Okamoto Kido was a novelist, journalist, playwright, and theater reformer. After finishing his secondary education, Okamoto worked as a reporter for the next 24 years at various newspapers and information agencies. During that time, he published his first novel, Takamatsu jo (Takamatsu Castle, 1891) and his first play, Shishinden (The Shishinden, 1896). The success of his subsequent plays galvanized the shin kabuki (new kabuki) genre, and their positive reception strengthened his resolve to write his longrunning hit Shuzenji monogatari (Tale of Shuzen Temple, 1911). After 1913, he published a host of serialized narratives, including detective novels and thrillers. He studied Western theater on a trip abroad in 1918 and incorporated psychological insight and realism into his shin kabuki works.
See also MODERN THEATER.
Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. J. Scott Miller. 2009.