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July 24, 2026
 

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THEATER

The ¡°Princess Mononoke¡± adaptation was created under Shochiku¡¯s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 9, 2026
¡®Princess Mononoke¡¯ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
Kabuki, one of Japan¡¯s oldest performing art forms, and Studio Ghibli seek modern resonance in an everchanging landscape for arts.
Tanjiro Kamado is a likeable protagonist in the stage show, even though he sometimes takes a backseat to the stories of other characters in this installment.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 19, 2026
¡®Demon Slayer¡¯ musical is for fans who¡¯ve done the homework
The record-breaking anime ¡°Demon Slayer¡± has been reimagined as a musical and its sixth installment premiered June 13.
¡°Noli Timere,¡± a free open-air performance at SIFA's Festival Village, combines aerial acrobatics, contemporary dance and art sculpture.?
CULTURE / Stage
May 22, 2026
At Singapore International Festival of Arts, theater spills into everyday life
Tze Chien Chong, the new director of Singapore International Festival of Arts, strives to attract a broader audience to Singapore¡¯s oldest festival for performing arts.
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
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
In kabuki, transformation begins with the wig, as master artisans shape identity, status and emotion strand by strand.
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
The 70th iteration of the annual Kunio Kishida Prize for Playwriting announces two winners.
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
Theater company Mum&Gypsy and author Kawakami are collaborating on a stage adaptation of her work for the fourth time.
Actor Tatsuya Fujiwara plays the protagonist Calcutec in "The End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland.¡±
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 7, 2026
Can Japanese theater travel? A Murakami adaptation tries.
¡°The End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland¡± adaptation is part of a rising wave of contemporary Japanese theater productions that tour internationally with original casts.
The TechNoh fusion performance at Suigian combines classic noh theater with a live DJ set and digital projections to retell centuries-old stories.
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2026
Late-night noh theater finds new groove in techno and jazz
A Tokyo restaurant and bar formalizes its after-dark experiments with a new Friday-night series.
Across genres, performing arts this year were collaborating, experimenting and touring the world.
CULTURE / Stage / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 19, 2025
Tradition, remixed: A year on Japan¡¯s stages
From kabuki¡¯s newfound fans to experimental theater¡¯s widening scope, Japan¡¯s performing arts scene spent 2025 reaching outward.
Tom Stoppard arrives for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of Lord Snowdon at Westminster Abbey in London in April 2017.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 30, 2025
Oscar-winning U.K. playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
As well as his Oscar, Stoppard won three Oliviers and five Tonys, among the top awards in the theater world.
Autographed manuscripts from ¡°Fushikaden,¡± noh master Zeami¡¯s 15th-century treatise on the traditional Japanese theater performances
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 25, 2025
Japan to push noh master Zeami¡¯s ¡®Fushikaden¡¯ for UNESCO listing
The Executive Board of the U.N. agency is expected to review the bid in spring 2027.
Aya Ogawa, Japanese American playwright and performer based in New York, is bringing her award-winning ¡°The Nosebleed¡± to Japan for the first time.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 20, 2025
Theater beyond borders: Eriko Ogawa¡¯s tenure at the NNTT has a global vision
Over the last decade, Eriko Ogawa has worked to expand the international connections of the New National Theatre, Tokyo.
Noh theater uses several types of masks, including the "onna" (woman) mask.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 6, 2025
Learning to feel noh: The words that unlock its mystery and emotion
Noh theater¡¯s mystery and emotion unfold through careful understanding of the language used.
¡°The Bathhouse of Honest Desires,¡± a Taiwanese-Japanese collaboration, was performed the first weekend of the Autumn Meteorite festival.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 10, 2025
Autumn Meteorite stages a month of inventive theater in Tokyo
The inaugural performing arts festival brings a variety of shows, from monodramas to 20-people, multivenue ensemble productions.
In what is billed as the first major production in English of Hisashi Inoue's "The Face of Jizo,¡± the Japanese play will have performances at the Seymour Centre in Sydney both in English and in Japanese.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2025
¡®The Face of Jizo¡¯: Hisashi Inoue¡¯s play staged in Sydney commemorates WWII victims
Billed as the first major English-language production of the play, ¡°The Face of Jizo¡± also increases the variety of roles for Japanese actors in Australia.
Seri Yanai and Daniel Wishes founded the shadow puppetry company Mochinosha in 2012 when they were students at the London School of Puppetry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 22, 2025
Seri Yanai: ¡®We mix modern and analog to create something new¡¯
The co-founder of Mochinosha, a shadow puppetry company based in Saitama Prefecture, talks about her journey to the stage and her artistic inspirations.
Sung in Japanese, German and Ukrainian, ¡°Natasha¡± is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast. Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens will originate the titular role, with Japanese mezzo-soprano Hiroka Yamashita as Arato and German baritone Christian Miedl as their trickster guide.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2025
¡®Natasha¡¯ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
An original work commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, ¡°Natasha¡± is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast from Japan, Germany and Belgium.
An illustration of a scene from the fourth act of "Aoto Z¨­shi 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 ¡ª even triple ¡ª 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.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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