Special Section

Land of the Rising Stage

Rooted in tradition while branching into the future, Japanese theatre is making new converts, at home and abroad.

Some artists are going beyond fan-driven escapism to do serious, probing work. Might this be Japan’s ticket to the world?

A brief history of Japanese theatre, from its medieval origins to its postwar revolutions.

U.S. theatre’s relationship with its Japanese colleagues has come a long way since Tadashi Suzuki’s 1978 debut here.

How a new genre of stage productions inspired by anime, manga, and video games are making Japanese pop culture 2.5-dimensional.

Non-human theatre both provokes and comforts in a post-Fukushima world.

Japan Society’s artistic director doesn’t just bring works from Japan to the U.S., she invests in and introduces bodies of work.

How Japan’s recent history has both fostered and demanded intercultural exchange with its Asian neighbors.

What should we expect from the U.S. theatre’s field-wide changing of the guard? A new generation of leaders gives cause for cautious optimism.

There are signs of positive change, certainly, though the data show they’re slow and small and qualified.