Ujaku Akita

Born in Kuroishi, Aomori Prefecture, he studied English literature at Waseda University and became interested in socialism.

In January 1931 he helped found the national organization, Japana Prolet-Esperantista Unio (JPEU), with about 150 members, and with Akita as president.

[citation needed] The rise of militarism in Japan led to difficulties for Akita; in the autumn of 1933 he was detained for several weeks, and forced to write a long statement about his activities.

[1] Nevertheless, he continued to work, founding a magazine the next year, Teatoro (named after the Esperanto word for theatre), which still exists.

[2] He joined the New Cooperative Theatre (Shinkyō Gekidan) but its activities were limited because it was no longer safe to stage plays with political themes.