The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Drama

Anthologies are an excellent resource for students to gain access to a subject that they might know a lot about. In this collection we get to explore the world of modern Japanese drama, a subject rarely written about compared to other cultural exports from Japan.

The anthology gives us excerpts from plays, and puts into their historical context. Each section covers a different time period; the book starts in the Meiji period and then moves along chronologically into more recent works. Before each selection we get a brief overview of what the play is about, a brief biography of the playwright, and an exploration of the play’s importance.

This anthology will help fill out our perceptions of modern Japanese drama, providing a welcome resource for students and teachers. The section chapters, and the brief introductions, are what make this work well worth the price. The context is always important and the editors have done an excellent job with that. Helping to reach an audience that they might not normally reach, they give us a window into a culture that we might not know much about.