Understanding 'Aterui': Kazuki Nakashima's Rock-Theater Epic | Kishida Prize Play Analysis

Introduction

Kazuki Nakashima (中島かずき) stands as one of the most distinctive voices in Japanese contemporary theater, a playwright whose work with the company Gekidan Shinkansen (劇団☆新感線) has redefined the possibilities of popular theatrical spectacle. His play Aterui (アテルイ), winner of the Kishida Kunio Drama Award, is a sweeping historical epic that tells the story of the legendary Emishi leader Aterui, who resisted the expansion of the Yamato court in the eighth century. Through the lens of Gekidan Shinkansen's signature blend of rock music, martial arts choreography, and larger-than-life theatrical energy, Nakashima transformed this historical narrative into a meditation on resistance, cultural identity, and the costs of empire.

The play represents an extraordinary achievement: a work that functions simultaneously as popular entertainment and serious historical drama, as rock concert and political allegory, as spectacle and substance.

Gekidan Shinkansen: The Context

To understand Aterui, one must first understand Gekidan Shinkansen, the company for which it was written. Founded in 1980, Gekidan Shinkansen -- whose name means roughly "New Sensation Theater Troupe," with a playful star symbol in the middle -- developed a style of theatrical production that is unique in Japanese theater.

Their approach, which they call "inoue kabuki" (いのうえ歌舞伎, named after director Takuya Inoue), combines elements of traditional kabuki theater with rock music, modern pop culture references, elaborate fight choreography, pyrotechnics, and the high-energy performance style of arena rock concerts. Productions are typically three hours or longer, featuring large casts, elaborate costumes, and set pieces that would not be out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.

This aesthetic might sound like pure entertainment, and indeed Gekidan Shinkansen has achieved a level of commercial success that most Japanese theater companies can only dream of, regularly selling out large venues to enthusiastic audiences. But from the beginning, the company has been committed to combining spectacle with substance, and it is this commitment that Nakashima's scripts embody most fully.

Nakashima has been the principal playwright for Gekidan Shinkansen since the 1980s, and the collaboration between his scripts and Inoue's direction has produced some of the most memorable productions in modern Japanese theater history.

The Historical Aterui

The historical Aterui (阿弖流為) was a chieftain of the Emishi, the indigenous peoples who inhabited northeastern Honshu before and during the expansion of the Yamato court (the precursor of the modern Japanese state) into their territories. In 789 CE, Aterui led a force that defeated a Yamato army at the Battle of Subuse, one of the most significant military setbacks suffered by the expanding court.

Aterui continued to resist Yamato expansion for over a decade before finally surrendering in 802 CE. Despite the advocacy of the Yamato general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who had come to respect his adversary and argued for clemency, Aterui was executed in Kawachi Province (modern Osaka).

The story of Aterui touches on some of the most sensitive issues in Japanese history: the relationship between the Yamato state and the indigenous peoples it conquered, the construction of a unified "Japanese" identity, and the violence that accompanied that construction. For most of Japanese history, this story was told from the perspective of the Yamato victors. Nakashima's play offers a radically different perspective.

The Play: Narrative and Structure

Nakashima's Aterui follows the historical narrative while expanding it into a dramatic epic of sweeping scope. The play traces Aterui's journey from local leader to legendary resistance fighter, his complex relationship with Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, and the tragic conclusion of their conflict.

The play is structured as an epic in the classical sense -- a large-scale narrative encompassing political, military, and personal dimensions. Nakashima weaves together battle sequences, political intrigue, moments of comedy, and scenes of intimate emotion into a theatrical tapestry that is both thrilling and intellectually engaging.

One of Nakashima's most effective dramatic choices is the development of the relationship between Aterui and Tamuramaro. Rather than presenting a simple opposition between hero and villain, the play depicts two men of comparable intelligence, courage, and moral seriousness who find themselves on opposite sides of a historical conflict. Their mutual respect, and ultimately their friendship, becomes the emotional core of the play, lending the inevitable tragic conclusion a depth that pure spectacle could never achieve.

The play's structure also incorporates elements of what might be called "theatrical mythology." Nakashima draws on Emishi legends and spiritual traditions to create a world in which the natural and supernatural coexist, in which the land itself has agency and memory. This mythological dimension elevates the historical narrative into something approaching legend, giving the story a timeless quality even as it remains grounded in specific historical circumstances.

Rock Theater: Sound and Spectacle

The musical dimension of Aterui is integral to its impact. Gekidan Shinkansen productions typically feature live rock music that functions not as incidental accompaniment but as a structural element of the performance. The music creates emotional atmospheres, drives the pacing of battle sequences, and provides a contemporary sonic context that makes the historical material feel immediate and vital.

The fight choreography in Aterui is another essential element. Drawing on both Japanese martial arts traditions and contemporary action cinema, the choreographed battles are spectacular set pieces that communicate the physical reality of warfare -- its violence, its chaos, its exhilaration -- in ways that verbal description alone cannot achieve.

But the spectacle is always in service of the story. Nakashima's script provides the dramatic structure and emotional content that prevent the production from becoming mere flash. The most impressive fight sequence in Aterui gains its power not from its choreographic virtuosity alone but from the audience's investment in the characters fighting and the knowledge of what their conflict represents.

Themes: Resistance and Identity

At its thematic core, Aterui is a play about resistance -- military, cultural, and spiritual. The Emishi are fighting not merely to defend their territory but to preserve their way of life, their language, their spiritual traditions, and their identity as a people. The Yamato expansion represents not just conquest but cultural erasure, the replacement of one world with another.

Nakashima handles this theme with considerable nuance. He does not romanticize the Emishi as noble savages or demonize the Yamato as simple oppressors. Both cultures are depicted as complex, with their own internal contradictions and moral ambiguities. The play's sympathies are clearly with Aterui and the Emishi, but it acknowledges the genuine achievements of Yamato civilization and the sincere convictions of figures like Tamuramaro.

This nuance extends to the play's treatment of cultural identity. Aterui suggests that identity is not a fixed essence but a living practice -- something that must be actively maintained and can be lost not only through external suppression but through internal neglect. The Emishi's resistance is ultimately about the right to continue being who they are, and the play's tragedy lies in the recognition that this right is not always honored by history.

Political Resonance

While set in the eighth century, Aterui carries political resonances that are unmistakably contemporary. The play's exploration of imperial expansion, cultural assimilation, and the suppression of indigenous peoples speaks to ongoing debates in Japan about the Ainu, about Okinawa, and about the relationship between center and periphery in Japanese society.

Nakashima does not draw explicit parallels to contemporary politics, but the play's thematic concerns create a space in which such parallels can emerge in the audience's mind. This is one of the advantages of historical drama: by depicting the past, it can illuminate the present without the defensiveness that direct contemporary commentary often provokes.

The Kishida Prize: A Surprising Choice

The awarding of the Kishida Prize to Aterui surprised some observers, given the prize's traditional association with more literary or experimental forms of theater. Gekidan Shinkansen's rock-theater aesthetic was seen by some as too populist, too entertainment-oriented to merit the most prestigious award in Japanese playwriting.

But the prize committee's choice reflected a recognition that dramatic writing of the highest order can take many forms. Nakashima's script for Aterui demonstrates extraordinary skill in character development, thematic complexity, structural architecture, and the integration of language with the other elements of theatrical production. The fact that it achieves these things while also being enormously entertaining is not a weakness but a strength.

The prize also acknowledged the cultural significance of Nakashima's work in making Japanese history accessible and emotionally engaging for audiences who might never pick up a history book. Aterui introduces its audience to a chapter of Japanese history that the official narrative has often marginalized, and it does so in a way that is impossible to ignore.

Legacy

Aterui has become one of Gekidan Shinkansen's most celebrated productions, revived multiple times and reaching audiences far beyond the company's already substantial following. The play has contributed to a broader cultural reassessment of the Emishi and their place in Japanese history, and it has demonstrated that popular theatrical forms can address serious historical and political themes without condescension.

Nakashima's work with Gekidan Shinkansen continues to push the boundaries of what commercial theater can achieve, and Aterui remains a benchmark for the integration of spectacle and substance that defines the company's best work.

For those interested in exploring more Japanese theatrical scripts and discovering works by Nakashima and his contemporaries, visit our script library where you can search for works by various Japanese playwrights.