World Is Dancing

Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year-old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all? It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras.

(Source: Kodansha USA)

World Is Dancing was published digitally in English as The World is Dancing by Kodansha USA from August 1, 2023, to August 27, 2024.