Crucible Bodies: Postwar Japanese Performance from Brecht to the New Millennium is a collection of essays covering a wide range of historical and theoretical topics, from Brecht in Japan to 'children's' bodies in postmodern Japanese performances, from the notion of beauty in contemporary cultural theory to practical and theoretical readings of more recent intercultural performances, involving not only Japanese but also other Asian theatre practitioners.  It is one of the first full-length studies of Japanese performance culture written in English by a Japanese native.  This work is an important contribution to the developing academic arena of Performance Studies.