Terayama Shuji was a poet, novelist, essayist, director, and playwright from Aomori Prefecture. He showed signs of being a poetry prodigy, winning the Tanka Studies Award at the age of 18, and attended Waseda University, but dropped out due to illness. In 1967, Terayama cofounded the controversial, avant-garde Tenjo sajiki (Peanut Gallery) theater group and wrote and directed many plays performed there. Terayama is considered one of Japan’s most creative and provocative artists, and his oeuvre consists of over 200 literary works and 20 films of varying lengths.
See also MODERN THEATER; THEATER REFORM.
Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. J. Scott Miller. 2009.