is the primary

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 ...

theatre in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. It was founded in 1610 as . The current building, with a 1,086 seat capacity, was built in 1929.

History

The Minami-za is one of the earliest of the seven officially-licensed kabuki theatres built in the early

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 character ...

(1615-1623) in the Shijo Kawara area in Kyoto; the theatre pre-dates those of Tokyo and Osaka. The current Minami-za theatre was built in 1929 in the architectural style of the

Momoyama period Momoyama may refer to: History *Azuchi–Momoyama period, the final phase of the Sengoku period in Japanese history 1568–1600 People *Ion Momoyama, Japanese singer and voice actor *Momoyama Kenichi (1909–1991), Korean prince and cavalry office ...

, with a gabled roof and a traditional turret marking the official approval of the government. In 1991, after the end of the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

, the interior was drastically refurbished and modern stage mechanism was installed. In 1996, the Minami-za was registered as a Japanese Tangible Cultural Property in respects to its historical architectural value in connection to the city of Kyoto.

Theatre mechanism

The Minami-za features a number of stagecraft mechanisms unique to kabuki, such as the (runway) and the (trap-door mechanism at the end of the ). The theatre also features a (revolving stage); all of the theatre's mechanisms were invented in playhouses during the Edo period."Experience the Stage of Minamiza" Kabuki Museum Minamiza. 〒605-0075 京都府京都市東山区四条通大和大路西入中之町１９８. April 15, 2013.

References

External links

Official site
Kabuki theatres Buildings and structures in Kyoto Tourist attractions in Kyoto Registered Monuments of Japan {{Japan-theat-struct-stub