はじめに

抄録

Although the realistic style is seemingly resurgent in today's Japanese theatre, especially the so-called “quiet theatre” by young playwrights, realism in Japan has been understood to be almost synonymous with Socialist Realism. This may be a reason, if not the reason, why any discussion on realism in theatre inevitably becomes confused.

This symposium was planned to provide some basic understandings of realism in Japanese theatre. But through discussions some new understandings emerged, too. It was divided into four parts: (1) the historical investigation of the concept of realism in theatre, (2) the reexamination of Socialist Realism, (3) realism in modern Japanese theatre before 1960s and (4) after.