +33 (0)1 45 68 48 80 / Fax: + 33 (0)1 45 68 48 84
iti@iti-worldwide.org / www.iti-worldwide.org

Theatre in Japan

TheatreYearbook 2014

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
Saimyoji Ikuko
Sakate Yoji
Shindo Yoshikazu
Takahagi Hiroshi
Nagae Iwao
Nakayama Kaori
Hayashi Hideki
Hishinuma Yoshiaki
Matsuda Kazuhiko
Wazaki Nobuya

Auditors

Ito Tomoko
Kobayashi Hirofumi
Yoshii Sumio

Advisers

Otani Nobuyoshi
Katayama Yusetsu
Sakomoto Jun-ichi
Tanokura Minoru
Nomura Man
Hatano Yoshio
Fukuchi Shigeo
Fujinami Takayuki
Hori Takeo
Matsuoka Isao
Mogi Shichizaemon
Yamaguchi Masanori

Commissioned by Agency for Cultural Affairs
Government of Japan in the fiscal 2013

東宝演劇