91仓库

Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Stage

Entertainment news

In 2019, Saitama Arts Theater started permitting children under 3 to some of its shows. Previously, children under 4 were not permitted.

CULTURE / Stage

May 3, 2026

No longer shushed: Japan’s cultural venues make room for children

By Kris Kosaka

From ballet to museums, cultural institutions are adapting to the needs of families with young children.

Nakamura Tanenosuke adjusts himself before hitting the stage. Every actor in kabuki relies on one final, essential element to fully inhabit their role: the wig.

CULTURE / Stage

May 1, 2026

Japan’s wig masters bring the kabuki stage to life

By Natsuko Fukue

In kabuki, transformation begins with the wig, as master artisans shape identity, status and emotion strand by strand.

Company Grande’s inaugural performance, “The Rite of Spring,” took place Feb. 7 at Saitama Arts Theater.

CULTURE / Stage

Mar 8, 2026

100 ways to belong: The radical inclusivity of Company Grande

By Kris Kosaka

Company Grande includes members from all ages, walks of life and abilities, showing the stage can also be an arena for amateurs, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Richard Tomic, better known as “Ricchaado” to his Instagram followers, debuted his stand-up set at Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward in December.

CULTURE / Stage

Mar 1, 2026

From clicks to claps: Online comics seek the stage

By Laura Pollacco

Ricchaado, a comic from a generation that builds its humor in cyberspace, is the latest to try a transition to classic stand-up on stage.

The winners of the 70th Kunio Kishida Prize for Playwriting are Sho Hasumi (left) with “Romance” and Emi Oishi with “Drool Ferris Wheel.”

CULTURE / Stage

Feb 26, 2026

Kishida Prize crowns wordsmiths in the theater world

By Kris Kosaka

The 70th iteration of the annual Kunio Kishida Prize for Playwriting announces two winners.

Nakamura Takanosuke performs as an "onnagata," the term for male kabuki actors who portray women, in "The Wisteria Maiden."

CULTURE / Stage

Feb 24, 2026

After ‘Kokuho’: Nakamura Takanosuke to take kabuki’s ‘onnagata’ tradition to Europe

By Kris Kosaka

Following renewed interest, a young actor offers overseas audiences a rare look behind the scenes.

Actor Izumi Aoyagi plays all the characters in “Wisteria and the Three Women,” a play based on a story by Mieko Kawakami.

CULTURE / Stage

Feb 14, 2026

‘Wisteria’: Mieko Kawakami’s story of female longing adapted for stage

By Grace En-yi Ting

Theater company Mum&Gypsy and author Kawakami are collaborating on a stage adaptation of her work for the fourth time.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.

The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan’s culture of conformity

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports