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Kensuke Yokouchi

よこうち けんすけ

Yokouchi Kensuke

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-09-22 （Tokyo）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo → Kokura, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka (elementary grade 5 to junior high grade 1)

Career

Occupations
theatre director, playwright, screenwriter, theatre company founder
Active Years
1982-
Affiliations
Founder and artistic director, Tobiraza theatre company
Memberships
Japan Playwrights' Association (Vice Chair: 2008)
Influenced By
Yukio Ninagawa, Ennosuke Ichikawa (Ichikawa Ennosuke), Kunio Shimizu

Education

Kanagawa Prefectural Atsugi High School
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Japan
While in high school his debut work '山椒魚だぞ!' won awards at the National High School Theatre Festival.
Waseda University, Faculty of Letters (First Department)
Period: 在学中に劇団を旗揚げ（1982年）
Country: Japan
Founded the theatre company 'Zen'nin Kaigi' (later 'Tobiraza') in 1982 while at university.

Awards

National High School Theatre Festival — Excellence Award
1979
Work: It's a Salamander!
Organization: National High School Theatre Festival
Result: 受賞
National High School Theatre Festival — Original Script Award
1979
Work: It's a Salamander!
Organization: National High School Theatre Festival
Result: 受賞
Kishida Kunio Drama Award
1992
Work: The King of La Mancha's Nakedness (not seen by the Fools)
Organization: Kishida Kunio Drama Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Otani Takejiro Prize (28th)
1999
Work: New Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Organization: Otani Takejiro Prize
Result: 受賞（史上最年少受賞）
Kitakyushu City Civic Culture Award
2004
Organization: Kitakyushu City
Result: 受賞
Appointed Atsugi City Special Cultural and Arts Ambassador
2010
Organization: Atsugi City
Result: 就任
Appointed Artistic Director, Atsugi Cultural Promotion Foundation
2011
Organization: Atsugi Cultural Promotion Foundation
Result: 就任
Otani Takejiro Prize (44th / Heisei 27)
2016
Work: Super Kabuki II: One Piece
Organization: Otani Takejiro Prize
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The King of La Mancha's Nakedness (not seen by the Fools)

1992 play

A satirical play and one of his representative works; winner of the 36th Kishida Kunio Drama Award.

satiretheatricalityhuman relationships

New Romance of the Three Kingdoms

1999 historical spectacle

A large-scale theatrical work incorporating Super Kabuki elements; earned him the 28th Otani Takejiro Prize as the youngest recipient.

reconstruction of historyepic scaleensemble drama

Super Kabuki II: One Piece

2016 kabuki / stage adaptation

A stage adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's manga 'One Piece' produced as Super Kabuki; Yokouchi participated in scripting/directing and the production received the Otani Takejiro Prize in 2016.

entertainmentpopular culture adaptationadventure

Hi-damari no Ki (play) / The Tree in the Sunlight

1995 play / manga adaptation

A stage adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga; staged multiple times at venues including Le Theatre Ginza and served as the opening performance at Saitama Super Arena.

manga-to-stage adaptationlarge-scale productionhuman drama

Bibliography

  • Tragedy at the Turning (Shinsuisya, 1988)
  • Nocturne: The Gentle Night of Arsonist Tsutomu (Kadokawa, 1988)
  • Shinra Saburomon: Plays by Kensuke Yokouchi (Teatro, 1991)
  • Gypsy: The Tale on the Thousand-Ring Stump (Teatro, 1991)
  • The King of La Mancha's Nakedness: Plays by Kensuke Yokouchi (Teatro, 1994)
  • Yukinojo's Transformation 2001 (Morning Desk, 1995)
  • Hi-damari no Ki: Play (Morning Desk, 1995)
  • Dream Pirates (Morning Desk, 1996)
  • Kaguya: New Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Morning Desk / Seiunsha, 1996)
  • Dragon God Legend (Morning Desk, 1998)
  • Hotel California — My Play: The Story of Kanagawa Prefectural Atsugi High School (Camomile, 1999)
  • Bakumatsu Girl ~ Dr. Oine Story ~ (co-authored with Akuyo Kurosawa, Akita Shoten, 2013)
  • Fantastic Song-and-Music Drama 'Gennai' (co-authored with Akuyo Kurosawa, Akita Shoten, 2013)
  • Secret Rehearsal Room (NHK Publishing, 1994)
  • 'The Power That Dreams' Never Sleeps: Scenes from the Theatre (Shunjusha, 2005)
  • Can't Sleep When Thinking (Access Publishing, 2007)

Adaptations

  • 'Hi-damari no Ki' - stage adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's manga (staged at Le Theatre Ginza, etc.)
  • 'Super Kabuki II: One Piece' - kabuki-style adaptation of a popular manga

Style & Themes

Literary Style
theatrical stagingensemble narrativesblend of entertainment and literary elements
Recurring Motifs
reconstructing historystaging popular culturecoexistence of humor and pathos

Legacy

Kensuke Yokouchi, as founder of Tobiraza, has produced many experimental and large-scale stage works and contributed to blending popular culture with traditional performing arts such as Super Kabuki. He established his reputation through honors like the Kishida Kunio Drama Award and the Otani Takejiro Prize.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Playwrights' Association

In Popular Culture

  • The stage adaptation 'Super Kabuki II: One Piece' drew wide attention for introducing manga-based works into kabuki-style theatre.
  • He has staged and directed TV productions and large public events, helping bridge pop culture and the theatre.

Trivia

  • In 1979 his debut work '山椒魚だぞ!' won the Excellence Award and the Original Script Award at the National High School Theatre Festival.
  • In 1982, while at Waseda University, he founded the theatre company 'Zen'nin Kaigi', later renamed 'Tobiraza'.
  • In 1999 he became the youngest recipient of the 28th Otani Takejiro Prize for 'New Romance of the Three Kingdoms'.
  • He is active beyond traditional theatre, directing Super Kabuki productions and large-scale public events.