Mark Oshima never imagined he would appear on a kabuki stage when he first arrived in Japan in 1981, taking a year off from university to write his senior thesis on a theme that had nothing to do with the classical Japanese theater.

News photoEnglish-speaking Kabuki expert Mark Oshima at the Kabukiza in Tokyo

But now, the 41-year-old American cannot imagine living outside the world of kabuki.