When, Oh When, Did We Come This Way? By Betsuyaku Minoru

Abstract: Betsuyaku Minoru (1937–2020) was arguably postwar Japan's greatest playwright. A prolific writer of plays, short stories, skits, and essays, he was the subject of a special commemorative section, edited by David Jortner, in Asian Theatre Journal 40.2 (Fall 2023). Often compared to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, Betsuyaku was a pioneer of absurdist theatre in Japan from the 1960s for over half a century. A one-act, two-hander about a homeless couple, When, Oh When, Did We Come This Way ?, is a fine example of Betsuyaku's style: spare, funny, and heartbreaking.