Kabuki-za
Tokyo’s principal kabuki theatre in Ginza, staging traditional performances throughout the year.
Kabuki-za is Tokyo's principal theatre for kabuki and is operated by the Shochiku company. It first opened in the Kobikichō district, now part of Ginza, on 21 November 1889, founded by the journalist and playwright Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Performances take place on most days of the year and are organised into monthly programmes, each usually running for three to four weeks with matinee and evening shows, or three separate parts, made up of different plays and dances.
The theatre has been rebuilt several times. A new building of 1911 was destroyed by fire in 1921, and its replacement, delayed by the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, opened in the mid-1920s, only to be gutted by air raids in 1945. The architect Yoshida Isoya restored it after the war in a Japanese revivalist style recalling castles and temples. That building was demolished in 2010 to improve earthquake resistance and accessibility, and the present theatre opened in 2013.
The current building, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates with Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei, reproduces the gabled, curved-roof facade of the post-war theatre in front of the 29-storey, 145-metre Kabukiza Tower. The auditorium seats around 1,960 and retains the hanamichi walkway through the audience used for entrances and exits. Single-act tickets for the upper level allow visitors to watch just one play, and English audio or subtitle guides are available.
Highlights
- Tokyo's leading kabuki theatre, first opened in 1889
- Monthly programmes of classic plays and dances on most days of the year
- Facade recalling the post-war theatre, backed by the 145-metre Kabukiza Tower
- Single-act tickets for watching one play from the upper level
- Direct access from Higashi-Ginza Station, Exit 3
