A Modernist Audience: The Kawakami Troupe, Matsuki Bunkio, and Boston Japonisme

Abstract

The Kawakami troupe, which helped to pioneer Japan’s modern theatre, toured across the United states during 1899–1900 en route to the 1900 Paris exposition. Although they were viewed as exotic orientalia in much of the country, they enjoyed a two-month run of commercial and critical success in boston. This essay examines the Kawakami troupe’s boston run with respect to the city’s preexisting status as a center of Japonisme, as well as the troupe’s semi-realist style and alliance with the boston-based Japanese merchant Matsuki Bunkio, suggesting that these factors together allowed for the formation of a modernist audience that received the Kawakamis as examples of modernist theatre.