Kaoru Osanai was born on July 26, 1881, in
Hiroshima, the second son of Director of Hiroshima Army Garrison Hospital, Takeshi Osanai. His father was a former
samurai from
Hirosaki Domain. When he was five, Takeshi died abruptly at the age of 38, leaving his three children Reiko, Kaoru and Yachiyo to his wife Taka. Osanai subsequently moved to
Tokyo where he received his education. The family lived comfortably at Takeshi's mansion where Taka and her female friends practiced music. Osanai studied English literature at
Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in 1906. In 1909, Osanai founded the Free Theater (Jiyū Gekijō) with
Ichikawa Sadanji II and staged translations of
Ibsen,
Chekov, and
Gorky, but there he experienced the limits of doing
realist theater with
kabuki actors. Osanai described these limits as an "existing theatrical poison", for he aimed to extend the boundaries of kabuki as part of the
shingeki movement. Osanai was one of the many animators who contributed toward defining the fundamental aspects of
shingeki theatre. His first production with the Free Theater,
John Gabriel Borkman, brought Western naturalist and modernist drama which would challenge social conventions. Between December 1912 and August 1913, Osanai traveled throughout Europe to experience modern theater first-hand. He was particularly impressed with the work of the
Moscow Art Theatre. After returning to Japan in 1920, he worked as the research director of the Shochiku Cinema On December 25, 1928, Osanai collapsed at a Chinese restaurant in
Nihonbashi during a thank-you party held after the performance of
Fumiko Enchi's first play
Banshun Sōya, and died shortly after returning home. The cause of death was
cerebral infarction. ==References==