Nippon Wars And Other Plays

Nippon Wars and Other Plays provides a unique and fascinating window into the last thirty years of Japans dynamic theater scene. This collection of plays from renowned Japanese theater artist Takeshi Kawamura gathers together for the first time in English several of his most important plays. Nippon Wars and The Lost Babylon explore Japans popular culture during and after the economic bubble of the late 1980s and capture the cultures apocalyptic but sublime essence. The intertextual work Hamletclone examines the violent complications and stultifying inertia of contemporary politics. Two of Kowamuras more recent plays Aoi and Komachi look at how memories of the past remain in our consciousness. Also included in this collection is the tragedy The White House in the Hills of Argos where myths of ancient Greece and Japans popular culture collide. With an introductory essay by a specialist in contemporary Japanese theater Peter Eckersall and translations by leading scholars and artists Nippon Wars and Other Plays provides an essential look into Japans contemporary theater scene.