A comprehensive study of the popular Japanese stage traces its development from early origins through changing company structures and performance styles, explaining audience behavior, theatrical conventions, stagecraft, music, and acting schools. It profiles actor types and ceremonial practices, examines playwrights, managers, and repertory forms, and discusses interactions with puppetry and external influences. The book surveys historical shifts including Meiji-era reforms, the rise and decline of certain movements, and the conditions of actors, finishing with an account of contemporary practice and a practical bibliography.