{"id":16573,"date":"2026-07-17T09:54:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T00:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toyooka-theaterfestival.jp\/en\/?post_type=program&p=16573"},"modified":"2026-09-04T20:46:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:46:37","slug":"japanese-as-she-is-spoke","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/toyooka-theaterfestival.jp\/en\/program\/16573\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Shuntaro Matsubara \/ Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank \u201cJapanese as She Is Spoke \u201c"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shuntaro Matsubara and Ayaka Ono, Yo Nakazawa, and space not blank are returning to the Toyooka Theater Festival this year, following their appearances with \u201cDance Dance Revolutions\u201d<\/em> in 2024 and \u201cBeautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer\u2019s Apprentices\u201d<\/em> in 2025. Their new work this year is \u201cJapanese as she is spoke\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Shuntaro Matsubara, this is his first short play. In collaboration with Ayaka Ono, Yo Nakazawa, and space not blank, it marks their return to the two-person play format for the first time since Sasayamaka-sa<\/em> (A Modestness<\/em>) in the early days of their collaboration, and is their seventh work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title Japanese as she is spoke<\/em> was inspired by English as She Is Spoke<\/em>, a 19th-century English conversation guide notorious for its wildly inaccurate translations, which produced a peculiar and unintentionally comic form of English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this work, a conversation begins from a place where meaning fails to get across. The words spoken by the two characters, \u201cOrigami\u201d and \u201cAyatori,\u201d are misread, overlap, and trigger unexpected reactions, gradually connecting them to places far beyond what either could have imagined. Is the inability to communicate smoothly really a failure of conversation? As the two bodies struggle to keep using language that is riddled with gaps and misalignments, a reality unique to that particular moment and place begins to emerge between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new 60-minute two-person play in which language and bodies unfold in unexpected ways. Come and experience it for yourself at the theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is MURINKAN International?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munrin-kan International is a program that supports and nurtures emerging creators in their international careers. Based at \u201cMunrin-kan,\u201d a creative platform founded and led by director Oriza Hirata, the program offers training aimed at international development, as well as performances with subtitles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Toyooka Theater Festival, new works by artists participating in the program will be presented with English subtitles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shuntaro Matsubara and Ayaka Ono, Yo Nakazawa, and space not blank are returning to the Toyooka Theater Festival this year, following their appearances with \u201cDance Dance Revolutions\u201d in 2024 and \u201cBeautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer\u2019s Apprentices\u201d in 2025. Their new work this year is \u201cJapanese as she is spoke\u201d. For Shuntaro Matsubara, this is his first short play. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16574,"template":"","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"program_type":[293],"program_area":[8],"program_dates":[25,26,15],"program_tags":[295],"program_venue_type":[108],"program_genre":[189],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u00a0Shuntaro Matsubara \/ Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank \u201cJapanese as She Is Spoke \u201c | Toyooka Theater Festival 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toyooka-theaterfestival.jp\/en\/program\/16573\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00a0Shuntaro Matsubara \/ Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank \u201cJapanese as She Is Spoke \u201c | Toyooka Theater Festival 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shuntaro Matsubara and Ayaka Ono, Yo Nakazawa, and space not blank are returning to the Toyooka Theater Festival this year, following their appearances with \u201cDance Dance Revolutions\u201d in 2024 and \u201cBeautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer\u2019s Apprentices\u201d in 2025. 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