Sōjin Kamiyama — The Mature Student (1925) 🇺🇸

Sojin Kamiyama [Sōjin Kamiyama] is considered the second greatest figure of the Japanese stage. He introduced and popularized there the works of Shakespeare, Ibsen and other dramatists and he sponsored successfully the Little Theater movement in Japan.

When upon rare occasion he talks, he says that he hopes eventually to develop in his native Japan a dramatic art based upon the fundamentals of the classic Occidental drama, supplemented by the practical experience for which he journeyed to America.

His father was a physician and a member of the Japanese parliament. Educated at the Waseda University, the boy Sojin was destined for his country’s service but chose instead to become an actor and aid in its artistic development. At the dramatic school of Doctor Tsubouch, who translated Shakespeare into the Japanese language, he was given years of training. Then he started to travel.

He has been here for three years but has played in only two films. The rest of the time he has been observing, studying. His first screen appearance was in The Thief of Bagdad, in which he played the Chinese prince. His second appearance will be with Pola Negri in East of Suez. After this he plans a European tour for further study before returning to his work in Japan.

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Collection: Picture Play Magazine, March 1925