__Kabuki__ at the Crossroads: Years of Crisis, 1952-1965

Samuel L. Leiter's Kabuki at the Crossroads: Years of Crisis, 1952-1965 is the first detailed account of Japan's kabuki theatre in the years immediately following the end of the Occupation. It examines every aspect of this traditional theatre as it struggled to maintain its position in a rapidly changing postwar entertainment environment. It covers acting rivalries, major productions, theatres, international tours, the convention of men playing female roles, name-taking and memorial ceremonies, the company system and managerial strategies. In addition, the volume includes numerous appendixes chronicling the period, including a thorough chronology and 150 summaries of new plays never previously discussed in English. And Then There Was One: Tokyo's Three Top Acting Companies -- Three K Factors: Kenkyu Kai, Koryu, And Kaomise -- Kansai Kabuki At The Crossroads -- Communists, Teenage Girls, And Little Theatres: Three Alternative Kabuki Troupes -- When Toho Got Its Mojo -- Yakusha Or Haiyu?: Kabuki Actors At The Crossroads -- Changing Names, Memorial Flames -- Shumei Of The Century: The Danjuro Dilemma -- Till Death Do Your Parts: Debuts, Education, And Mortality -- From The Ginza To Broadway: Kabuki Goes Global -- Playhouses, Programming, And Plays -- Appendixes: A Chronology Of Programs And Events, May 1952 To December 1965 -- B Study Groups: 1952-1965 -- C Traditional Plays And The Zenshin-za 576 -- D The Katabami-za At The Sumida Gekijo And Oji Hall: 1952-1964 -- E Koshiro Vii And Toho 580 -- F Selected Awards: 1952-1965 -- G Shumei: 1952-1965 -- H Acting Debuts: 1952-1965 -- I Actors' Deaths: 1952-1965 -- J Production Statistics: 1952-1965 -- K Actors, Names -- L Synopses Of New Plays Produced At The Kabuki-za: 1952-1965. By Samuel L. Leiter. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Samuel L. Leiter's Kabuki at the Crossroads is a thorough account of Japan's most famous traditional theatre as it struggled to survive in the maelstrom of post-Occupation Japan's rapidly changing entertainment world.