“Makes a statement about North American’s myopic view of the world and how influential arts presenters in New York City have fostered it. Thornbury proves that through programming and marketing decisions, American presenters have had much influence on a North American perception that labels ‘real’ Japanese culture as exotic, mysterious, and very much ‘other.’” —Choice “Particularly valuable are the institutional histories of the Japan Society and La MaMa E.T.C., which demonstrate how different spheres of economic, political, and social capital brought Japanese performance to New York’s uptown and downtown scenes, helping first to ‘familiarize’ audiences with Japanese performance and then to ‘defamiliarize’ those expectations.” —Theatre Research International “A love letter to Japanese traditional and contemporary performing arts in New York and a detailed scholarly history of the reception and understanding of those arts and that history by Americans from the turn of the last century to the present moment. The volume is accessible, thought-provoking, detailed, and noteworthy for its scope.” —Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr., Loyola Marymount University