The First Performance of Tsukiji Little Theater Company at Takarazuka Middle Theater (1925)

Abstract

　This paper discusses the first regional performance of Tsukiji Little Theater Company (the Tsukiji Shogekijo, 1924-1929) in 1925, particularly at the Takarazuka Middle Theater. Tsukiji Little Theater opened in June 1924, a year after the Great Kanto Earthquake. The theater company expanded its activities beyond the theater in the second year of its existence, engaging in radio drama and outdoor plays. Around the same time, the company began staging shows outside Tsukiji Little Theater and undertaking regional performances, first in Nagoya, then in Takarazuka. A significant performance established contact between Takarazuka Girls' Revue (the Takarazuka Shojo Kageki, 1914-) and Tsukiji Little Theater; however, extant studies on Tsukiji Little Theater have not deemed it important and this venture was insufficiently discussed by Kaoru Osanai and Yoshi Hijikata. Therefore, the present paper examines the contexts of the regional performances staged by Tsukiji Little Theater and attempts to determine the impact of these performances on the theater of the southern-central (Kansai) region of Japan. 　This study first summarizes the background of the performances presented by Tsukiji Little Theater and Takarazuka Girls' Revue. Tsukiji Little Theater was launched with the slogan “for the people,” It transitioned through a period of searching for its ideal form after Kaoru Osanai declared that the company would only stage translated plays for two years. However, such a quest was not limited to Osanai and Tsukiji Little Theater. Ichizo Kobayashi of Takarazuka Girls' Revue was also very actively advocating the ideal of a national drama during this period. He constructed the Takarazuka Grand Theater, the Takarazuka Middle Theater, and the Takarazuka Little Theater. Tsukiji Little Theater dared to perform in Takarazuka when the city’s theater district was being built. 　Next, the study analyzes the selection of every show performed by Tsukiji Little Theater in Takarazuka. August Stramm’s The Bride of the Moor, Anton Chekhov’s A Marriage Proposal, Reinhard Goering’s Seabattle, and Leonid Andreyev’s He Who Gets Slapped were staged in Takarazuka from August 29 to September 3, 1925. There were a few changes to the original plan: for instance, source materials reveal that Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths was to be presented but was not approved due to censorship. Also, The Bride of the Moor was staged, directed by Kaoru Osanai, along with Seabattle directed by Yoshi Hijikata, a performance synonymous with Tsukiji Little Theater. This study examines the significance of staging expressionist works at Tsukiji Little Theater at that juncture. 　Finally, the present paper demonstrates similarities between the ideals upheld by Ichizo Kobayashi, who ran Takarazuka Girls' Revue at the time, and the principles adopted by Tsukiji Little Theater. Both companies censured the existing drama groups and critiqued the conventional theaters frequented only by the upper classes, and both targeted audiences comprising people of all classes. The current study shows how Tsukiji Little Theater influenced the domain of theater of Kansai, including inspiring the establishment of Takarazuka Popular Theatre (the Takarazuka Kokumin-za) in 1926. The paper also discusses reviews of plays published in response to performances. The performances, in brief, unlocked new frontiers by attracting the audiences that differed from previous theatergoers.