Crucible Bodies: Postwar Japanese Performance from Brecht to the New Millennium. Crucible Bodies is one of the first full-length studies of Japanese performance culture. It covers 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.