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.

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)

Inuou