CONTEMPORARY THEATRE
young people surrounding the Japanese parliament continued to shout slogans like “Don’t destroy the Constitution,” the new security legislation was railroaded through. That day, the political policy Japan had been following during the postwar period up until then shifted dramatically, and in the evening Atarashii Kenpou no Hanashi (Our New Constitution), written and directed by Shiba Yukio (b.1982) from the theatre group Mamagoto, premiered at the waterfront stage of Parthenon Tama (Tama City, Tokyo). The title of the play is taken from a textbook for junior high school students, produced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in August 1947. It explained in an easy-to-understand way the concepts of democracy, international pacifism, and fundamental human rights, which were determined in the Constitution of Japan enacted in May that year. Shiba borrowed the title to create a play that gently, yet profoundly, 062
questioned the rules of the nation. The outline of the play is as follows: As rain continues to fall, everything and anything becomes soaked in water. The rain stops and a young girl, called A, walks through the water. Coming across a small island, she goes ashore. More people arrive until the population of the island reaches 21 persons. The island then becomes a nation, and the rather timid A is chosen as prime minister. But soon various troubles arise, and the nation breaks up. Divided by a border, a war begins across the water. When the war is over, A calls out to everyone: “We did what we thought was best at that time and talked to each other. But anyone can make mistakes. Can you promise to remember how we really wanted things to be, when you are about to make, or have already made a mistake ?” This was the “Constitution” in the play, which presented an ideal