Koreya Senda

Koreya Senda (千田是也, Senda Koreya, born Itō Kunio, 15 September 1904 – 21 December 1994) was a Japanese stage director, translator, and actor. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture.[1]

Koreya Senda
Born	(1904-09-15)15 September 1904 Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Died	21 December 1994(1994-12-21) (aged 90)
Occupation	Director Actor
Years active	1936-1970

He is known mostly for founding the Haiyūza theatre company, and translating and directing the works of Bertolt Brecht in post-World War II Japan. He appeared in over 50 films between 1936 and 1970.

His stage name comes from an incident following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake when he was attacked by a mob in Sendagaya, Tokyo. The vigilantes mistook him for a Korean. He was a leader in the modern theater movement in Japan, helping found the Haiyuza Theatre Company, and performing works that "bridged the gap from age-old traditional theater to politically oriented avant-garde and modern works".[2]

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Senda lived in Berlin, where he was involved with underground theatre performances. He was involved with the community of Japanese artists living in Germany who was actively engaged with political activism.[3]

To supplement his income, in 1930 Senda founded the design studio Tomoe in Berlin, with the painter Osuke Shimazaki, lacquer artist Kotaro Fukuoka, photographer Hiroshi Yoshizawa, and Bauhaus students Iwao Yamawaki, a photographer and architect, and his wife Michiko, a textile artist. The studio produced posters, gift-wrap paper and leaflets, and undertook window dressing and interior design for Japanese restaurants.[3]

Senda and his wife, Irma, returned to Japan on January 1931 via Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway.[3]