Tsutsui Tokujirō

Tsutsui Tokujirō (1881-1953) was a Japanese performer born in Osaka, Japan.

Tsutsui Tokujirō
Born	1881 Osaka
Died	1953 Kyoto

Career

Tokujirō began his performance career at 19, performing in a shinpa troupe led by Fukui Mohei^:23 In 1920 he joined a group of actors who were not satisfied with the work of Sawada Shōjirō, the artistic director of Shinkokugeki (New National Theatre).^:23 Together they formed a new troupe, which toured the Kansai region, though they also had several shows in Asakusa.^:23 As part of the troupe he 'established a solid reputation in kengeki swordplay dramas.^:21

Western tour (1930-31)

The Tsutsui Troupe was one of the first groups to bring traditional Japanese performance to the United States and Europe. His troupe performed in twenty-two countries,^:3 with attendees including seminal directors such as Bertolt Brecht,^:255 Jacques Copeau, Charles Dullin, and Vsevolod Meyerhold.^{:154, n.192}

They had a repertoire of sixteen plays that were based on Kabuki plays 'in a mélange of styles with an emphasis on swordplay to appeal to audiences.'^{:154, n.192} Four of the plays were presented only for Japanese residents in California, and were absent from the rest of the tour.^:35 Tsutsui emphasised that he 'wanted to put the Western audience in the presence of the true Japanese theatre, such as the Japanese conceive it'.^:135 Contemporary critics, however, questioned this authenticity, noting the number of changes Tsutsui made to traditional Japanese theatre.^:136 These included the shortened length of the plays (which had to be under two hours),^:33 the use of painted scenery and 'enormous stage settings' in a Western style, 'the troupe's replacement of onnagata', roles traditionally played by male transvestites, with actresses. ^:136

Tokujiro and cast visit Budapest during the time of their performances in Városi Színház (City Theatre) in November, 1930.

Selected performance locations

Date	City	Country	Theatre	Notes	Reference
February 1930	Los Angeles	United States	Figueroa Theatre	Under the production of Michio Itō	:154
March-April 1930	New York City	United States	Booth Theatre		:344
2 May-June 1930	Paris	France	Théâtre Pigalle	Attended by Edwin Piscator.:68	:135
24 June 1930	London	England	Globe Theatre
18-25 August 1930	Paris	France	Apollo		:185
3-9 October, 1930	Berlin	Germany	Theater des Westens	Attended by Bertolt Brecht.:41	:255