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Miho Mayama

まやま みほ

Mayama Miho

Aliases: 眞山 美保 / 真山 美保子

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1922-07-30 （Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2006-03-12 age 83
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo, Japan → Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
playwright, stage director, actress, theatre company founder
Active Years
1943-2006
Affiliations
Zenshinza (theatre troupe), Shinkyo Theatre Company, Gekidan Shin Seisakuza (Shinseisakuza theatre company), Shinseisakuza Cultural Center, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (Advisory Committee member), Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Advisory Committee member)
Memberships
Japan Directors' Association, International Theatre Institute, Japan Centre
Influenced By
Seika Mayama
Influenced
Ranri Mayama

Education

Japan Women's University
Faculty of Literature / Department of Japanese Literature
Period: 卒業 1943年
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Department of Japanese Literature in 1943.

Awards

Minister of Education's Encouragement Award
1952
Work: Dorokabura
Organization: Ministry of Education
Result: 受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1959
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize
Result: 受賞
Tokyo Metropolitan Cultural Award (4th)
1988
Organization: Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dorokabura

1952 play/drama

Miho Mayama's first play, premiered in 1952. She wrote, directed and starred in it; it portrays communities and daily life in regional towns and villages and was performed more than 10,000 times, including overseas.

regional communitieslaborcommunityfamily

The Story of Ichikawa Magorō's Troupe

1954 play/drama

Written in 1954. The work was later adapted into the film 'Ukigusa Nikki' (Floating Grass Diary), illustrating the intersection of theatre and cinema.

theatre troupesitinerant performanceregional tours
Adaptations
  • [film] Ukigusa Nikki (Floating Grass Diary) (1955)

Running Through the Bandit Wind

1961 play (adapted to film)

A stage piece later adapted into a film released by Toho in 1961. It contains epic elements set in provincial locales.

provincial lifeconflictepic narrative
Adaptations
  • [film] Running Through the Bandit Wind (1961)

The Great Deed of Tobinosu Village

play/drama

One of her plays set in a regional community, emphasizing the lives and solidarity of ordinary people.

regional lifecommunitypopular theatre

Bibliography

  • The Whole of Japan Was My Theatre
  • Dorokabura (play)
  • The Story of Ichikawa Magorō's Troupe

Adaptations

  • House in the Sun (1954)
  • Ukigusa Nikki / Floating Grass Diary (1955)
  • Happiness Is Our Wish (1957)
  • Running Through the Bandit Wind (1961)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realist, populist stage expression influenced by proletarian theatreStage compositions incorporating song, dance and mime
Recurring Motifs
provincial communitiesbonds of communitywork and daily life

Health

  • senility (old age)
    2006年（晩年）
    Died in 2006 due to age-related decline

Legacy

Founder of the Shinseisakuza company and cultural center; contributed to popularizing postwar theatre by touring regional towns, promoting regional culture, and advancing international exchange and stage-to-film adaptations.

Museums

  • Shinseisakuza Cultural Center Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan Opened in 1963

Academic Societies

  • Japan Directors' Association
  • International Theatre Institute (Japan Centre)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (related holdings)
  • Shinseisakuza archives

In Popular Culture

  • Several plays were adapted for film, leaving a mark on Japanese cinema

Quotes

  • The whole of Japan is my theatre
    Source: Book 'The Whole of Japan Was My Theatre' (1957)

Trivia

  • Her father was Seika Mayama, a noted playwright of the shin-kabuki tradition.
  • Her legal given name was Mihoko.
  • Her 1952 play 'Dorokabura' reportedly had over 10,000 performances.
  • In 1963 she established the Shinseisakuza Cultural Center in Hachioji.
  • She was married to actor Kōkichi Makimura (MakiMura Kōkichi).