On March 25, 1938, the company staged its first public performances with the plays "Magnificent Woman" (Migoto na Onna), "Peace at Home" (Wagaya no Heiwa), and "Knock" (Kunokku).
After suffering repression at the hands of the state leading up to and during World War II, Bungakuza reemerged in the early postwar period.
[3] Thus many people were surprised when Bungakuza's leaders agreed to stage a tour of Communist China in 1961.
[3] Even more controversial was the decision to modify the script of the company's flagship play, "The Life of a Woman" (Onna no isshō), to accommodate the ideological demands of their Chinese hosts, which was seen as an abridgment of artistic freedom.
The author Yukio Mishima, who had a long-running affiliation with Bungakuza dating back to the early 1950s, wrote a play for the company called The Harp of Joy (喜びの琴, Yorokobi no koto), but star actress Haruko Sugimura (杉村春子) and other actors refused to perform it because the protagonist held anti-communist views and had lines criticizing a conspiracy of world communism.