Toga Art Park of Toyama Prefecture

In 1973, the village of Toga relocated five gassho-zukuri mountain farmhouses to the Kamimomose river valley, naming it the Toga Gassho Culture Village. In 1976, theatre director Tadashi Suzuki relocated his company, the Waseda Shogekijo (now the Suzuki Company of Toga or SCOT) to Toga, remodeled one of the farmhouses into a theatre, and commenced the company’s activities there. Not only remarkable for drawing audiences from all parts of Japan, the company received international renown for making its work in a mountain village that maintained the wisdom of Japanese people and culture.

In 1982, a new Greek-style amphitheatre (Arata Isozaki, architect) was constructed and, based on Suzuki’s global network, the first ever international theatre festival in Japan, the Toga Festival, was launched. Moreover, in 1983, summer workshops in Suzuki’s signature method of training actors began.

In 1994, the administration of the facilities in Toga Gassho Culture Village was transferred to Toyama Prefecture and the name changed to Toga Art Park of Toyama Prefecture. Since this time, because of the efforts of Toyama Prefecture and Nanto City (Toga Village being incorporated into Nanto City in 2004) the Park was developed through the construction of theatres, rehearsal halls and dorms, so that now, with the inclusion of the Toga Grand Theatre (Toga Dai-Sanbo) and Lift Theatre on its periphery, it comprises seven theatres, several rehearsal halls, housing for more than 200 residents, and has evolved into a major performing arts center.

Now, every year, the Park’s activities are dedicated to the development of talent through the SCOT Summer Season, theatrical productions performed by actors from around the world, international workshops in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, the Asian Theatre Directors’ Festival in TOGA, the TOGA Theatre Artists' Competition, and summer workshops for high school students.