Kyosuke Tomoda

A modern theater actor. His real name was Tomoda Goro. He was born in Tokyo. He met Hijikata Yoshi when he was a boy, and the two formed an amateur theater company, which he continued to do after he entered the German Literature Department of Waseda University. In 1919 (Taisho 8), he made his debut with Hatanaka Ryoha's New Theater Association. The following year, he dropped out of university and founded the Wakamonoza with Mizutani Yaeko and others, and was also involved with the Second Art Theater. In 1924, he joined the Tsukiji Little Theater as a founding member, and broke new ground with Kubota Mantaro's 1928 (Showa 3) play "Odera School." After the Tsukiji Little Theatre Company was dissolved, he founded the New Tokyo Theatre Company with his wife, actress Tamura Akiko, and in 1932 the couple formed the Tsukijiza Theatre Company, which, with the backing of Kishida Kunio and Kubota Mantaro, staged original plays with a citizen-oriented sensibility, creating an era, but disbanded in 1936. The following year he helped found the Bungakuza Theatre Company, but around the same time he enlisted in the Akabane Engineer Corps and died in the war on the outskirts of Shanghai in October.

[Yoshio Ozasa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

新劇俳優。本名伴田五郎(ともだごろう)。東京生まれ。少年時代に土方与志(ひじかたよし)を知り2人で素人(しろうと)劇団を結成、これは早稲田(わせだ)大学独文科進学後も続いた。1919年（大正8）畑中蓼坡(りょうは)の新劇協会で初舞台。翌年大学を中退して水谷八重子らとわかもの座を創立、第二次芸術座にも関係した。1924年築地(つきじ)小劇場に創立同人として加わり、1928年（昭和3）の久保田万太郎作『大寺(おおでら)学校』で新境地を開いた。築地小劇場解散後は夫人の女優田村秋子と劇団新東京をつくり、1932年に夫妻で築地座を結成、岸田国士(くにお)、久保田万太郎らの後援を得て、市民感覚にあふれた創作劇を上演し、一時代を築いたが、1936年解散。翌年に文学座の創立に加わったが、前後して赤羽工兵隊に入隊、10月上海(シャンハイ)郊外で戦没した。

［大笹吉雄］

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