''My appointment by Commissioner Hayao Kawai of the Agency for Cultural Affairs to direct the Japan Arts Council came as a total surprise," says Kazuaki Tsuda, "though I must confess I am having a great time. I spent 50 years selling whisky, and now I am selling culture!"
With the May 2004 appointment, after 50 years working for Suntory, Tsuda, 72, began to run the National Theater of Japan, and is now leading the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the theater's founding. Established in 1966 in Hanzomon to promote Japan's traditional performing arts, the National Theater regularly revives kabuki and bunraku (puppet) plays in their entirety. In comparison, Tokyo's other home to kabuki, the Kabuki-za, typically puts together a selection of shorter performances for audiences to get a more general taste of the traditional art forms.
To celebrate the theater's 40th anniversary, Tsuda has decided to present several versions of the story of "The 47 Loyal Retainers."