歌仔戲
After the Pacific War broke out, the Japanese government changed the previous policy and implemented a "Kōminka" policy that encouraged Japanisation. During this period, the Japanese government prohibited the public performance of Taiwanese opera. Even though many troupes were disbanded and Taiwanese opera witnessed its first decline, local people still tried to perform Taiwanese operas in secrecy. Taiwanese opera, also known as "wangguodiao" (亡國調; literally, "music from a dying nation") provided an outlet for Taiwanese people to search for their identify and fight for the "in-betweenness" of cultural influences of Taiwan, Japan and China.