Departures of note

渡辺保 was a leading Japanese theater critic who helped establish modern kabuki criticism. Born in Tokyo's Chuo ward, he graduated from Keio University's economics faculty before joining Toho, where he worked in the theater division's planning office. He debuted as a critic in 1965 with the essay 'Kabuki ni Joyu wo' (Actresses in Kabuki). His 1974 study 'Onnagata no Unmei' (The Fate of the Onnagata), examining the great Showa-era actor Nakamura Utaemon VI, won the Agency for Cultural Affairs Prize for New Artists. He was known for reading kabuki performance through precise analysis of form and deep insight into human psychology, and was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2024. He died on 9 September 2026 at the age of 90.