2004 Volume 42 Pages 89-114
The theatre company of TSUTSUI Tokujiro, a shimpa actor, toured in Europe and America during 1930-31. He performed in more than 70 cities in 22 countries. In the present paper I examine, after a brief description of TSUTSUI's theatrical activities in Japan and abroad, his influence on the prominent stage directors in Europe, such as Copeau, Dullin, Piscator, Brecht and Meyerhold. Although not genuine kabuki, performances of Tsutsui company fascinated Western directors with simple stories full of humane feelings and traditional sword-fighting techniques. In particular, Meyerhold saw Tsutsui's performance in Paris, and believed it was kabuki. Hence some confusion is found in most Meyerhold criticisms. In any case, it seems certain that the above-mentioned stage directors regarded theatricality of Tsutsui's performance to be universally valid..
