Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. "Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all?" It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras. 

(Source: Kodansha Comics) 

Note: World Is Dancing is streaming 3 days in advance of the TV broadcast on Prime Video and HIDIVE beginning June 29th, 2026. Regular broadcasting begins on July 2nd, 2026.

__Height:__ 177 cm (5'9.75")

On October 26, 2022, it was reported that Sakurai had been engaging in an extramarital affair with a writer of his *P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro* radio program. A month prior, it was publicly disclosed that he had been married to a former voice actress for nearly 20 years, although the writer had allegedly not been aware of his marriage as they had been in a relationship for 10 years and intending to marry. His previously announced roles as [Haruaki Karuma](https://anilist.co/character/290233) in [AYAKA](https://anilist.co/anime/155982/AYAKA/) and [Kusuriuri](https://anilist.co/character/2865) in [Mononoke (Movie)](https://anilist.co/anime/151117/Mononoke-Movie/) had been recast as a result.

On March 31, 2023, it was jointly announced with his talent agency "Intention" that they are ending their contract, as Sakurai requested to leave as a way of taking sole responsibility of his actions and for self-reflection.

Non-Anime Roles:
-Passenger in "Arknights" (VG/Mobile) (Japanese)
-Su in "Honkai Impact 3rd" (VG) (Japanese)
-Cloud Strife in "FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE" (Japanese)
Crow Armbrust - The Legend of Heroes Series (VG)

Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. "Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all?" It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras.
 
(Source: Kodansha USA)

Yoshimitsu Ashikaga