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July 27, 2025
 

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KABUKI

An illustration of a scene from the fourth act of "Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e" by Toyokuni Utagawa III (1862).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 26, 2025
Take your first steps into the world of kabuki with these basic terms
The language of Japanese theater is full of double — even triple — meanings. Knowing the terminology is the first step in understanding it.
Lee Sang-il’s "Kokuho" stars Ryo Yoshizawa as an orphan from a yakuza clan who rises through the world of kabuki to become a star performer.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2025
‘Kokuho’ finds riveting drama on and off the kabuki stage
Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama deliver stage performances that are both convincing as kabuki and arresting as drama in Lee Sang-il’s ambitious film.
Lee Sang-il’s “Kokuho,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice — and loneliness — behind kabuki greatness.
Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and kabuki actor Nakamura Shido II first performed together in 2016. This month, they’re reviving the show for the Osaka World Expo.
CULTURE / Stage
May 17, 2025
Traditional performing arts are plugging into modern audiences
Noh and kabuki are getting an image update by teaming up with pop culture figures such as Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku and DJ Ken Ishii.
Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke V, now Onoe Kikugoro VIII (front center), gives a greeting during the classical hand-clapping ceremony called "koshiki kaoyose teuchishiki" in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Kabuki actor Kikunosuke assumes the name Onoe Kikugoro VIII
Onoe Kikugoro is a prestigious stage name in the world of the traditional Japanese performing art.
(From left) JR East President Yoichi Kise, Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke, and Shochiku President Toshihiro Takahashi at a joint news conference at the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024
JR East and Shochiku to collaborate on regional revitalization
Under the 10-year agreement, the two companies will bring to life programs rooted in regional traditional culture
Gary Perlman has developed a kabuki adaptation of “Madame Butterfly” that he hopes will be performed 100 years from now.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 7, 2024
Gary Perlman: ‘Kabuki is pure entertainment … the characters and themes are universal’
In adapting "Madame Butterfly" for kabuki, the man behind the production hopes to reframe the tale with stronger female characters.
At Suigian, an underground restaurant and bar focused on the traditional Japanese stage, diners can get within an arm's length of authentic Japan.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 10, 2024
Suigian is everything Robot Restaurant was not
For the tourist willing to do a little homework and pay a slight premium, Suigian offers the possibility of cultural verisimilitude.
A scene from "The Maiden Benten and the Bandits of the White Waves" ("Benten Kozo") at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
CULTURE / Stage
May 5, 2024
Students from Hawaii to perform English-language kabuki in Japan
The group will perform "Benten Kozo," a play depicting the twists and turns of five thieves following their own code of honor.
Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Apr 15, 2024
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
After a five-year absence, kabuki has returned to Kotohira. Can it be the draw that this tourism-hungry town desires?
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 17, 2023
Ichikawa Ennosuke IV given suspended three-year prison term
The 47-year-old, whose real name is Takahiko Kinoshi, had been on trial over his role in a family suicide pact.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 20, 2023
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke pleads guilty to assisting parents' suicides
“The feelings of regret, remorse and gratitude (to my supporters) are something I will carry for the rest of my life,” Ennosuke said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 1, 2023
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke IV released on ¥5 million bail
Suspected of helping his parents commit suicide, Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke IV was released on Monday, with bail set at ¥5 million.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2023
Ichikawa Ennosuke IV said he ground sleeping pills into powder, sources say
The kabuki actor was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of aiding his mother's suicide last month by giving her sleeping pills.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2023
Ichikawa Ennosuke arrested over assistance in mother’s suicide
He had previously told the police that his parents had taken sleeping pills and that they had discussed dying together.
JAPAN
May 18, 2023
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke found collapsed after suspected suicide attempt
Ennosuke’s parents were also found collapsed and both were later confirmed dead. The incident came the same day a report alleged Ennosuke harassed staff at his theater collective.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 3, 2023
Kabuki kids: The children of Japan's traditional theater
The son of a renowned actress and grandson of a famed kabuki actor, 10-year-old Maholo Terajima has made history as the first recognized dual national to make his debut in the art form.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Oct 1, 2022
Roger Dahl on the benefits of kabuki translations
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2022
Actor Teruyuki Kagawa apologizes after report alleges he groped hostess
The report also said the kabuki performer took off the hostess' bra and passed it around to colleagues in an incident in 2019.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 18, 2021
'Yabuhara Kengyo' shows audiences that justice isn't always blind
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke IV takes on the role of Suginoichi, the cunning antihero of Hisashi Inoue's play about social oppression.
Tokyo is the No. 2 choice for international students
The University of Tokyo. International students are increasingly flocking to Asia, with affordability being a particularly important metric.
Junglia, Japan’s newest theme park, opens in northern Okinawa
In Junglia’s Dinosaur Safari attraction during a media preview on Thursday, a casual drive through a habitat for the prehistoric creatures goes haywire when several Tyrannosaurus rexes break out of containment.
Extreme heat grips Japan, including even Hokkaido
The city of Obihiro in Hokkaido amid scorching heat on Thursday
‘Demon Slayer’ movie slashes its own box office records
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” is the first installment in a trilogy that's set to wrap the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga about sword-wielding heroes fighting man-eating demons.
Ishiba rules out joint document on U.S. tariffs as deal's details trickle out
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech at an event in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on Friday afternoon.
Behind the scenes: Inside Fuji Rock’s strategy for staying on top
In recent years, Fuji Rock has had fewer blockbuster performers and showcased more top-selling Japanese acts and international musicians' first-time performances in Japan.
Hall of Fame always held deeper meaning for Ichiro
Ichiro presents then-Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson with the bat he used to break the single-season hits record in 2004.
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
JT picks: What not to miss at Fuji Rock 2025
Fuji Rock Festival turns the green slopes of Niigata Prefecture’s Naeba Ski Resort into a summer escape that offers soundtracks for every mood.
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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