Since the mid-1920s, agitprop troupes were established in Japan under the influence of the Russian Revolution and the international socialist movement. Performances took place not only in theatres but also in public spaces such as factory grounds, where the agitprop troupes performed critical social sketches for workers who hardly went to the theatre.

Among these Japanese agitprop troupes, the “Mezamashi-Tai (Alarm clock troupe)” was especially remarkable. The Japanese actor Koreya Senda, who had studied and worked in an agitprop troupe in Germany from 1927 to 1931, became a troupe member in 1932 and promoted its development according to his experiences in Germany. The performances of the troupe included montages of short dramatic pieces, sprechchor and musical pieces. The troupe also performed in front of regular audiences. Their performances created a new theatrical genre. They were simply constructed and the agitprop effect was preferred to artistic perfection. The Mezamashi-Tai became very popular, but it had to close its operations in 1934 under the pressure of the national security law. Some of its former members worked in governmental theatre organizations until 1945.

The activities of the “Mezamashi-Tai” have hardly been researched yet because of their political message and of their “non-artistic” form. However, the approach of the Mazamashi-Tai contained elements which in the meantime have become characteristic features of many theatrical performances since the 1970s until today.

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In this essay I will show the response, the appreciation, and the reception of Kabuki by the Japanese proletarian theatre and profile the performances. Although the close relationship between Shin-geki and Kabuki has been pointed out in previously published articles, Kabuki's association with the proletarian theatre has rarely been discussed before. We can clarify a more authentic view of art in the proletarian theatre, where theatre artists advocated the “revolution”, by comparing it with more traditional Japanese theatres.

First, the Japanese proletarian artists' references and criticisms on Kabuki will be represented. Secondly, I will examine Kurahara Korehito's view of the art form and his influence which stimulated the proletarian theatre artists to pay attention to Kabuki. Finally, the performances by the Taishuza, the company composed of Kabuki actors, will be analyzed, and these arguments will prove the following conclusion: The proletarian theatre consciously and deliberately adopted the other genres of theatres, including Kabuki and Ken-geki. This paper will modify the earlier view of the proletarian theatre and encourage us to reconsider the position of the proletarian theatre in the entire history of Japanese theatre.

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本稿は1925年創刊の雑誌『文藝市場』による街頭での直筆原稿叩き売りに着目し，この実践が有名性に支配された文学界への批判であり，その背景には「直筆原稿」を作家の肉体労働の痕跡とみなし，商品価値を認めるべきだとする同人の主張があったことを明らかにした．また，売上金を共同印刷争議に寄付し，構成派的な「活字」表現を駆使するなど，この試みが労働運動とプロレタリア芸術運動との交点にあったことも指摘した．

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　　　Shigeru Inuta (1891-1957), a well-known writer of peasant literature, constructed Nohonshiso (Japanese Agrarianism), exhibiting his theories of its literature. However, his Nohonshiso has been disregarded for a long time. Therefore, we certainly must remember that his thought is highly suggestive. In this paper, I would like to clarify several important aspects of his Nohonshiso.
　　　Inuta started to write peasant literature from 1918. If one examines his articles, one can see he considered this literature as a self-expression of farmers. He asserted that this literature had been written from their viewpoint. He also considered this literature as an effective means to reorganize rural communities.
　　　In addition, he criticized the peasant literature written by writers of proletarian literature, because they regarded such literature as a strong tool to overthrow the government and the Tenno (Japanese Emperor) system. Inuta, that is to say, criticized that the literature they formulated did not thoroughly expressed the sense and feeling of farmers, and that it lacked the reality of agriculture and rural life.
　　　In 1938, an association of peasant literary writers and theorists, Nomin-bungaku-konwakai, was organized by the government authorities. Most of them took part in this national association of for peasant literature. Unfortunately, it played the role of a governmental agency and, in World War II, it supported Japanese Fascism.
　　　Inuta, however, did not take part in this association, because he thought that its literature should express the sense and feeling of peasants, and the reality of agriculture and rural life. He definitely did not think that it should be adjusted to national policy.

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