Hiroichi Hase

Hiroichi Hase

Hase was born in Gifu Prefecture. After graduating from Gifu University in 1984, he worked for a local newspaper and also founded the theater company Jabu Jabu Circuit. Since 1989 he has focused on writing and directing plays, and on fronting the theater company. Operating from a studio in a rural area, Hase enjoys a pace of life that enables him to dedicate his time to creating a wide range of plays from children’s tales to mysteries and even psycho horror. Several of his plays have been shortlisted for the Kishida Drama Award, including Daburu feiku (Double Fake) in 1999, Saiko no bansan (Psycho Supper)—a play he wrote for another theater company about a strange all-female commune—in 2005, and Hizumitagaru tairetsu (Distorted Ranks) in 2007. Hase has written over 90 plays in all, and is actively working to take local theater to a national level.