Editor's Note

As readers of this journal are well aware, it has been customary to start each issue with a new translation of an Asian play. Unfortunately, we have no publishable translation for the present issue. Considering the importance of such translations, of both modern and classic plays, this is a serious matter. ATJ continues to search for outstanding translations and introductions to the important Asian dramas of the past and present, and we welcome your submissions.

Actually, translation itself was to be the focus of this issue and, to a degree, this goal has been realized. Our call for translations of important essays in Asian languages has yielded three such pieces. First is Mari Boyd's translation of an essay by Japanese author Inoue Yoshie on a modern play by Shimizu Kunio; second is William Lee's rendering of a provocative essay on kabuki by the late maverick critic and director Takechi Tetsuji; finally, there is Shiao-ling Yu's version of an essay by Su Min and others on the theories of modern Chinese director Jiao Juyin. It is ATJ's hope that these three essays will inspire others with Asian language skills to submit more essay translations so that the publication of such otherwise inaccessible writing will become a regular part of each issue.

Also in this issue is Andrew P. Killick's excellent introduction to the Korean genre of ch'angguk. Killick explores the fascinating problem of how artists can consciously set out to create a form of traditional drama to represent a nation's theatrical culture. Finally, there is Steve Tillis's provocative essay questioning conventional concepts of what makes theatre Eastern or Western, an essay originally presented at the Theatre East and West Revisited Symposium given in honor of Leonard Pronko at Pomona College in April 2002. Most of the other essays presented at that marvelous symposium will be published in a special issue of Mime Journal.

Samuel L. Leiter