Japanese Literary Awards

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Hideki Noda

のだ ひでき

Noda Hideki

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-12-20 （Sakito, Nishisonogi District, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (now Saikai City)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (birthplace) → Tokyo, Japan (raised and long-term residence) → London, UK (1992-1993, study/residency)

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Director, Actor, Professor
Active Years
1972-
Affiliations
Yume no Yuminsha (theatre company; founder), NODA MAP (theatre production company; artistic director), Tama Art University (Professor; later Honorary Professor), Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Artistic Director)
Influenced By
Simon McBurney

Education

Tokyo Education University Affiliated Komaba High School
Period: 1972-1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: Japan
Member of the drama club; published his first play while in high school.
University of Tokyo
Faculty of Law
Period: 1975-1981
Country: Japan
Active in university theatre; left without graduating in 1981.

Awards

Kishida Kunio Drama Award
1983
Work: Beast Descends
Organization: Kishida Kunio Drama Award Committee
Result: Winner
Kinokuniya Theatre Award
1985
Category: Individual Award
Organization: Kinokuniya Theatre Award Committee
Result: Winner
Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival Award
1990
Work: The Third, Richard
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: Winner
Teatro Drama Award
1991
Organization: Teatro Drama Award Committee
Result: Winner
Japan Cultural Design Grand Prize
1997
Organization: Japan Cultural Design Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award
1998
Work: Kill
Organization: Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award Committee
Result: Winner
Tsuraya Namboku Playwright Award
1999
Work: Right Eye
Organization: Tsuraya Namboku Playwright Award Committee
Result: Winner
Kinokuniya Theatre Award
2000
Work: Pandora's Bell
Category: Individual Award
Organization: Kinokuniya Theatre Award Committee
Result: Winner
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
2000
Work: Pandora's Bell
Category: 演劇部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards
2000
Work: Pandora's Bell
Category: Best Play
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Asahi Performing Arts Award Grand Prix
2001
Work: Noda-ban 'Kentarudono Uta' (Noda version)
Organization: Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards
2004
Work: Oil
Category: Best Play
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Director)
2004
Work: Oil
Category: Best Director
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Asahi Performing Arts Award
2004
Work: Red Demon (3 versions), Hashire Mels
Organization: Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Director)
2005
Work: Red Demon (3 versions)
Category: Best Director
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Play)
2005
Work: Red Demon (3 versions)
Category: Best Play
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Ango Prize
2006
Organization: Ango Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2007
Work: Rope
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: Winner
Asahi Performing Arts Award Grand Prix
2008
Work: THE BEE (Japanese & London versions)
Organization: Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: Winner
Mainichi Art Award
2008
Work: THE BEE
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Actor)
2008
Work: THE BEE
Category: Best Actor
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Order of the British Empire (OBE)
2009
Category: Honor
Organization: British Monarchy (conferred)
Result: Appointed OBE
Asahi Prize
2010
Organization: Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: Winner
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2011
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Recipient
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Play / Grand Prize)
2011
Work: The Character
Category: Best Play / Grand Prize
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Outstanding Play)
2013
Work: Egg
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Hayakawa 'Tragedy/Comedy' Prize (1st)
2014
Work: MIWA
Organization: Hayakawa Foundation
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Director)
2020
Work: Q: A Night At The Kabuki
Category: Best Director
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Play)
2020
Work: Q: A Night At The Kabuki
Category: Best Play
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Director)
2022
Work: Fakespear
Category: Best Director
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Play / Grand Prize)
2022
Work: Fakespear
Category: Best Play / Grand Prize
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: Winner
ISPA Distinguished Artist Award
2023
Category: Distinguished Artist Award
Organization: International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA)
Result: Winner (first Japanese recipient)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Beast Descends

1982 Play

One of his early representative plays, featuring word play and intense physical performance in an ensemble drama.

word playviolenceyouthidentity
Translations
  • English translation available

Right Eye

1999 Play

A play inspired by his experience of losing sight in his right eye; deals with vision, the body, and loss.

visionphysicalityloss
Translations
  • English translation available

Pandora's Bell

2000 Play

A large-scale work with allegorical elements, offering a fable-like and critical view of family and society.

familyallegorysocial critique
Translations
  • Known to have translations into English

Forgery: Under the Full Bloom of the Cherry Forest

1992 Play (adaptation of a classic)

Representative of his remakes and reworkings of classics—boldly reconstructs modern classics and existing works.

remakereinterpretation of classicsmadness
Translations
  • English translations and productions recorded

THE BEE

2007 Play

A play with Japanese and London versions; experimental stage work that fuses word play with narrative.

word playinternational co-productiontheatrical experimentation
Adaptations
  • [Stage (multiple language versions)] THE BEE (Japanese / London versions) / Hideki Noda (2007)
Translations
  • Performed in English

Rope

2007 Play

Known for tense composition and chamber-drama qualities; examines human relationships and ethics.

tensionethicshuman relationships
Translations
  • English translation available

The Character

2010 Play

A recent representative work exploring character construction and narrative; won the Yomiuri Theatre Awards Grand Prize.

character studynarrativemedia and the individual
Translations
  • English translation available

Fakespear

2022 Play (classical adaptation)

A unique reinterpretation of Shakespearean texts; attracted attention domestically and internationally.

reinterpretation of classicsdialogue with theatre history
Translations
  • Records of English performances and translations

Bibliography

  • 27,000 Light-Year Journey
  • Boy Hunting
  • Beast Descends
  • Forgery: Under the Full Bloom of the Cherry Forest
  • Pandora's Bell
  • Right Eye
  • Oil
  • The Character
  • Egg / MIWA
  • Rabbit, Riding the Waves

Adaptations

  • Red Demon → RED DEMON (English production)
  • Omote ni Dero! → One Green Bottle (English version)
  • THE BEE (London production)

Translations of Works

  • THE BEE (English performance)
  • Red Demon (Korean version 'Ppalgan Dokkebi')
  • Right Eye (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Playful, poetic and experimental use of languageBold remakes of classical and existing textsStaging that emphasizes physicality
Recurring Motifs
word playreinterpretation of classicsbody and visionstorytelling and meta-theatre

Health

  • Central retinal artery occlusion (loss of vision in right eye)
    1989 - 現在
    Lost sight in his right eye in 1989. The experience influenced his work (e.g., Right Eye) and creative perspective.

Legacy

One of Japan's leading playwrights and directors. Founder of NODA MAP, widely performed domestically and internationally, and recipient of numerous awards. Served as a professor at Tama Art University and as artistic director of Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre; has had significant influence on contemporary theatre in Japan.

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared as an actor in NHK Taiga drama 'Shinsengumi!' (role: Katsu Kaishu, 2004)
  • Served as a judge on the 41st NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen (1990)

Quotes

  • This will come to be called a classic.
    Source: Machi Tawara (commentary)
  • He describes the creative process as 'like washing dishes.'
    Source: Hideki Noda (interview/commentary)

Trivia

  • Lost sight in his right eye in 1989 due to central retinal artery occlusion.
  • Awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2009.
  • Founded the theatre company Yume no Yuminsha and later headed NODA MAP.
  • Served as a professor at Tama Art University and holds the title of honorary professor.
  • Remarried actress Yoko Fujita in 2005 and has had several children since 2009.