Tag - theater

 
Menu
Search
 
July 04, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

THEATER

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.
South Korean musical "Maybe Happy Ending" won big at the 78th Tony Awards in New York on June 8. From left: Hunter Arnold, Dez Duron, Marcus Choi, Hue Park, Helen J. Shen, Darren Criss, Will Aronson and Jeffrey Richards.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 11, 2025
South Korean musical 'Maybe Happy Ending' tops Broadway's Tony Awards
The awards celebrated Broadway's biggest year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
Cantonese opera actor Lung Koon-tin, portraying U.S. President Donald Trump, performs on stage in "Trump, The Twins President" in Hong Kong, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 6, 2025
Trump-inspired Cantonese opera in Hong Kong aims to bring love and peace
"Trump, The Twins President" has been through several iterations since its 2019 debut, with the latest version featuring the attempted assassination of the U.S. president.
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.
Concept art for the renewed National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
Japan's territory museum to reopen in April following renovations
The museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward is designed to publicize Japan's position on disputed territories.
Yamanote Jijosha has a long history of staging Shakespeare plays, and in celebration of its 40th anniversary, the company will present “Othello” and “Macbeth.” Previously, it toured productions like “Titus Andronicus,” which premiered in Tokyo in 1999, saw multiple revivals and had a homecoming in 2015.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 21, 2025
Directing is never a monologue at the experimental Yamanote Jijosha theater company
To mark its four decades of existence, the company stages two Shakespearean tragedies for a triumph.
Students perform a play they produced during a Liberal Arts Japanese class at Aichi Prefectural Kariyahigashi High School, as teacher Tomohiko Hyodo (left) watches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 13, 2025
Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills
Liberal Arts Japanese, designed to supplement conventional Japanese language studies, emphasizes practical skills in listening and speaking, the school says.
Don Kenny leaves behind a wealth of English translations of kyogen as well as work on other aspects of Japanese culture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 14, 2024
A bridge between kyogen and the world, Don Kenny dies at 88
He came here a soldier, stationed at Atsugi air base after the war, and soon fell in love with the world of Japanese theater.
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.
Set in a village in the Swiss Alps, Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “La Sonnambula” centers on an orphan named Amina who is unknowingly frightening the locals with her nightly sleepwalking, and they believe there is a ghost among them.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 26, 2024
'La Sonnambula' offers a modern take on a dubious happy ending
Director Barbara Lluch scrutinizes gender expectations and patriarchal societies that thrive on polarizing views in her production of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
Koichi Domoto performs in the musical "Endless Shock" on Thursday in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 10, 2024
Pop idol Koichi Domoto's musical rewrites Japan record for most performances
The musical "Endless Shock" broke the record for most performances, which "Horoki," a play starring Mitsuko Mori, previously held.
Chojuro Kawarasaki plays Kuranosuke Ooishi in Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1941 film “Genroku Chushingura” (The 47 Ronin). The story, sometimes told with 46 retainers, has fascinated Japanese audiences since first being performed as a puppet play in 1748. 
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 15, 2024
Edo samurai spirit: From the battlefield to the stage
Life under the Tokugawa shogunate wasn't exactly freedom but neither was it constant war. The Japanese instead sated their bloodlust with theater.
Mayuko Kashiwazaki tries on her mask after getting into costume before a dress rehearsal for "Dojoji," a famous noh drama about the revenge of a betrayed woman.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 7, 2024
An 'all-women' noh production challenges traditional Japanese ideas
While women have been involved in noh for decades, older audiences tend to expect an all-male cast. Now, actors believe the times are changing.
The cast of Chelfitsch’s play “The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’” includes individuals with different levels of Japanese-language proficiency. They participated in workshops hosted by the theater company to promote more inclusivity in Japanese theater.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 29, 2023
Chelfitsch challenges Japanese theater's language barriers
The theater company questions the status quo of the Japanese stage by casting non-native speakers in new project, 'The Window of Spaceship "In-Between."'
Foreign entertainers are now permitted to work in event venues with a capacity of more than 100 people — including standing-only establishments — that sell food and drinks.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2023
Japan loosens requirements for entertainer visas
Entertainers earning more than ¥500,000 or more per day are now able to stay for up to 30 days, an increase from 15 days.
Director Dean Johnson wanted to strip back the staging of “Once – In Concert” in a way that honored the film. The production had a limited run at the London Palladium earlier this year and Johnson notes the Tokyu Orb Theater has a similar set up.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 31, 2023
'Once' speaks the universal languages of music and love
Award-winning Irish theatrical production brings its dry wit and catchy songs to Tokyo for a midsummer musical experience.
Japan Times
Events / Stage
Jul 11, 2023
'Once' comes to Tokyo speaking the universal languages of music and love
Award-winning Irish theatrical production brings its dry wit and catchy songs to Tokyo for a midsummer musical experience.
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.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER