So Kitamura (北村想): The Nagoya Playwright Behind Hogiuta

Introduction

So Kitamura (北村想, born 1952) is one of the most distinctive voices in modern Japanese theater. Long based in Nagoya rather than Tokyo, he has written roughly 200 plays as well as novels, radio dramas, and essays. His receipt of the 28th Kishida Kunio Drama Award in 1984 for Eleven Boys (十一人の少年) came five years after Hogiuta (寿歌, also rendered as Ode to Joy), the post-nuclear road play for which he remains best known.

Early Life and Career

Born in 1952 in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Kitamura moved to Nagoya after finishing high school. He began making theater with the drama club at Chukyo University, where he took part as an unofficial student rather than an enrolled one.

In 1979 he launched the company T.P.O. Shi-dan (TPO師★団). It was renamed Suisei '86 (彗星'86) in 1982 and Project Navi (プロジェクト・ナビ) in 1986, and it ended its activities in 2003. Nagoya remained the center of this work, and he later continued to write and stage productions there with the unit avec beads (avecビーズ).

Hogiuta (寿歌)

Hogiuta, from 1979, is the play that made Kitamura's name. It follows three traveling performers who wander and perform in the barren towns of a world left desolate by nuclear war. The Japan Foundation's profile describes its tone as both bright and sad, and the play was performed for about 15 years.

Kitamura returned to this world decades later: a new installment, Hogiuta IV, was written for the 2012 collection Hogiuta: Zen Yon-kyoku (寿歌―全四曲―, Hakusuisha). He has compared the series to a road movie, in which characters appear and talk and the play moves forward through those encounters.

The Kishida Prize-Winning Work: Eleven Boys (十一人の少年)

In 1984, Kitamura received the 28th Kishida Kunio Drama Award for Eleven Boys (十一人の少年), which Hakusuisha had published in 1983. Hogiuta had already been a candidate for the prize, in the 1979 collection in which it appeared.

The published Japanese text is the best way to approach the play itself.

Theatrical Style and Philosophy

Situation and Character First: In an interview with AI HALL, Kitamura said that he tells his playwriting students not to work out a story or theme in advance, and that he himself thinks only about situation and character. The characters then move the play along as they talk, and he writes it down.

Brightness in a Ruined World: The Japan Foundation describes the tone of Hogiuta, set after a nuclear holocaust, as bright but sad. In the same interview he says the Hogiuta series has little plot in the usual sense, but that it is also a little different from anything "post-dramatic."

Nagoya as a Base: Kitamura built his company and much of his career in Nagoya. In 2020 he received the Chunichi Cultural Award, in recognition of work that included pioneering contemporary theater from a Nagoya base.

Major Works

Beyond Eleven Boys and Hogiuta, his works include:

Sōkō: Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru (想稿・銀河鉄道の夜) and Akuma no Iru Christmas (悪魔のいるクリスマス)
Yuki wo Watatte: Dai-ni-kō, Tsuki no Akarusa (雪をわたって…第二稿・月の明るさ) -- Recognized with a Kinokuniya Theater Award for Personal Achievement
Goodbye (グッドバイ) -- The first work in his "Japanese Literature Theater" series, begun in 2013 under the production of SIS company and based on Osamu Dazai's unfinished novel. It won the 17th Tsuruya Namboku Drama Award
Kusamakura (草枕) -- The second work in the same series, based on Soseki Natsume's novel

In addition to his playwriting, Kitamura has written novels and essays. His novel Kaijin Nijūmensō-den (怪人二十面相・伝) was the source for the film K-20, and his book on theater, Ren'ai-teki Engeki-ron (恋愛的演劇論), appeared from Matsumoto Kobo in 2013.

Legacy and Influence

Kitamura's reach extends beyond his own plays. For about 20 years he has led Itami Soryu Shijuku, a playwriting seminar at AI HALL in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture. His career also shows that a major career in Japanese playwriting could be built from Nagoya rather than from Tokyo.

How to Experience Their Work

For international audiences interested in exploring So Kitamura's work, there are several avenues to pursue.

Published Scripts: Kitamura's plays have been published in Japanese. We could not confirm a published English translation of Eleven Boys or Hogiuta.

Academic and Reference Resources: The Japan Foundation's Performing Arts Network Japan has an English-language profile and interview.

Theater Library (戯曲図書館): Our platform lists Hogiuta, Eleven Boys, and Goodbye, and you can browse the collection to discover other Japanese plays.

So Kitamura (北村想) | Kishida Prize-Winning Playwright Guide