In 1902, Kyoto Engeki Kairyo Kai, literally “The Theatre Improvement Organization in Kyoto”, was established. The aim of this organization was to reform conventional theatrical forms in order to modernize them, placing special weight on improving dramatic scripts. Takayasu Gekko, who has been regarded as an old-fashioned playwright of Kabuki, took a key role, as a matter of fact, in this new movement.

However, the activities of Kyoto Engeki Kairyo Kai ended after giving only three public performances. Although the organization used to focus on the pieces of Gekko, his drama was not staged in the organization's last public performance in 1903, in spite of having been nominated initially.

In this paper, I re-examined the relationship between Gekko and the organization, especially focusing on the meaning of the third and last public performance, which has never been examined in detail until now. This investigation shall clear out the reason why the movement failed, as well as the real reason which disturbed modernization of Japanese theatre at that time. This is an attempt of reassessing the playwright Takayasu Gekko in the context of the theatre history in Japan.

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.

　The modernisation of the Japanese theatre began with translations and adaptations of Western plays, and there were a number of Irish plays translated and adapted in the Japanese theatrical scene. Ireland was trying to establish its own national theatre and had aspects similar to Japanese New Drama. In this paper, Shoyo Matsui's adaptational process is examined taking the example of Yuki no furu yo [Snowy Night].

　Shoyo Matsui was one of the prominent reformers of the Japanese theatre and he produced a multitude of translations and adaptations as well as plays of his own creation during the foundational period of New Drama. His first travel to Europe was between 1906 and 1907 where he studied actual modern Western plays. After returning to Japan, he introduced a substantial array of theatrical reforms, ranging from performance skills to theatrical systems.

　Yuki no furu yo [Snowy Night] premiered in March 1921. It is an adaptation of The Troth written by Rutherford Mayne, a Belfast playwright. The story inspired Matsui to write a Japanese version because as he said, “the original reminded me very much of tragedies which occurred in the North-East district where I was born”. Using Kabuki and Joruri motifs, the adaptation is converged into the dichotomy between “landlord and tenant farmers”and its dramatism is enhanced from the original.

　Like Mayne, Matsui focused on the ordinary people and considered plays for the general public. Since he started his career as a Kabuki playwright, he was well aware of the power of classic dramas attracting the people, thus attempting to use their essence. Meanwhile, he defied conventional theatrical systems and tried to establish the New Drama comparable to Western theatre. Matsui’s reformation led to fierce opposition from conservative supporters of the theatre, though his methods subsequently took over this conventionalism.

　暗い世界は明るい世界への序幕である．現代企業の戦略行動はますます衆目を集めることになろう．戦略研究の基本的な視角の構成要素としては，管理論の流れをくむ意思決定プロセス論者の視角と制度論の流れをくむ構造論者の視角に注目しなければならない．この二つの要素的視角の統合において現代企業の戦略研究の視角は構築されることになろう．構築された視角は，研究対象として，企業戦略（基本戦略）と事業戦略（下位戦略）を内包する．