Tsubouchi Shōyō

Tsubouchi Shōyō (坪内 逍遥, May 22, 1859 – February 28, 1935) was a Japanese author, critic, playwright, translator, editor, educator, and professor at Waseda University.

His modern play, Shinkyoku Urashima, incorporating traditional dance and music, was a popular and critical success.

The play was a retelling of a familiar Japanese folk-tale with a Rip Van Winkle-like protagonist, Urashima Tarō.

Besides Shakespeare, he also translated a number of other works from English into Japanese, including Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor and Bulwer-Lytton's novel Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes.

The Waseda University Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum was named in his honour and houses a large collection of his works.