「利賀藝術節（Toga Festival）」是日本第一個最具規模的國際性戲劇節，開辦於1982 年，至今仍是日本最有影響力的戲劇節之一。此藝術節的舉辦地「利賀村」(Toga Mura)位於日本富山(Toyama)縣西南部地區的深山當中，緊鄰著歧阜(Gihu)縣飛彈(Hida)地區，是一個居民不到一千五百人的小山村。本論文追溯「利賀藝術節」成立與發展的歷史，從日本文化政策的發展與戲劇環境的變遷來說明此戲劇節的存在意義與因素。「利賀藝術節」並不是利賀居民自發性的藝術節慶，而是以利賀村為根據地，鈴木忠志以及早稻田(Waseda )小劇場（後來的SCOT）在其戲劇活動的延長線上所產生的戲劇節。最初，鈴木忠志(Suzuki Tadashi)為了尋求其理想劇場而來到利賀村；而利賀村想要借助「文化」以及「藝術」的力量來發展觀光，企圖以此來解決「過疏村落」的危機，兩者以此互相結合。在此合作關係當中，由利賀村肩負起劇場建設、維護與管理等，屬於劇場「硬體」營運的部分。而鈴木忠志與劇團則負責節目的策劃、演出團體的邀請、宣傳與票務、演出技術等，在藝術節營運方面「軟體」的部分。鈴木忠志與利賀村之間是「劇團」與「劇場」的關係，同時也是一種「官」與「民」的合作。

The Toga Festival is the first theatre festival running its international scale in Japan. It has been one of the most influential theatre festivals since its foundation in 1982. Toga Mura, where the festival is held, is a mountain village and lies in the deep mountains in the southern-western Toyama in Japan, close to the Hida area of the Gihu county. This essay traces the history of the foundation and developments of the Toga Festival, along with an illustration of the significance and causes of the festival in the context of the developments of cultural policies and the changes of theatre environments in Japan. The Toga Festival is not held by the inhabitants in Toga themselves; instead, it is the innovation and extension of the theatre practices of Suzuki Tadashi and the Waseda Little Theatre (later, the SCOT). Initially, Suzuki Tadashi came to Toga in search of his ideal theatre; and the Toga village attempted to expand tourism by means of “culture” and “art” in order to solve the crisis of an “underpopulated village.” In their cooperation, the village is in charge of the management of the “hardware”: construction, maintenance and management of the theatre; on the other hand, Suziki Tadashi and the theatre group takes charge of the part of the “software”: programming, inviting the performing troupes, promotion and ticketing, and performance techniques. Between Suzuki Tadashi and the Toga village, there maintains a relation ship between “the theatre group” and “the theatre”, which is also the cooperation between “the authority” and “the civil”.