“The Boxwood Comb” (1912) by Okada Yachiyo is considered to be one of the best-known plays by Okada Yachiyo, and has been discussed mainly in terms of its female character, Otsuna.

The story follows the ominous superstition that the comb can be used to apply curses. This paper focuses on the curse of the 33-tooth comb and cites the work of Ryutei Tanehiko as an example of the connection between the number 33 and a woman's curse, confirming that the 33-tooth comb is easily connected to Otsuna, a woman. Nonetheless, we will focus on the fact that Toyonosuke is the only person who performs the act of applying the curse with the "The Boxwood Comb", and reconsider this work with Toyonosuke as the central figure.

As a result, not only Otsuna, who has been the focus of attention in the past, but also the mixed feelings and motivations of Toyonosuke and Toyonosuke's father make the story more complex, and the character's conflicts are symbolized by the curse of the comb, resulting in a tragic ending.

The Takarazuka Revue Company, comprising solely of unmarried women, utilizes a distinctive stage makeup characterized by false eyelashes, vibrant eye shadow, and lipstick. Previous studies have highlighted how this elaborate makeup accentuates the inherent femininity of otokoyaku, that is, women who portray male roles on stage. This paper delves into two pivotal moments in the evolution of stage makeup among Takarazuka Revue performers and explores its significance. The first watershed moment occurred before World War II with the transition from traditional white-face makeup to modern makeup techniques introduced in the 1930 Revue show “Parisette,” which embraced bare skin and laid the groundwork for contemporary stage makeup. This shift symbolized an embrace of modern Western aesthetics, expanded the expressive possibilities, and signaled a departure from youthful girlishness. In the postwar era, the makeup at Takarazuka underwent further unique transformations, diverging from Western styles. A notable milestone came in 1974 with Takarazuka's adaptation of the girls' comic “The Rose of Versailles,” marking a significant departure from realism. This paper aims to unravel the historical significance of stage makeup and offers a reevaluation of the Takarazuka Revue Company through the lens of its makeup evolution.

In 1927, Tsubouchi Shiko (1887-1986) produced Hamlet with the Takarazuka Kokuminza theatre. Before this production, he translated, directed, and played the title role at the Imperial Theatre in 1918. This paper examines how Ophelia and Gertrude were depicted in 1927 and how Shiko interpreted them based on views of women common in Japanese society at that time.

Shiko's interpretation of Ophelia as a pure, obedient, and beautiful maiden had not changed since 1918, but his criterion for selecting a suitable actress had. After 1927, Shiko tended to choose based on looks rather than stage skills even though he had prioritised technique in 1918. In the case of Gertrude, Shiko emphasised her personality as ‘a good wife and wise mother’ which appeared in the script in 1918, and Miyoshi Eiko's performance as Gertrude in 1927 was praised for her maternal affection despite her skill in showing sexual allure. Her Gertrude thus embodied the ‘new women’, who required both free expression of sexual desire along with the role of ‘a good wife and wise mother’ after they married in Japanese society during 1920s.

This study shows that Shiko's 1927 performance of Hamlet was a turning point solidifying his interpretations of Ophelia and Gertrude. Particularly his image of Gertrude, as reflecting the social image of the new women at that time, contributed to a production of Hamlet that was enjoyed by the populace.

‘The Beginning of the Shin-Fuji at Meguro (Yamabiraki Meguro no Shin-Fuji)’ is a kabuki play written by Takeshiba Kisui and first performed in 1893. This play was based on the adventures of Kondō Jūzō, a retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate who explored Ezo (current Hokkaido) and the Northern Islands five times during the years from 1798 to 1807. Although the latter half of the play is allotted to an episode of a murder case, the first half describes Jūzō's adventure at the Iturup Island.

In the beginning of the play, Kondo redraws the border between Japan and Russia by pulling out a Russian territorial monument, and he is also described fighting against a brown bear, and the Ainu people. In the following scene, “iomante,” an Ainu ceremony in which a brown bear is sacrificed was represented on the stage.

These eccentric settings and the gaps from the historical facts regarding Jūzō's life reflected the situation of the Meiji era in which the Empire of Japan expanded its territory and the interest in the “alien” people, including the Ainu, was increased among the people. In this paper, I argue that this play can be regard as an example how prejudices for “alien” people and nationalism unconsciously amplified by the popular theatre in the late 19^th and the early 20^th centuries in Japan.

Kubota Mantaroh's play Ohdera Gakkoh was published in 1927, and was first performed at the Tsukiji Little Theater in the following year.

It received widespread critical acclaim at the time and has continued to be regarded as a masterpiece to this day. The purpose of this thesis is to throw light on how Ohdera Gakkoh came to achieve such high regard.

Specifically, through a study of Ohdera Gakkoh, I have established that the play's critical history was distorted and biased. I have also analyzed the contemporaneous discourse and research history surrounding the Tsukiji Little Theater. This has resulted in two new findings: firstly, that underlying the evaluation of Ohdera Gakkoh was the influence of a perspective which conflated Kubota Mantaroh and Chekhov, and secondly, that there was an intermediating normative consciousness that dismissed Chekhov as outdated. The present study also shows that the uncritical acceptance of this settled interpretation led to a limited, merely one-dimensional understanding of Ohdera Gakkoh and the writer Kubota Mantaroh.