Japanese modern drama in the early 20th century consisted of (experimental Western-style theatre), which employed naturalistic acting and contemporary themes in contrast to the stylized conventions of kabuki and Noh.
Hōgetsu Shimamura and
Kaoru Osanai were two figures influential in the development of . In the post-war period, there was a phenomenal growth in creative new dramatic works, which introduced fresh aesthetic concepts that revolutionized the orthodox modern theatre. Challenging the realistic, psychological drama focused on "tragic historical progress" of the Western-derived , young playwrights broke with such accepted tenets as conventional stage space, placing their action in tents, streets, and open areas located all over Tokyo. Plots became increasingly complex, with play-within-a-play sequences, moving rapidly back and forth in time, and intermingling reality with fantasy. Dramatic structure was fragmented, with the focus on the performer, who often used a variety of masks to reflect different personae. Playwrights returned to common stage devices perfected in Noh and kabuki to project their ideas, such as employing a narrator, who could also use English for international audiences. Major playwrights in the 1980s were
Kara Juro,
Shimizu Kunio, and
Betsuyaku Minoru, all closely connected to specific
companies. In contrast, the fiercely independent
Murai Shimako who won awards throughout the world for her numerous works focusing on the
Hiroshima bombing, performed plays with only one or two actresses. In the 1980s, Japanese
stagecraft evolved into a more refined into a more sophisticated and complex format than earlier postwar experiments but lacked their bold critical spirit. In this time period, women began to run their own theater companies such as
Kishida Rio,
Kisaragi Koharu,
Nagai Ai, and
Watanabe Eriko.
Tadashi Suzuki developed a unique method of performer training which integrated
avant-garde concepts with classical Noh and kabuki techniques, an approach that became a major creative force in Japanese and international theatre in the 1980s. Another highly original east–west fusion occurred in the inspired production
Nastasya, adapted from
Dostoevsky's The Idiot, in which
Bando Tamasaburo, a famed kabuki (female impersonator), played the roles of both the prince and his fiancée. ====== is a modern form of theatre. It earned the name (literally meaning "new school") to contrast it from ("old school" or kabuki) due its more contemporary and realistic stories. With the success of the Seibidan troupe, however, theater ended up with a form that was closer to kabuki than to the later because of its continued use of and off-stage music. ====== The 1980s also encouraged the creation of the , literally "little theatre". This usually meant amateur theatrical troupes making plays designed to be seen by anyone and everyone — not necessarily as meaningful in nature as they were simply entertaining. Some of the more philosophical playwrights and directors of that time are
Noda Hideki and
Shōji Kōkami. Popular theatrical troupes include Nylon 100, Gekidan Shinkansen,
Tokyo Sunshine Boys, and Halaholo Shangrila. Recently, new generation of artists who are labelled as the "Generation of the Lost Decade" or the "Generation of 2000s" have emerged. Principal artists among this generation are:
Toshiki Okada, Shiro Maeda, Kuro Tanino, Daisuke Miura, Tomohiro Maekawa and so on.
Western plays in Japan Many classics of the western canon from
Ancient Greek theatre,
William Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoevsky to
Samuel Beckett are performed in Tokyo today. A large number of performances, perhaps as many as 3,000, are given each year, making Tokyo one of the world's leading theatrical centers. The opening of the replica of the
Globe Theatre was celebrated by importing an entire British company to perform all of Shakespeare's historical plays, while other Tokyo theatres produced other Shakespearean plays including various new interpretations of
Hamlet and
King Lear. The Globe Theatre, located in
Shin-Ōkubo in Tokyo, now belongs mostly to
Johnny's Entertainment and the promotion of
pop idols in the acting field.
Yukio Ninagawa is an internationally known Japanese director and playwright who often turns to elements of Shakespeare for inspiration. In 1995 he performed the "Shakespeare Tenpo 12Nen", an interpretation of the wildly popular British theatre
Shakespeare Condensed: all of Shakespeare's plays in two hours. Famous actors such as
Natsuki Mari and
Karawa Toshiaki were involved. == Popular entertainment in Japan ==