This fifth volume, Japanese Theater of the 1970s, treats six plays. Crime is the dominant subject. Three plays are about homicide, two are about other criminal offenses against public order and society, and one is about survival during times of war. While many of the human relations depicted in these works illustrate exploitation and brutalization, the touch of the playwrights is often surprisingly light and humorous. These dramas offer serious but enjoyable reading.

Contents: The Amida Black Chant Murder Mystery (Fujita Den); The Atami Murder Case (Tsuka Kohei); Mystery Tour (Komatsu Mikio); The Family Adrift: The Jesus Ark Incident (Yamazaki Tetsu); Ayako: Mom's Cherry Blossoms Never Fall (Okabe Kodai); Claire de Lune (Takeuchi Juichiro)