Tsutsui Tokujirō (1881-1953) was a Japanese performer born in Osaka, Japan.

Tsutsui Tokujirō
Born1881
Osaka
Died1953
Kyoto

Career

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Tokujirō began his performance career at 19, performing in a shinpa troupe led by Fukui Mohei[1]:23 In 1920 he joined a group of actors who were not satisfied with the work of Sawada Shōjirō [ja], the artistic director of Shinkokugeki [ja] (New National Theatre).[1]:23 Together they formed a new troupe, which toured the Kansai region, though they also had several shows in Asakusa.[1]:23 As part of the troupe he 'established a solid reputation in kengeki [ja] swordplay dramas.[1]:21

Western tour (1930-31)

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The Tsutsui Troupe was one of the first groups to bring traditional Japanese performance to the United States and Europe.[2] His troupe performed in twenty-two countries,[1]:3 with attendees including seminal directors such as Bertolt Brecht,[3]:255 Jacques Copeau, Charles Dullin,[4] and Vsevolod Meyerhold.[5]:154, n.192

They had a repertoire of sixteen plays that were based on Kabuki plays 'in a mélange of styles with an emphasis on swordplay to appeal to audiences.'[5]:154, n.192 Four of the plays were presented only for Japanese residents in California, and were absent from the rest of the tour.[1]:35 Tsutsui emphasised that he 'wanted to put the Western audience in the presence of the true Japanese theatre, such as the Japanese conceive it'.[3]:135 Contemporary critics, however, questioned this authenticity, noting the number of changes Tsutsui made to traditional Japanese theatre.[3]:136 These included the shortened length of the plays (which had to be under two hours),[1]:33 the use of painted scenery and 'enormous stage settings' in a Western style, 'the troupe's replacement of onnagata', roles traditionally played by male transvestites, with actresses. [3]:136

 
Tokujiro and cast visit Budapest during the time of their performances in Városi Színház (City Theatre) in November, 1930.

Selected performance locations

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Date City Country Theatre Notes Reference
February 1930 Los Angeles United States Figueroa Theatre Under the production of Michio Itō [5]:154
March-April 1930 New York City United States Booth Theatre [2]:344
2 May-June 1930 Paris France Théâtre Pigalle Attended by Edwin Piscator.[1]:68 [3]:135
24 June 1930 London England Globe Theatre [6]
18-25 August 1930 Paris France Apollo [3]:185
3-9 October, 1930 Berlin Germany Theater des Westens Attended by Bertolt Brecht.[7]:41 [3]:255

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Tschudin, Jean-Jacques (2016-01-01). "Kabuki's Early Ventures onto Western Stages (1900‑1930):Tsutsui Tokujirō in the footsteps of Kawakami and Hanako". Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies. English Selection (5). doi:10.4000/cjs.1168. ISSN 2268-1744.
  2. ^ a b Tian, Min (2014). "Theater of Transposition: Charles Dullin and the East Asian Theater". Comparative Drama. 48 (4): 333–370. doi:10.1353/cdr.2014.0028. ISSN 1936-1637. S2CID 204681600.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Tian, Min (2018-11-27). The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre: The Displaced Mirror. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-97178-0.
  4. ^ Tian, Min (2018), ""Free Transposition": The Use of Nō by Jacques Copeau and Suzanne Bing", The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 99–128, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97178-0_5, ISBN 978-3-319-97177-3, retrieved 2020-07-24
  5. ^ a b c Rodman, Tara (2017) Altered Belonging: The Transnational Modern Dance of Itō Michio. (PhD Dissertation, Northwestern University). Available athttps://arch.library.northwestern.edu/concern/generic_works/c821gj87v Accessed 25 July 2020.
  6. ^ Tian, Min (2016-08-09). "Authenticity and Usability, or "Welding the Unweldable": Meyerhold's Refraction of Japanese Theatre". Asian Theatre Journal. 33 (2): 310–346. doi:10.1353/atj.2016.0033. ISSN 1527-2109. S2CID 201746999.
  7. ^ Scholz-Cionca, Stanca; Leiter, Samuel L. (2001). Japanese Theatre and the International Stage. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-12011-2.