in
Ginza
Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...
is the principal theater in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
for the traditional ''
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
'' drama form.
History
The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist,
Fukuchi Gen'ichirō
was a Japanese critic and author, also known under the pseudonym .
Biography
Fukuchi Gen'ichirō was born in Nagasaki, Japan. He traveled Europe as a translator, and in 1874, became a main writer for the ''Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun
To ...
. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period (1868–1912).
Ninth in the line of actors to hold the name Ichikawa Danjūrō, he is depicted in countless ''ukiyo-e'' actor prints (''yakusha-e''), and is widely c ...
and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theater. The theater is now run by the
Shochiku
() is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...
Corporation which took over in 1914.
The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the
Hosokawa clan
The is a Japanese Samurai kin group or clan.
Ancestors
# Emperor Jimmu
# Emperor Suizei
# Emperor Annei
# Emperor Itoku
# Emperor Kōshō
# Emperor Kōan
# Emperor Kōrei
# Emperor Kōgen
# Emperor Kaika
# Emperor Sujin
# Emperor Sui ...
of
Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a population of 1,461,000, ...
, or that of
Matsudaira clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...
of
Izu Izu may refer to:
Places
*Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan
**Izu, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka prefecture
**Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo
**Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula
People with the surname
*, Japane ...
.
[ ]
The building was destroyed on October 30, 1921, by an electrical fire.
The reconstruction, which commenced in 1922, was designed to "be fireproof, yet carry traditional
Japanese architectural styles
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspo ...
",
while using Western building materials and lighting equipment. Reconstruction had not been completed when it again burned down during the
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...
. Rebuilding was finally completed in 1924.
The theater was destroyed once again by
Allied bombing during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
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 1950 structure was demolished in the spring of 2010, and rebuilt over the ensuing 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 were held from January through April 2010, after which kabuki performances took place at the nearby
Shinbashi Enbujō
The is a theatre in the Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major kabuki venue, though other types of performances take place there as well.
History
The theatre was originally built in 1925 to provide a venue for the ''Azuma Odori'' ge ...
and elsewhere until the opening of the new theatre complex, which took place on March 28, 2013.
Architecture
![Kabuki-za Tower Level 5 Roof garden 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Kabuki-za_Tower_Level_5_Roof_garden_2019.jpg)
The style in 1924 was in a baroque Japanese revivalist style, meant to evoke the architectural details of
Japanese castle
are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such ...
s, as well as temples of pre-
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
. 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 artists in the
Nihonga
''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...
style and reflect the different seasons.
Performances
Performances are exclusively run by
Shochiku
() is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...
, in which the Kabuki-za Theatrical Corporation is the largest shareholder. 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 a 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.
Image:Kabukiza_Theater_Tokyo_1907-1911.jpg, Postcard depicting the original structure (1889-1911)
Image:eka1022.jpg, Postcard depicting the theatre as rebuilt in 1911 (1911-1921)
Image:eka1005.jpg, Postcard depicting the pre-war reconstructed theatre (1924-1945)
Image:Kabuki-za Theatre 2010 0430.JPG, Photo of the post-war reconstructed theatre (1950-2010)
Image:Kabuki-za Tokyo theatre interior.jpg, Theatre interior (2017)
References
External links
Kabuki-za official websiteKabuki21.com- site lists major actors and plays performed over the theater's 100+ year history.
{{Authority control
1889 establishments in Japan
Buildings and structures in Chūō, Tokyo
Ginza
Kabuki theatres
Theatres in Tokyo
Theatres completed in 1889