Tradition, remixed: A year on Japan’s stages

Genres collided and traditions were updated across Japan’s performing arts scene in 2025.

Japan’s stages refused to stay in their lanes. Kabuki flirted with anime fandom, noh danced with techno beats, opera spoke three languages at once and underground theater spilled into new festivals across the country.

From heritage-heavy art forms courting first-time audiences to experimental troupes testing the edges of accessibility and inclusion, the year’s performing arts scene was defined less by preservation than by motion — outward, collaborative and increasingly global.