Makoto Satoh (佐藤信): Theater as Political Action

Introduction

Makoto Satoh (佐藤信, born 1943) is a playwright and director who stood at the forefront of Japan's angura (underground) theater movement. He was a central figure in the company now known as Black Tent Theater (黒テント), which toured Japan for two decades with a large mobile tent. He received the 16th Kishida Kunio Drama Award in 1971 for Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi.

Early Life and Career

Satoh was born on August 23, 1943, in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He left Waseda University in 1965 to complete the training program of the Haiyuza Theatre Company, and in 1966 he co-founded the Underground Free Stage Theater (自由劇場, Jiyū Gekijō). The company staged its early shows in a small rented basement.

In 1968 the Free Stage Theater joined two other troupes, Rokugatsu Gekijō (六月劇場) and Hakken no Kai (発見の会), to launch Theater Center 68 (演劇センター68). The group changed its name as it changed shape: mobile tent performances began in 1970, the name 68/71 Black Tent (68/71黒色テント) was adopted in 1971, and the company became Theater Black Tent (劇団黒テント) in 1990. Like Juro Kara's red tent, the black tent gave the company a performance space outside the established theater world. Between 1970 and 1990 the tent tour reached 120 cities in Japan.

The Kishida Prize-Winning Work

Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi (鼠小僧次郎吉), the play that won Satoh the 16th Kishida Kunio Drama Award, was first staged in 1969 and published by Shobunsha in 1971. It takes its name from a real Edo-period burglar. The historical Jirokichi, nicknamed Nezumi Kozō ("Rat Boy"), broke into the residences of daimyo and high-ranking samurai and was executed in 1832. Popular legend turned him into a Robin Hood figure who gave stolen money to the poor, although no record shows that he actually did so.

Theatrical Style and Philosophy

Mobile Performance: The tent tour was the company's defining practice for two decades, taking its productions to cities across Japan.

Brecht: A biography in the program of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF) notes that Satoh wrote and directed plays focused on the works of figures such as Bertolt Brecht.

Asian Exchange: Satoh has worked with theater artists across Asia. In 1980 he joined an international workshop run by the Philippine Educational Theater Association, and in 1983 he represented the organizers of the 3rd Asian Theatre Forum. He has worked closely with Kuo Pao Kun of Singapore, Krishen Jit of Malaysia, Rendra of Indonesia, and Danny Yung of Hong Kong. His later work includes productions and advisory roles in Beijing and Nanjing.

Major Works

In addition to Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi, Satoh's published plays include:

Atashi no Beatles (あたしのビートルズ, My Beatles) --- Published in a 1970 collection.
Comedy Showa (喜劇昭和の世界, Kigeki Shōwa no Sekai) --- A trilogy that the Fukuoka Prize citation dates to 1975-79, written and directed by Satoh, which established his reputation. It consists of:
- Abe Sada's Dogs (阿部定の犬, 1975) --- The title refers to Abe Sada, the woman at the center of a notorious 1936 murder case.
- Kinema and the Phantom (キネマと怪人)
- The Killing of Blanqui: Spring in Shanghai (ブランキ殺し上海の春)

Satoh has also directed extensively, both within and beyond the Black Tent, including plays by Samuel Beckett, Heiner Müller, Bernard-Marie Koltès, and Kuo Pao Kun, and opera such as a Japan-China production of The Magic Flute.

Legacy and Influence

Satoh's influence extends well beyond his own productions. He was the first theater director of Setagaya Public Theatre (1997-2002) and the first artistic director of Za-Koenji, where he also founded a training academy in 2009. He taught at Tokyo Gakugei University from 1998 to 2009, and in 2017 he opened WAKABACHO WHARF, a private art center in Yokohama.

He received the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Prize in 2019. The citation describes both his underground theater work and his exchange with Asian theater artists.

How to Experience Their Work

To discover the plays of Makoto Satoh, visit our script search page to search for available scripts in our library. Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi has its own page there.

Makoto Satoh (佐藤信) | Kishida Prize-Winning Playwright Guide