Top Theater and Performing Arts Universities in Japan

Japan has a number of thriving performing arts institutions with esteemed alumni working on Broadway, touring theatre, local theatre, TV and film! Below, BroadwayWorld rounds up the top performing arts schools in Japan. Check out the list below!

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Waseda University

As its aim, the Theatre and Film Arts course systematically considers culture and symbol of the body and image centering on theatre and film. Through this action, the course takes over and develops the tradition of theatre research that has continued at Waseda University since the times of Shoyo Tsubouchi.

Human beings are performing, reciting, dancing beings, and the history of theatre is that of human beings. Cognizant of this, we reconsider the relationship between language, body and space, through inquiring into a diversity of theatrical expressions, including classical theatre, Contemporary Theatre, dance and folk art of the East and West. In terms of image, by investigating from multiple angles the various issues of the history of film and film theory, based on the dual nature of film as art and media, we seek to clarify the distinctive qualities of image culture. Moreover, while concentrating on complex, cross-sectional themes which straddle these two research spheres, we cultivate a way of looking at things that views art and culture within an even broader context.

In specific terms, the program offers seminars, research guidance and related lecture courses dealing with Japanese theatre, Western theatre, dance and film.

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Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music

Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music is a Tokyo-based two-year college which was established in 1964. The college now offers two courses of study: Drama and Music. The Drama Course was established to train high school graduates hoping to pursue careers in theatre, television and film.
The forerunner of the Drama Course was Haiyu-za Yoseijo, the drama school affiliated to Haiyu-za, one of the leading drama companies in Japan. This school was a hugely influential contributor to the development of actor training in Japan, making drastic reforms and adopting new methods designed to synthesize the mind and body, and producing many actors and actresses who became key figures in drama, film, television.
In 1966 Haiyu-za Yoseijo was transformed into the Drama Course of Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music. This course at Toho Gakuen proudly continues the traditions and educational principles of Haiyu-za Yoseijo.

The prestigious and well-renowned Drama Course has been providing professional training for those wishing to work in theatre, television, film and some other related fields for nearly 50 years.

The course has three central aims. The first is to encourage students to interpret drama from the perspectives of an actor or an actress. In the reading process students develop an insight into dramatic creativity. The second is to foster students' physical development as the capacity to express their imagination through their body. The third is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their skills in ensemble and to contribute to group productions.

The Drama Course has two groups of students: those majoring in straight plays, and those majoring in musicals. Students majoring in straight plays study mainly traditional and contemporary drama so that they can become stage actors or actresses. Students majoring in musicals spend more time on dance and singing.

The duration of the drama course is two years, comprised of four academic terms. In each term, students are introduced to a variety of acting exercises and theories. Each term builds on previous terms to bring students to a high level of competence and knowledge within a framework designed to motivate and enable them to become professional actors and actresses.

During the first term of the second year (Term 3), students also take several public examinations. In the last term (Term 4), students are given the opportunity to perform in front of a public audience, and to consolidate their studies by concentrating on rehearsing and performing.

First and second year students study a wide range of subjects, including acting, monologue, dialogue, voice, movement, physical skills, scene work, improvisation, dance, singing, stage lighting, sound effects, stage management, classical ballet, jazz dance, pantomime, contemporary dance, Japanese traditional dance, kyogen, and so on.
In addition to the subjects above, students have the option to study a range of academic subjects, including the histories of Japanese drama, Western drama, musicals, and classical ballet, and the critical study of drama, dramaturgy, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Greek drama, phonetics, and Japanese linguistics.

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Tokyo University of the Arts

The Faculty of Fine Arts has graduated numerous world-renowned artists, playing a central role in Japanese art from the days of the University's predecessor, the Tokyo Fine Arts School. The Faculty of Fine Arts has established the following educational objectives.

-To train superior artists, researchers, and educators while passing down artistic traditions and heritage
-In pursuing multifaceted education and research, to deepen the individuality of Japanese artistic culture and to promote the development of an international artistic education environment in which diverse artistic cultures from around the world can interact
-To further education in new fields, including multimedia expression and media art, thereby training artists and researchers capable of leading the art world
-To communicate the results of education and research to society to help enrich the lives of all

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Osaka University

Since few Japanese universities have courses in musicology or theater studies, the program of this field of study is all the more unique. Students of musicology study a wide variety of genres, including Western classical music, ethnic music, Japanese classical music and popular music. Students of theatre studies learn a wide variety of performing arts, including European classical and modern plays, Japanese traditional and contemporary plays, musicals and ballets. In addition to the histories of music and theatre, students study the relations of music and theatre with other disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, aesthetics and literature.

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Tama Art University

The Department of Scenography Design, Drama, and Dance is a department that aims to foster sensitive artists in the realm of bodily expression as a supporting pillar of stage performances, and designers with an ability to create imaginative theatrical spaces. Considering the different roles and respective expertise involved in stage productions, the department is divided into the "Scenography Design Course" and the "Drama and Dance Course". In both courses, students acquire knowledge related to stage performances while enhancing their expertise and exchanging with each other. Bearing in mind a future vision of aesthetically conscious actors, dancers, stage directors, playwrights and set artists, and regarding stage performances as composite art, the department pursues the realization of highly original stage productions that no-one has ever seen before.

Classes focus on thorough training of imaginative expressiveness and creativity with an emphasis on practical work, while raising students' awareness of the risks involved in being an artist, and the responsibility of future leaders in the realm of culture. Teachers operating as mainstream professionals in their respective fields offer on-the-spot technical guidance in bodily expression methods, performance practice and staff work, training professional artists and future leaders in the performing arts world.

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