OKAMOTO Junko , Lecturer, Studies in Language and Society, Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University, received the 2015 Kawatake Award from the Japanese Society for Theatre Research for her book, Antonio Buero Vallejo, A Playwright In Modern Spain -- Playwriting and Resistance Under A Dictatorship (written in Japanese, Osaka University Press, September 2014.) The award ceremony and commemorative speech will be held on June 21.

Since The Kawatake Award was established in 1969, this is the first time that a book containing thorough research of Spanish theatrical plays has won such a prestigious award from the Japan Society for Theater Research. Through winning this award, the book, written by Dr. Okamoto about works by the Spanish national playwright who won many well-known prizes while writing under the Franco dictatorship, will increase people's interest in drama after the Civil War in Spain, which had been unfamiliar in Japan. In addition, this book will give people a chance to review history via theatrical pieces and think about authority and violence, as well as resistance to them.

Related links

• Studies in Language and Society, Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University
• OKAMOTO Junko