Searching for Plays Not Published as Books: How to Obtain Plays Published in Magazines
A play is a script for a theatrical performance. In recent years, plays are written with the premise of being performed, but in the past, many plays were written solely for reading. Like novels, plays stand as individual works by playwrights, so they are sometimes published as books. Audiences can read them to relive the play, and for those who create theater, they can be used as scripts for their own productions.
So, how can one obtain a play?
There are various ways for plays to be published, but this time, I would like to explore how to obtain plays published in magazines. For those who watch theater, this is a way to find plays by favorite playwrights or plays featuring actors they support, and for those who are about to create theater (especially beginners), it is worth knowing as a way to find works to perform.
There are four ways plays are published
Why focus on plays published in magazines? It is because I feel this method is surprisingly overlooked.
As a prerequisite for obtaining a play, it must first be published. There are mainly four ways plays are published, and the methods for obtaining them differ for each.
1. Published as a book
2. Published in a magazine ← The theme for this time
3. Sold as merchandise
4. Published on the internet
<1. Published as a book> is the orthodox method, and <2. Published in a magazine> is also a long-standing means of publishing plays. New ones can be purchased at bookstores, and even if they go out of print, they can be obtained at libraries or in the used book market. <3. Sold as merchandise> refers to cases where a "performance script" is sold as performance merchandise. Since they are not distributed through general book channels and are unlikely to remain in places like libraries, they tend to become difficult to obtain once sales end. <4. Published on the internet> has been done by playwrights themselves on personal blogs or websites for some time, but in recent years, they are increasingly being published systematically as archives. The Play Digital Archive, as part of EPAD (Performing Arts Archive + Digital Theater Support Project), publishes various plays as PDF data.
Among these methods, compared to 1 and 3, which are also sold at performance venues, and 4, which has been attracting attention in recent years, 2 is quite hard to notice. If you give up thinking, "I want to read that play, but it hasn't been published as a book," you might find that it was actually in a magazine. It would be a huge waste to overlook this. The Play Digital Archive is convenient and may become mainstream in the future, but at present, there are still many plays that have not been posted.
Therefore, in order not to miss out on good plays, I will explore how to find and obtain plays published in magazines.
Identifying the magazine issue using NDL Search
[Example 1] Yokohama Short Story Hotel
Now, as an example, let's look for Nozomi Makino's "Yokohama Short Story Hotel". This has not been published as a book, nor is it available in the Play Digital Archive. So, I will explore the possibility that it was published in a magazine.
To check if it was published in a magazine, use a tool that can search for magazine articles. This is because a play becomes an "article" once it is published in a magazine. There are various tools, but considering the subsequent "obtaining" stage, this time I will use the National Diet Library Search (hereinafter, NDL Search).
NDL Search is a site where you can search for materials held by the National Diet Library. Since everything published in Japan is supposed to be deposited at the National Diet Library, checking if it is here is the same as checking if it was published in Japan. There is also a function to search by magazine article title, so using this first is a shortcut.
Enter <Yokohama Short Story Hotel> in the [Keyword] field, uncheck all [Material Type] boxes, check <Magazine Article>, and search (see Figure 1).
Then, the search results show 2 items (see Figure 2). The article displayed first, "Gekidan Seinenza Yokohama Short Story Hotel" in the May 2013 issue of "Higeki Kigeki", is the play I was looking for. The second item is a theater review. As you can see, other articles such as theater reviews and papers also appear, so I will carefully examine them to identify the play.
[Example 2] Show Must Go On
As another example, let's try searching for Tokyo Sunshine Boys's "Show Must Go On".
Just like before, enter "Show Must Go On" in the [Keyword] field, check [Material Type] for [Magazine Article], and perform a search. There is one search result. An article published in "Teatro" was hit, but this is a play review. It is not the play I am looking for.
Before giving up because it is not listed here, let's try one more step. Uncheck [Magazine Article] under [Material Type], check [Magazine] this time, and search again (see Figure 3).
Out of the 3 search results, "Teatro" is the issue that contained the play review from earlier, and "Shingeki" and "Higeki Kigeki" were newly hit (see Figure 4). Clicking on the 38(9)(463) (meaning volume 38, issue 9, serial number 463) of "Shingeki" allows you to see the details. It is likely the September 1991 issue. In the table of contents, it says "Tokyo Sunshine Boys 'Show Must Go On' p. 155-243". Given the high page count, it is too long to be a play review, so it can be judged as a play. By the way, if you check the details of the second result, "Higeki Kigeki", you can see that it is a play review.
In this way, there are cases where things that could not be searched for using only [Magazine Article] in [Material Type] can be hit by checking [Magazine]. [Magazine Article] targets articles for search, while [Magazine] targets magazine volumes for search, so even if data has not been created as an article, it may be hit because it is listed in the magazine's table of contents data... well, the detailed mechanism does not matter. For now, just try both, and it is fine if you get a hit.
Viewing and Obtaining Plays Published in Magazines
Once you know it is published in a magazine and can identify which magazine it is, it is finally time to think about how to obtain it. Buying it if it is sold as a new or used book is one way, but it is not that easy to find. That is where libraries come in.
National Diet Library's Remote Copy Service
This is the reason I checked with NDL Search in the beginning. It is because you can order copies of magazine articles using the National Diet Library's remote copy service.
Library materials can be copied under conditions stipulated by copyright law. For conditions, refer to Notes on Copyright. In this case, I think it can be used without any problems as a magazine article. However, this is strictly for personal reading; if you are actually going to perform it, you need to obtain permission from the copyright holder.
The National Diet Library allows you to request copies online (personal user registration and payment of copy fees, etc., are required). Once you register as a user and log in to NDL Search, you can apply from the copy request button on the details page. Of course, it is also possible to visit in person to view and copy.
Viewing at a Nearby Library
Remote copying is convenient, but it takes time, money, and effort. If the library you can visit has that magazine, it is more economical to use that. Most library websites have an OPAC (a page where you can search for library holdings), so try searching to see if that magazine is held. If you find that they have it, you can go directly to borrow it or make a copy.
However, please be aware that checking volumes and issues can be complicated. There are cases where "they have recent issues, but back numbers from 20 years ago are not held."
The most reliable method is to ask the librarian at the library directly. This is a service called reference service, where they will look things up for you if you ask. They often accept requests via phone or their website. If you ask, "Do you have the [Month/Year] issue of this magazine?" or "Is this play included in it?" and provide information such as the magazine title, issue number, page number, and the title of the play you want to see, they will check whether they have the magazine or if the play is available. Even if the library doesn't have it, there might be a way to obtain it from another library, so it is worth asking about various options.
Examples of Magazines That Publish Plays
Keeping in mind what kind of magazines publish plays will provide hints when you are searching.
"Teatro" (Chamomile-sha)
First published in 1934. A long-established theater magazine. It is still being published today (monthly). When searching for plays on NDL Search, they often appear as "magazine articles."
"Higeki Kigeki" (Hayakawa Publishing)
First published in 1947. This is also a long-running theater magazine. It is currently published bimonthly. It is appreciated that they also publish translated plays. When searching for plays on NDL Search, they often appear as "magazine articles."
"Shingeki," "Shingeki" (in hiragana), and "Les Specs" (Hakusuisha)
A monthly magazine first published in 1954 (publication has since ended). This is from Hakusuisha, the publisher of the Kishida Kunio Drama Award. The magazine ended after changing its title from "Shingeki" (until March 1990) to "Shingeki" (April 1990–March 1992) and then "Les Specs" (April 1992–November 1992). Although publication has ended, it is very useful for finding older plays because it contains a wealth of plays from the small theater scene of the past. When searching for plays on NDL Search, they may not appear as "magazine articles," but they sometimes appear in the table of contents for "magazines."
"Serifu no Jidai" (Shogakukan)
A quarterly magazine first published in 1996. Edited under the responsibility of the Japan Playwrights Association. Publication ended in 2010, but a special edition titled "Serifu no Jidai 2021" was released in 2021 and became a topic of conversation. I tried searching for plays on NDL Search, but as far as I could tell, they do not appear as either "magazine articles" or "magazines" (even though they are in the collection).
Other Magazines and Reference Sites
When you cannot find a play on NDL Search, there is a list of plays published in magazines on the official website of Kaku-u-tatami, which I find very convenient to use. It compiles plays published in "Teatro," "Higeki Kigeki," "Shingeki," and "Serifu no Jidai" (however, the last update was on January 20, 2021).
Regarding "Serifu no Jidai," there is also an entry for published plays on Wikipedia. > Serifu no Jidai | Wikipedia
In addition, plays are sometimes published in general literary magazines such as "Shincho," "Subaru," and "Bungakukai." The Kyoto Prefectural Library has compiled a list of plays in literary magazines (2001–2023), which is a helpful reference. For example, Hideki Noda often publishes his work in "Shincho" (though they are also published as books).
Conclusion
The other day, I saw the play "Kamazuka-shi, Furueagaru," written and directed by Yu Kuramochi. The latest work, which also had its script published in the May 2025 issue of "Higeki Kigeki," is the seventh installment in the series. I suddenly wondered if the scripts for the past works were also somewhere, so I looked them up on NDL Search. To my surprise, I found what appears to be the second work in the series, "Kamazuka-shi, Sukuiageru," in the October 2012 issue of "Higeki Kigeki." Moreover, this shouldn't have been released on DVD... For works that I missed or works for which even the video is unavailable, knowing that the script has been published allows me to understand a part of them. I think this is something to be grateful for. I have decided to head to the library soon.