Photo/Illutration The National Theater in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Oct. 29 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

“This is really and truly serious,” went the first sentence of an article that appeared in 1966 in “Gekkan Bunkazai” (Cultural properties monthly), a special-interest magazine.

Titled “Kokuritsu Gekijo no Tanjo” (The birth of the National Theater) and written by Sakuo Teranaka (1909-1994), who served as a bureau chief at the education ministry after World War II, the article chronicled how Japan’s first national theater came into being.

Contrary to the somewhat foreboding opening line, the author’s exuberance could be felt between the lines.

A veritable maverick since his years as a bureaucrat, Teranaka’s hobbies were “gidayu-bushi” traditional Japanese puppet theater music and oil painting.

He wrote in his magazine article with candor: “The Japanese government, which has never shown even the slightest interest in something like a cultural policy, has finally made up its mind to take 4 billion yen out of its coffers and spend it with abandon.”

And he declared that to be “a cataclysmic event in the cultural history of Japan.”

Building a national theater was a cherished dream of actors and others since the Meiji Era (1868-1912), but many plans came and went, and it was not until about a decade after the end of World War II that a project began to take shape.

The theater was constructed on the former site of an Allied occupation forces barracks and it opened in November 1966.

Teranaka, who was involved in the project from the planning stages, became the theater’s first director.

Fifty-seven years have passed since then.

Yesterday, the theater closed for renovations.

For the renovation project, two biddings have been held in vain. Thus, there are no prospects of the new structure being completed in fiscal 2029, as initially planned.

In the meantime, performances will be held at the New National Theater and some privately operated halls, but I don’t know for how many years that will continue.

I am worried that the perpetuation of traditional performing arts, which the National Theater has always actively promoted, may be negatively affected where nurturing the next generation of artists is concerned.

As the audience continues to age, young people need to be encouraged to take an interest in the performing arts. 

I, myself, became an avid fan of “bunraku” traditional puppeteering, “gakaku” court music and contemporary plays after I saw a Kabuki performance as part of my theater appreciation education while in junior high school.

Yesterday, in the quiet theater, I operated a foot-pedal machine that puts a commemorative stamp on a sheet of paper showing the number of days left until the theater’s closing. It was sad to see the number was 0.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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