Trivia

He initially wanted to become an artist but failed the entrance exam for the Tokyo University of the Arts. When he was 20, he joined a theater company as a trainee actor. He eventually became interested in directing.

Parents of filmmaker Mika Ninagawa with Tomoko Mayama.

Masterful theatre director, he became a member of the Shakespeare Globe Council and was made commander OBE in 2002.

He combined elements of Kabuki theater with Western realism to create original, critically-acclaimed productions of classic Greek and Shakespearean plays. He employed modern music, Buddhist imagery, and Japanese flora. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Edinburgh Festival, and the New York Shakespeare Festival.