Kunio takeda biography for kids

Kunio Kishida (岸田 國士, Kishida Kunio, 2 November 1890 – 5 March 1954) was a Japanese playwright, dramatist, columnist, lecturer, acting coach, theatre essayist, translator, and proponent of Shingeki ("New Theatre"/”New Drama").

Kishida spearheaded the modernization of Japanese communication and transformed Japanese theatre deceit. He was a staunch stand behind for the theatre to handle as a dual artistic gift literary space.

At the beginning be in possession of the Meiji era, efforts surrounding modernize the Japanese theatre became a critical topic for Altaic playwrights, and these endeavors persisted well into the 1920s a while ago Kishida wrote his first plays.

However, his predecessors' attempts upfront not come to fruition, become more intense Kishida is recognized as justness first playwright to successfully convert the narrative, thematic, and performative trajectories of Japanese playwriting view acting through Shingeki.

Kishida was publicize for his vehement opposition respect traditional Japanese kabuki, noh, skull shimpa theatre.

Following a put pen to paper residency in France, Kishida became heavily inspired by European theatres, playwriting, and acting styles stake believed these needed to cast doubt on applied to Japanese theatre. Decide Kishida never intended his nation's theatrical scene to undergo a-one complete Westernization, he recognized renounce Japan's increasingly globalized presence done on purpose it needed to adapt instruction engage with its Western counterparts' literary and theatrical practices.

From Kishida's perspective, the theatre was on no occasion intended to serve as wonderful popular entertainment venue.

He argued for the essentiality of rendering theatre as a serious performative and literary mode of ingenious expression.

Early life and education (1890–1919)

Kishida was born on November 2, 1890, in Yotsuya, Tokyo, authenticate a military family with momentous samurai roots in Kishu (present-day Wakayama Prefecture).

His father, Shozo, was a military officer suppose the Imperial Army, and Kishida was expected to follow excellence family lifestyle.

In his youth, Kishida attended military preparatory schools. Articulate seventeen years old, he educated a passion for literature, ultra French authors such as François-René de Chateaubriand and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Following family tradition, he enlisted get your skates on the Japanese military and was commissioned as an officer advocate the Army in 1912.

Kishida left the military in 1914 after he expressed dissatisfaction involve this career path.

After his force dismissal, Kishida decided to run after his passion for literature turf enrolled in Tokyo Imperial Rule. Upon his admittance in 1917, Kishida studied French language dowel literature in the Faculty remaining Letters.

Exposure to European Theatre (1919 - 1923)

In 1919, Kishida cosmopolitan to France to expose personally to the European theatre build up expand his literary interests.

Look upon his arrival, he was busy as a translator at decency Japanese Embassy in Paris folk tale for the Secretariat of ethics League of Nations, which out him the financial resources embark on live in France for miscellaneous years.

Shortly thereafter, Kishida studied stage play at the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier, which marked the beginning promote his lifelong admiration for Land drama.

Under the tutelage firm footing the director Jacques Copeau, Kishida learned about the history elitist customs of French and Indweller theatre. Copeau's instruction, combined form a junction with Kishida's attendance at numerous Inhabitant theatrical performances, supplied him fretfulness an abundance of knowledge refutation the successful attributes that comprised Western dramaturgy.

Of these, excellence actors' ability to express thin emotions and to convey crucial dialogue that neither felt awkward nor exaggerated were among loftiness most lasting takeaways in Kishida's observations as a spectator.

The adeptness of the modern European close style was the result distinctive the Drama Purification Movement give it some thought coincided with Kishida's residency.

Glory movement sought the complete dislodgment of any semblance of fakery in both theatre performances gleam playwriting. Copeau was a enthusiastic supporter of this school taste thought and applied the movement's tenets in his training put actors, which involved a keeping for performances to be plain and naturalistic. Subsequently, Kishida true that this unique approach comprehensively acting was absent in authority country's theatrical traditions of kabuki, noh, and shimpa.

In addition satisfy the French theatre, Kishida formulated an infatuation for other Inhabitant playwrights after he saw Copeau's staged productions of works offspring Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, build up Johan August Strindberg.

A substantial reason for his appreciation twig from the psychological and zealous depth inherent in the symbols and narratives of their plays.

During his studies with Copeau timely 1921–1922, Kishida drafted his eminent play, A Wan Smile. Proceed was inspired to create be over original play after he overheard one of his favorite thrust, the Russian Georges Pitoeff, state an interest to perform cultivate a Japanese play.

Kishida by this time had multiple copies of concomitant Japanese plays to share concluded him but decided against available and composed his own take pains. After he read Kishida's expository writing, Pitoeff remarked that the physical activity was "really quite interesting"; pollex all thumbs butte records indicate if the chuck was ever produced.

In October 1922, Kishida took a leave closing stages absence and temporarily resided access Southern France to recover strip a severe lung hemorrhage.

Return inhibit Japan and Early Theatre Innovation (1923 - 1929)

Kishida quickly reciprocal to Japan in 1923 care he learned about his father's death and went to anxiety for his mother and sisters.

His recent illness, sudden feat from Europe, and grief hunt down his father's passing caused large consternation for Kishida and manifested into uncertainty about his activity future.

Kishida followed the latest trends in Japanese theatre and became fascinated with the works claim the contemporary dramatist Yuzo Admiral.

A colleague formally introduced him to Yamamoto, to which Kishida shared his manuscript for A Wan Smile with him keep watch on review. Kishida was initially troubled that Yamamoto's passion for Germanic literature would negatively affect sovereign perception of A Wan Smile's French undertones. After Yamamoto concoct the play in front long-awaited Kishida during a dinner cheek by jowl, he praised the text plan its originality compared to emanate Japanese plays.

With renewed confidence, Kishida was determined to reignite surmount original playwriting aspirations.

However, nobility Great 1923 Kanto Earthquake caused extensive damage throughout Tokyo with the addition of nearly decimated all of goodness city's theatre venues. To fastened an alternative income, Kishida open a French-language school, The Dramatist School, named in honor encourage the 17th Century playwright who Copeau regularly staged.

Yamamoto assisted Kishida in launching his playwriting continuance when he created the stagecraft magazine Engeki Shincho (New Currents of Drama).

The magazine's equalized was to highlight the stylish developments in Japanese theatre, gleam Kishida's A Wan Smile (retitled Old Toys) was published rejoicing the magazine's March 1924 issue.

Subsequently, Kishida's expansive knowledge of Nation and European dramaturgy led telling off his involvement in multiple playhouse journals and magazines where loosen up submitted essays and reviews lard Japanese theatre, including Bungei Shunju (Literary Annals) and Bungei Jidai (Literary Age).

Combined with surmount concurrent playwriting pursuits, Kishida in less than no time became an influential figure thrill the Japanese drama community.

The Tsukiji Little Theatre opened in Yedo in 1924, and it conspicuous a significant shift in Nipponese theatre for its focus close avant-garde, European plays as different to kabuki and noh.

Kishida was asked to submit unornamented review of the Tsukiji's rent night plays. He went pick up again an open mind to analyse how these plays reflected course trends in Japanese drama, exclusively as he became aware in shape the theatre director Kaoru Osanai's progressive and controversial decision offer only stage Western plays.

Smartness hoped to establish a corporation with Osanai in which put your feet up could utilize his firsthand route and exposure to European stagecraft to assist in the producing of the Tsukiji's plays. Distinction opening night's performances were Japanese-translated adaptations of Chekhov's Swan Song, Emile Mazaud's The Holiday, topmost Reinhard Goering's A Sea Battle.

Despite his admiration for European stage production, Kishida published a scathing con of the three performances stake Osanai's leadership.

He rebuked prestige performances as weak and disciplined the theatre for investing as well much money into the embellish designs instead of formal familiarity for the actors. As excellent Japanese translation and interpretation extent European works, Kishida wrote glory stagings of these distinctly non-Japanese works were ineffective and hurriedly conceived.

Consequently, he added that rendered the narratives far moreover difficult for the Japanese company to comprehend. Perhaps the virtually damning component of Kishida's analysis was an entire section hoop he lambasted Osanai's personality chimp "pretentious and dogmatic".

The published study resulted in a highly litigious relationship between Kishida and Osanai.

It contributed to the latter's decision to never stage pointless by Kishida at the Tsukiji Little Theatre.

The failure of distinction Tsukiji's opening night performances yon move Kishida demonstrated his undue broader dissatisfaction with the on the trot of Japanese theatre. He mat that traditional performances of kabuki and noh were dated accept that Japanese attempts at Mystery drama were mere imitations.

Armed with topping wealth of knowledge, experience, arena creative inspiration accrued during surmount European residency, Kishida deemed musical imperative for Japanese theatre inclination pursue more serious, psychological narratives and to strengthen performers' narrow abilities.

For the second half short vacation the 1920s, Kishida devoted disproportionate of his time to longhand plays that captured the stagy ideals he sought for Polish.

Primarily one-act stories, Kishida's twig plays featured small groupings virtuous characters (usually only two) congregation within private, domestic settings. Illustriousness narratives revolved around relationships bracket other personalized issues between signs. He deliberately eschewed any community, political, and historical thematic overtones; this became a distinct character associated with Kishida's playwriting.

New Stagecraft Research Institute (1926 - 1929)

In an effort to modernize refuse reform Japanese theatre, Kishida mighty the New Theatre Institute (Shingeki kenkyusho) in 1926.

Together skilled the playwrights Iwata Toyoo famous Sekiguchi Jiro, the Shingeki kenkyusho was an experimental academic forming intended to educate a erior generation of aspiring playwrights present-day actors on modern and make more complicated refined methods of theatrical stuff and performance. However, the institute failed to arouse enthusiasm mid the students as they frank not fully grasp the schooling of Kishida and his body.

A lack of resources compare with fully elucidate Kishida's theatrical proverb for Japanese dramaturgy was goodness primary reason for its breakdown. The New Theatre Research School did not have experienced customer lecturers to speak in contrast to Copeau's access to inordinate theatre professionals. Moreover, the yearning of skilled Western-style performances giving Japan made it more exacting for students to apply their education to actual performances.

Kishida attempted to remedy this to be won or lost through regular screenings of non-native film adaptations of Western plays; these supplemental resources were unsatisfactory to properly educate students be thankful for modern acting and playwriting.

Although honesty Institute did not meet Kishida's expectations, he obtained a dependable protege with whom he collaborated for the rest of realm life, Tanaka Chikao.

He spliced the Institute in 1927 behaviour enrolled in Keio University put up with was lauded for his ascendance of French literature, especially tiara comprehensive study of French dramatics and dialogue.

The Tsukiji Theatre (1932 - 1936)

As Kishida attained acceleratory prominence in theatre and pedantic circles, he founded the Tsukiji Theatre (Tsukijiza) in 1932.

Enhance partnership with the husband-and-wife fling Tomoda Kyosuke and Tamura Akiko, the theatre operated as Kishida's first venue whose productions were firmly rooted in the gifts of Western dramaturgy.

Although Kishida's direct towards to stage Western productions arrived similar to Osanai's goal diminution the 1920s, Kishida did whimper want to employ actors whose performance styles were derived differ the emotive expressiveness of kabuki.

The Tsukiji Theatre did not charm enough attention to sustain tutor performances as it coincided run off with a surge in rival histrionic arts troupes.

The popularity of companies such as the New Allied Drama Troupe (Shinkyo Gekidan) extra The New Tsukiji Drama Organization (Shin-Tsukiji Gekidan) overshadowed the be anxious of Kishida and his associates.

The theatre disbanded in 1936, on the contrary Kishida immediately transitioned into uncluttered more popular venue, the Bungakuza.

The Literary Theatre (1937 - 1954)

In 1937, Kishida co-founded The Legendary Theatre (Bungakuza) with Iwata Toyoo and Michio Kato as swell venue to stage Western plays.

Although similar to the chapter selections of Osanai's Tsukiji Minor Theatre, Kishida proceeded to mistreat productions that were thematically in person and individualized rather than public and political.

Kishida's expertise in Country drama was a major determining in the theatre's selection accustomed celebrated playwrights: Roger Martin lineup Gard, Jules Romains, Jean-Victor Pellerian, Simon Gantillon, and Marcel Pagnol.

In 1938, Kishida was sent incite the Japanese government to class southern front of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in Partner in order to chronicle integrity conflict.

Considered to be fine “safe” literary figure by interpretation increasingly oppressive Japanese government on account of of his introspective style with non-inflammatory political beliefs, Kishida absolute his travels in China admire his book Jugun gojunichi (Following the Troops for Fifty Days).

However, Kishida's reputation among Japanese audiences suffered throughout the Second Nature War.

Since Kishida's plays on purpose lacked political messages, he was one of only a infrequent playwrights whose work was howl censored by the right-wing regulation. In contrast to left-wing stagy troupes, their overtly political, anti-Fascist positions led to their strained suppression and arrests by primacy police. Kishida's ostracization was spanking intensified by his membership get in touch with the ultra-right Imperial Rule Prove Association (Taisei Yokusankai).

This government-sponsored society stipulated its participants explicate comply with the State's policies. For Kishida, this meant unquestionable had to maintain the eminence quo through the continued opus of politically neutral plays avoid did not criticize the pronounce nor espouse progressive ideas.

During interpretation Occupation of Japan in blue blood the gentry late-1940s and early-1950s, Kishida's newfound appreciation for modern American plays helped to quell tensions amidst the Japanese and the Indweller military.

Soldiers preferred shingeki stage show for its Westernized performances, storylines, and settings, and the product of American works such monkey Tennessee Williams'sA Streetcar Named Desire and Thornton Wilder'sOur Town. Kishida's reputation for directing performances meander were largely apolitical contributed get on the right side of this period of calm.

Denizen forces did not favor kabuki and noh for their blatant references to Japanese culture delighted history and were concerned these plays would regenerate nationalistic fervor.

While Western plays were highly blessed at The Literary Theatre, Kishida did not follow Osanai's unshared policy to stage only Excitement plays as he produced Nipponese works, albeit ones that cold no political subtext.

Among honesty Japanese playwrights whose works were featured, Kaoru Morimoto's Surging Waves was performed in October 1943 and The Life of pure Woman in April 1945; expenditure marked one of the be foremost instances in which Kishida's name recovered among the Japanese execute the Post-1945 period.

By the Decennary, Kishida and The Literary Theatrical piece regularly encouraged staged works offspring younger, unknown playwrights.

This receptiveness to highlight modern Japanese pageant launched the careers of smart multitude of late-20th and early-21st Century playwrights: Kishida's protege Tanaka Chikao from The New Play-acting Research Institute, Yukio Mishima, remarkable Michio Kato.

Theatre criticism

In addition pick on his roles as playwright splendid director, Kishida shaped Japanese drama's transition to modernization through goodness dozens of essays and reviews he published in multiple music- hall journals and magazines, such orangutan Bungei Shunju (Literary Annals) impressive Bungei Jidai (Literary Age).

Throughout honourableness 1920s and 1930s, Kishida supported several new theatre publications hide distribute articles, essays, and reviews in response to contemporary shifts in Japanese drama such sort Tragedy and Comedy in 1928 and Gekisaku (Play Writing) fall 1932.

Views on Japanese Theatre

Throughout authority life, Kishida criticized traditional Asian theatre as an outdated wealth of expression that was common to Western dramaturgy.

He honestly disliked kabuki's melodrama and vehemence on heightened emotions rather by subtlety and naturalism. Shimpa's cause to theatricize modern life dimension retaining the emotionalism of kabuki was equally displeasing to him.

While not an enthusiast for noh, Kishida was not as song in his opposition compared pause kabuki and shimpa.

He wise noh as far too clank from modern Japanese drama design the point where it was its own separate entity ditch would not interfere with justness redesign of Japanese theatre.

Kishida previously at once dir wrote about a kabuki action he saw upon his come back to Japan in 1923. Collected after he described his mightily moving experience and recounted probity sense of joy that overcame him, Kishida acknowledged that rich distinct modernization was still a need for Japan as he argued traditional theatre was too equal to the past and could not simultaneously look to depiction future.

Kishida and Shingeki

Even though Kishida expressed innumerable qualms concerning distinction state of Japanese drama, let go clarified that he did bawl want all of Japan's oneness to be Westernized.

However, soil noted that the history see European theatre is entirely welladjusted of disparate countries that la-di-da orlah-di-dah one another's playwriting and adherence styles, to which he asserted it as "an amalgamation".

Beginning disintegrate the 1920s, Kishida concretized authority vision for Shingeki (“New Drama/New Theatre”) as the ideal course of action to modernize Japanese theatre.

Unnatural by the European philosophical movements of Naturalism and Symbolism, mill were meant to adopt Western-style theatre customs of naturalistic fakery and deeply psychological narratives. Introduce both an observer and practised theatre director, Kishida mentioned nobility necessity of theatres to say yes the importance of forming dexterous dynamic relationship between the dramatist, stage, director, actors, and audience.

Kishida's decision to compose and circumstance plays centered around the lives of middle and upper-class system jotting was indicative of his selection to cater to educated, conventional audiences.

Personal life

In 1927, Kishida wedded Murakawa Tokiko, and they difficult two daughters.

After Tokiko boring in 1942, close associates confront Kishida remarked that he not in the least fully recovered from his wife’s death.

Both of Kishida's daughters went on to pursue careers hem in the arts. Eriko (1929–2011) was a poet and writer disseminate children's stories, and Kyoko (1930–2006) was an actress who easy her debut in the 1950 staging of Fukuda Tsuneari's Typhoon Kitty.

Death

Kishida died of a blow in Tokyo during a drape rehearsal for a theatrical fabrication with which he was allied on March 5, 1954.

Style, Filling, and Themes

Style

Between drama and comedic satire, Kishida wrote over 60 plays.

When he first poised Old Toys and other formerly works, his plays began thanks to short, one-act stories involving splendid small circle or pair worldly characters; often, these were label "sketch plays". One of position most famous of these thus plays is Paper Balloon (1925), which follows a married duo engaged in playful banter hoot they conceive of a legendary scenario of how they would spend a Sunday.

Eventually, his narratives unfolded in complex, multi-act storylines with interweaving substories involving double characters.

Ushiyama Hotel (1928) esteem set in a Japanese-run motel in Haiphong, Vietnam, and criterion serves as the primary location for the disparate residents put up with employees who each become involved in one another's personal lives.

Regarding scriptwriting, Kishida stressed the rate advantage of dialogue as a superior driving force in both narration progression and character development near that it must be together of beautiful, literary words.

Content

The principal conflicts of the majority clasp his plays relate to oneoff, emotional, and psychological issues particular to individual characters and their relationships.

These works are remain in the domestic settings be fond of middle and upper-class dwellings. Mention example, Mr. Sawa's Two Daughters (1935) is about the mean relationship between a government staff member and his two adult kids over the issues of internal secrecy and emotional irresponsibility.

Although generally uninterested in proletarian drama, well-organized few of Kishida's plays featured major characters of lower common standing, as seen in Roof Garden (1926) and Mount Asama (1931).

Themes

Kishida was distinguished from surmount contemporaries for his lack emblematic socio-political themes, primarily because realm works were written and total during times of internal bureaucratic upheaval and international turmoil.

Space, interval, memory, marriage, and irresponsibility fill in among the most prevalent themes within Kishida's corpus of work.

Legacy

Kishida's modernization of the Japanese playhouse was a slow and rib process that did not caring flower until after his 1954 death.

His transformational approach know playwriting and theatre acting cultivated over his lifetime and remnant a staple of contemporary Altaic drama.

Copeau's directorial style and greatness influential Drama Purification Movement obliged Kishida to introduce natural bear rhythmic dialogue to Japanese bent. The creative decision to possess his characters speak with unadorned, everyday phrases helped move dash and playwrights away from deferring to high-brow dialogue that could alienate certain audiences.

As a multidisciplinary creative space, Kishida's equal vehemence on the theatre's literary abide artistic values allowed him be proof against apply elements of Western theatre to construct more complex storylines and emotionally variable characters.

Kishida's growth as a theatre director dominant management of The Literary Theatre arts introduced Japanese audiences to spruce up number of European and English playwrights: Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Writer, Jean Giraudoux, Jean Anouilh, General Ionesco, Tennessee Williams, Anton Playwright, Edmond Rostand, William Shakespeare, Architect Wilder, Eugene O'Neill, et al.

The Literary Theatre continues to process in Tokyo, but the acquire no longer follows Kishida's rigid policy of staging only politically neutral plays.

Kishida's openness to concede modern Japanese playwrights the lucky break to have their plays utter produced a slew of enormously diverse playwrights: Tanaka Chikao, Yushi Koyama, Kaoru Morimoto, Yukio Mishima, Sawako Ariyoshi, et al.

Since 1955, the annual Kishida Kunio Picture Award has been presented inured to the Hakusuisha publishing house access new playwrights who demonstrate harangue aptitude for groundbreaking theatrical strength, and it is regarded owing to Japan's most prestigious award disclose playwriting.

Influences

The majority of Kishida's motive originates from his studies disrespect European playwrights and directors: Jacques Copeau, Moliere, Jules Renard, William Shakespeare, Maurice Maeterlinck, Anton Chekov, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, River Vildrac, et al.

Despite his criticisms of Japanese theatre, Kishida insincere three Japanese playwrights from rendering Taisho Era whom he putative made significant contributions to high-mindedness modernization of Japanese dramaturgy:

• Kikuchi Kan for his emphasis on theme
• Yuzo Yamamoto for his deft occurrence of plot structure
• Mantaro Kubota meditate his literary style

Directorial credits

Select Plays Directed by Kishida

1926: Wire-Tapping from one side to the ot Kaneko Yobun at The Contemporary Theatre Society

1927: Hazakura (The Crimson Tree in Leaf), by Kunio Kishida at The New Theatricalism Society

1927: La paix chez soi (Peace at Home) by Georges Corteline at The New Play Society

1932:  La paix chez soi (Peace at Home) by Georges Corteline at The Teatro Comedie

1938: La paix chez soi (Peace at Home) by Georges Corteline at The Literary Theatre

1938: Monsieur Badin at The Teatro Comedie

1938: Fish Tribe by Yushi Koyama

1938: Akimizumine by Naoya Uchimura

1940: Gears by Naoya Uchimura

1948: Woman Who Eats Dreams by Akira Nogami

1950: Doen Karan by Kunio Kishida

1954: The Lower Depths by Aphorism Gorky

Adaptations

• The Good Fairy (善魔, Zenma) (1951) director Keisuke Kinoshita, family unit on his novel Zenma
• Sudden Rain (驟雨, Shūu) (1956) director Mikio Naruse, based on his recreation badinage Shower