is a Japanese playwright, director, actor, and filmmaker.

Career

Born in

Niihama, Ehime 270px, Niihama City Hall 270px, Aerial View of Central Niihama is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 115,824 in 57781 households and a population density of 490 persons per ...

, Kōkami was attending

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

when he founded the theatrical company Daisanbutai (Third Stage). Becoming "one of the prime movers in the 1980s small-scale youth theater movement in Japan", he won the Kunio Kishida Award in 1995 for his play ''Sunafukin no tegami''. Earning a fellowship from the

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The ag ...

in 1997, he spent a year in London, and has since presented such plays as ''Trance'' on the London stage. The play ''Halcyon Days'', which he wrote about suicide websites in Japan, has also been presented in Great Britain. In 2010 he won the 61st

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, a ...

for Drama. Kōkami has also directed and acted in several films including Renai Gikyoku: Watashi to koi ni ochitekudasai.

Cool Japan

Cool Japan is a program regularly airing on

NHK World-Japan NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

., which attempts to explores the charm and secrets of cool Japanese culture by making full use of the sensibilities of foreigners who live and work in Japan. Each episode is usually co-hosted by Shôji Kôkami and Risa Stegmayer and consists of 8 foreign panelists and a Japanese commentator who is an expert in the episode's subject. Although some "special" episodes have had large groups (30+) of returning guests. The program is unique in that it features Japanese and English language and subtitles, as the foreign guests always speak in English, regardless of their native language or fluency in Japanese.

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...

, the guitarist for

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

, has also appeared as the expert (for music) commentator several times, as he has been a resident of

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

for many years

References

External links

Third Stage official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokami, Shoji Japanese theatre directors Japanese dramatists and playwrights Japanese film directors People from Ehime Prefecture 1958 births Living people Actors from Ehime Prefecture Yomiuri Prize winners