Kabuki-za

Kabuki-za
歌舞伎座

Kabuki-za, Tokyo's premier kabuki theater
Address	東京都中央区銀座四丁目12番15号 4-12-15 Ginza, Chūō-ku Tokyo Japan
Coordinates
Owner	Kabuki-za Theatrical Corporation
Type	Kabuki theater
Capacity	1,964
Construction
Opened	21 November 1889
Rebuilt	1911, Tashichi Kashiwagi 1924, Shinichirō Okata 1950, Isoya Yoshida 2013, Kengo Kuma
Website
http://www.kabuki-za.co.jp/

Kabuki-za (歌舞伎座) in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form.

History

The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theatre. The theatre was then taken over by the Shochiku Corporation in 1914; the theatre is exclusively run by the company since.

The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto, or that of Matsudaira clan of Izu.

The building was destroyed on October 30, 1921. Since it burned down from an electrical fire, the second building was designed to "be fireproof, yet carry traditional Japanese architectural styles", and at the same time using Western building materials such as lighting equipment.

The reconstruction commenced in 1922, and was uncompleted when the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake struck and caused it to burn down.

The Kabuki-za Theatrical Corporation (TYO: 9661) was listed in 1924. As a corporation, the company's business mostly depends on the management fee and leasing fee income of the theatre building to Shochiku, and provisioning of catering service on site. The land itself on which the theatre stands is owned by Shochiku.

The theater again burned down in the Allied bombing during World War II. It was restored in 1950 preserving the style of 1924 reconstruction, and was until recently one of Tokyo's more dramatic and traditional buildings.

The structure was demolished in spring 2010, with the rebuilding expected to take three years. Reasons cited for the reconstruction include concerns over the building's ability to survive earthquakes, as well as accessibility issues. A series of farewell performances, entitled Kabuki-za Sayonara Kōen (歌舞伎座さよなら公演, lit. "Kabuki-za Farewell Performances") were held from January through April 2010, after which kabuki performances took place at the nearby Shinbashi Enbujō and elsewhere until the opening of the new theatre complex, which took place on March 28, 2013.

Architecture

The style in 1924 was in a baroque Japanese revivalist style, meant to evoke the architectural details of Japanese castles, as well as temples of pre-Edo period. This style was kept after the post-war reconstruction and again after the 2013 reconstruction.

Inside, with the latest reconstruction the theatre was outfitted with four new front curtains called doncho. These are by renowned Japanese artist in the Nihonga style and reflect the different seasons.

Performances

Performances are exclusively run by Shochiku. They are nearly every day, and tickets are sold for individual acts as well as for each play in its entirety. As is the case for most kabuki venues, programs are organized monthly: each month there is given set of plays and dances that make up the afternoon performance, and a different set comprising the evening show. These are repeated on a nearly daily schedule for three to four weeks, with the new month bringing a new program.

• Kabukiza Theater Tokyo 1907-1911.jpg

  Postcard depicting the original structure (1889-1911)

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  Postcard depicting the theatre as rebuilt in 1911 (1911-1921)

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  Postcard depicting the pre-war reconstructed theatre (1924-1945)

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  Photo of the post-war reconstructed theatre (1950-2010)

External links

• Kabuki-za Official Site (in Japanese)
• Shochiku kabuki-za site (in English)
• Kabuki21.com - site lists major actors and plays performed over the theater's 100+ year history.

• National Diet Library, "The Meiji and Taisho Eras in Photographs" on-line exhibit (2007)
• http://kabuki21.com/kabukiza.php
• " Kabuki-za to be rebuilt from 2010." Yomiuri Shimbun. 26 October 2008. Accessed 28 October 2008.
• Yoshida, Reiji. "Kabuki mecca's days numbered." The Japan Times. 23 October 2008. Accessed 28 October 2008.
• http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201312190050