AKUTAGAWA is co-created by Koryu Nishikawa V, the fifth-generation master of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo The Koryu Nishikawa Troupe, and Tom Lee, a Chicago-based puppet artist who performed in the Broadway Tony Award-winning War Horse. Employing traditional cart puppet techniques, music and video, AKUTAGAWA depicts Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s works as well as the writer’s life. Yukio Tsuji, composer, percussionist and shakuhachi player who works on the Broadway, and Chris Carcione, media and theater artist, participated in the production. While the US-based artists were scheduled to come to Japan, it became impossible due to the influence of the coronavirus pandemic. For that reason, the video and music were produced in the US, and the piece was performed by Koryu Nishikawa and Japanese artists only. AKUTAGAWA was co-produced by the Troupe and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.