Juro Kara, rebel playwright behind Japan's modern underground theater, dies at 84

TOKYO (AP) — Juro Kara, who helped shape Japan’s postwar avant-garde theater, defiantly yet playfully transforming the essence of Kabuki aesthetics into modern storytelling, has died. He was 84.

The playwright, director and troupe leader died late Saturday from a blood clot in the brain after he collapsed at home and was rushed to a Tokyo hospital on May 1, his theater group Karagumi said in a statement on Sunday.

Kara, whose real name was Yoshihide Otsuru, rose to stardom in the so-called Japanese underground movement of the 1960s known as “un-gura,” characterized by a kitsch rebellious style also found in his contemporaries Shuji Terayama and Tadashi Suzuki.

Kara’s colorful shows, often in makeshift tents evocative of a traveling circus, rejected the established theatrical modes then dominating modernizing Japan that were mostly Western, middle class and well-behaved.

His plays, such as "Koshimaki Osen,” were characterized by a raw energetic physicality, blatantly devoid of any pretense at naturalism.

Kara once compared his approach to “a womb covered in blood.” His theater came to be known as “the red tent." A wandering group would put on his shows wherever the tents went up, most famously in a spot near a shrine in Shinjuku in downtown Tokyo.

Audiences found themselves immersed in otherworldly, dreamlike settings. The flashy posters that artist Tadanori Yokoo often created for Kara’s works exemplified that signature pop surrealist style.

Kara’s group is still active today, performing shows that carry on his legacy. His theater also served as a breeding ground for some of Japan’s top actors, including Kaoru Kobayashi and the late Jinpachi Nezu.

Born in Tokyo, Kara majored in theater at Meiji University in Tokyo, which boasts an extensive archive of Kara’s works.

In 1983, Kara won the prestigious Akutagawa Award for new writers for his novel “Letters from Sagawa.” He also acted in various films, often in bit character roles, including “Demon Pond,” directed by Masahiro Shinoda.

Funeral arrangements weren't set but will be for family and friends, Karagumi said. Kara is survived by his wife Michiko, sons Gitan Otsuru and Sasuke Otsuru, and daughter Minion Otsuru, all actors.

Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Juro Kara speaks during a press conference in Osaka, western Japan in March, 2005 after he was appointed as a guest professor at a university. The playwright, director and troupe leader died late Saturday from a blood clot in the brain after he collapsed at home and was rushed to a Tokyo hospital on May 1, his theater group Karagumi said in a statement on Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 84. (Kyodo News via AP)

Juro Kara speaks during a press conference in Osaka, western Japan in March, 2005 after he was appointed as a guest professor at a university. The playwright, director and troupe leader died late Saturday from a blood clot in the brain after he collapsed at home and was rushed to a Tokyo hospital on May 1, his theater group Karagumi said in a statement on Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 84. (Kyodo News via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — Six climate activists broke through a security fence at Munich airport on Saturday and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways, temporarily shutting down flights.

The activists from the group Last Generation were protesting flying as the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa. Police detained the six.

Some 60 flights were canceled during the disruption that lasted a couple of hours and passengers were rebooked on alternative flights, airport spokesperson Robert Wilhelm told dpa. Fourteen flights that were due to land in Munich were diverted to other airports, according to police.

Last Generation accused the German government of “downplaying” the negative effects of flying on the environment instead of “finally acting sincerely,” in a post on the social media platform X.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called for an end to such protests. “Such criminal actions threaten air traffic and harm climate protection because they only cause lack of understanding and anger,” she wrote on X.

Fraser also applauded police efforts to bring order back to the airport and called for airport safety measures to be checked.

Minister for Transport Volker Wissing said that his ministry was already working on further tightening existing laws.

The general manager of the German Airports Association, Ralph Beisel, also criticized the activists’ actions. “Trespassing the aviation security area is no trivial offense. Over hundreds of thousands of passengers were prevented from a relaxed and punctual start to their Pentecost holiday,” he told dpa.

Beisel also called for harsher penalties for activists who break into airports.

Climate activities blocked flights at Hamburg and Duesseldorf airports for several hours in July.

In January, Last Generation — known for gluing themselves to streets to block traffic which has infuriated many Germans — said it would abandon the tactic and move on to holding what it calls “disobedient assemblies.” Their actions have been widely criticized, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz described them as “completely nutty.”

Climate activists lie on a access road for runways at the Munich airport, Germany, Saturday, May 18, 2024. German officials and local media reported say authorities closed down Munich airport temporarily after six climate activists broke through a security fence and glued themselves to access routes leading to runways. The activists from the group Last Generation were protesting flying, the most polluting form of transportation, said the German news agency dpa on Saturday. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)