Kōhei Tsuka
He died of lung cancer in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture at age 62. Early life. Tsuka was a second-generation Korean-Japanese whose experience as a member of a minority informed his work. His pen name is derived from "itsuka kohei", meaning "equal someday." Tsuka started his theater career with "A Red Beret for You" as a student at Keio University. Career. In 1974, Tsuka started his own group, "Tsuka Kōhei Jimusho," a part of the second generation of modern Japanese theater. He focused less on text, often improvising based on the written play, and used the everyday language  of the youth. The sets of his plays were minimal, with the stage almost empty. His system, called "jikogekika", compels actors to put themselves and their ideas on stage, with little concern for society as a whole. Tsuka took a break from the stage from November 1982 to February 1989.