This study examines the activities of the Sanei impresario family in Dōtonbori, Osaka, during the Meiji period, as well as the historical background of Shochiku's expansion into the area. Led by its founder Mikawa Tsumakichi, Sanei managed theaters, such as Nakaza and Naniwaza, while also participating in the 1887 Theater Reform Movement which sought to modernize theater management.

After Tsumakichi's death, his adopted sons Mikawa Yasugorō and Mikawa Hikoji inherited the name “Sanei” and took charge of the theaters, with Yasugorō managing Ebisuza and Hikoji managing Nakaza. Hikoji not only served as the proprietor of Nakaza but also donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. Additionally, he was a Shinto priest.

Sanei was the first impresario to provide a theater for Shochiku's expansion into Osaka. The latter's entry into Dōtonbori began with a performance at Nakaza in February 1906, facilitated by Hikoji. Another member of the Sanei family, Mikawa Kōzaburō, also worked at Nakaza under Shochiku's management.

This study analyzes the genealogy and activities of the Sanei family to provide a clear understanding of the transformation of theater management in modern Osaka and reevaluate the history of impresarios in Dōtonbori before Shochiku's rise to dominance.

Since the lifting of the overseas travel ban in 1866, millions of Japanese people have lived abroad. In 1940, major Japanese communities apart from Asia included Brazil (approximately 200,000), Hawaii (approximately 150,000), and the mainland United States (approximately 120,000). In these regions, yōkyoku (Noh chant) hobbyists formed clubs.

In Hawaii, activities of yōkyoku clubs were documented as early as the 1910s, but it was in the 1930s that these activities became consistent. In 1936 and 1938, Hawaii Hōshōkai (a Hōshō school hobbyist group in Hawaii) invited Yoshida Royō, a professional instructor, from Japan. This marked a turning point in the club's expansion.

In Brazil, where Japanese immigration peaked during the 1930s, hobbyist groups developed more slowly. In 1939, Suzuki Nobuyuki, a former principal at Fukuoka Women's College, was dispatched by the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs. His visit led to the establishment of Hakuyōkai, the first yōkyoku club in Brazil.

Why were Noh clubs formed in Hawaii and Brazil during the 1930s? In this period, Japan faced isolation from the international community, which prompted the government to reconnect with Japanese immigrants. Additionally, growing patriotism and nationalism motivated intellectual and affluent first-generation immigrants to participate in Noh activities.

This paper aims to clarify the characteristics of establishment of Noh groups in Hawaii and Brazil through an analysis of Japanese-language newspapers published in these two countries.

Shinpa (new school) actor Mizuno Kobi (1863-1928) performed regularly at Tokiwa-za, a small theatre in Asakusa, from 1899 to 1904. His company, Shoreikai, helped establish Shinpa in Tokyo. However, his popularity with the public was thought to have waned by the end of the Meiji period; therefore, his performances during the Taisho period (1912-1926) received limited recognition.

This paper describes the content of Mizuno's performances at Tokiwa-za during the Taisho period, and demonstrates that his company continued to be significant in Shinpa performances even during that time.

Mizuno had his own company that performed at Tokiwa-za from March 1914 to August 1922; from around 1919, his company adopted the name Shin-Shoreikai (New Shoreikai). It has been suggested that during the Taisho period, small theatre companies changed their programmes from Shinpa to Rensageki (a play combining theatre and cinema), and that Tokiwa-za was similarly transformed into a theatre specialising in Rensageki. Mizuno's company performed Rensageki, but continued to stage Shinpa plays. Contemporary film magazines implied that his company remained popular as a company performing Shinpa plays. Shinpa from the Taisho period has been discussed mainly in relation to the companies of Ii Yoho, Kitamura Rokuro, and Kawai Takeo, but Mizuno's company is pivotal for examining aspects of Shinpa that remain undiscussed.

In the salon balls in Paris towards the end of the French Revolution, virtuoso steps such as entrechat came into vogue among amateur dancers who imitated theatrical dancers. They were eager to show off their own skills and the balls were more of a place for self-exhibition than a gathering for everyone to dance together. In this paper, I try to analyze the cause of the phenomenon and delve into its historical significance.

At the turn of the 19th century the virtuoso style of dance was popular at balls as well as in theatres, and this suggested that the age of the bourgeoisie arrived. The popularity represented the last scene of the aristocratic age, when the public had imitated what was danced in the Opéra. As the 19th century progressed, dance was becoming a medium of "fashion" rather than a symbol of aristocracy, and popular dances in the city, cachucha for example, were now adopted and performed in the Opéra. Balls became, then, connections between the city and the theater, and the theater could take in the vitality of the time from the city through them. The bilateral exchange between the theater and the city via balls may have played a role of establishing a style of ballet nowadays: an artistic dance - although it is indeed a traditional dance dating back to the 17th century.