The is a theatre in the

Ginza Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...

neighborhood of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is a major

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

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''

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

dance performances, by Kawamura Tokutarō, manager of the Morikawa geisha house, who raised two million yen in

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and established the Shinbashi Enbujō Corporation.�
新橋演舞場について
」 (''shinbashi enbujō ni tsuite'', "About the Shinbashi Enbujō"). ''Kabuki-bito.'' 2006-2008: Shochiku Co. Ltd. Accessed 29 October 2008. The site, by chance, was formerly that of the

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 the ...

residence which serves as the setting for the kabuki play "'' Kagamiyama Kokyō no Nishikie''." Construction began in 1923, and was halted following the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (, or ) was a major earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the mom ...

, but was completed in 1925. The theatre entered into a contract in 1940 with Shōchiku,''Kabuki techō: Kabuki Official Data Book 2008''. Nihon Haiyū Kyōkai (Japan Actors' Association). 2008: Tokyo. p312. a major film and theatre production company, today the chief kabuki production company. Since becoming associated with Shochiku, the theatre has regularly seen productions ranging from modern drama and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

to the '' shinpa'' (New School) genre developed in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, as well as kabuki. The

Kabuki-za 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 o ...

, located several blocks away, is the chief kabuki theatre in the world. It plays somewhat the role of a storehouse of tradition, and its stage is usually dominated by the top star actors in the genre. By contrast, many more experimental forms within the kabuki genre, as well as plays starring younger actors, are performed at the Shinbashi Enbujō. These include the Super Kabuki form pioneered by Ichikawa Ennosuke III, which incorporates Western music, Chinese, Indian, and other non-Japanese stylistic influences, and over-the-top stage special effects beyond that seen in typical kabuki, and the performances featuring the younger generation of kabuki stars. The building was destroyed in the Allied

bombing of Tokyo The was a series of air raids on Japan by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), primarily launched during the closing campaigns of the Pacific War, Pacific Theatre of World War II in 1944–1945, prior to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but was reconstructed in 1948. Major renovations were undertaken in 1982, incorporating technological upgrades, extra seating, and expanding to take over the nearby

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

Motors Building. The Shinbashi Enbujō was the main kabuki theater from 2010 until March 2013 while the Kabuki-za theater was undergoing construction.Kabuki-za to be rebuilt from 2010
" ''

Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

''. 26 October 2008. Accessed 28 October 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinbashi Enbujo 1925 establishments in Japan Kabuki theatres Buildings and structures in Chūō, Tokyo Buildings and structures in Japan destroyed during World War II Ginza Theatres in Tokyo Theatres completed in 1925