Eirakukan, Traditional kabuki theatre in Izushi, Japan
Eirakukan is a kabuki theatre in the historic district of Izushi, in Toyooka, and its stage can rotate using mechanisms housed below the floor. Wooden name plaques of past kabuki performers line the theatre walls, forming a lasting record of every artist who has appeared here.
The theatre opened in 1901, making it one of the earliest of its kind in the region, and it ran without interruption for decades before closing in 1964. After major restoration work, it reopened in 2008 and has been welcoming visitors and performers ever since.
During performances, the audience sits on the floor in front of the stage or in raised side galleries, following a traditional Japanese seating arrangement. This layout brings performers and spectators much closer together than in a typical Western theatre.
Visitors can explore the stage, the backstage areas, and the underground space where the rotating mechanism sits, which gives a good sense of how the building works. Looking at the theatre from different seating levels helps to understand how the space was shaped for both performers and the people watching them.
The theatre has a hanamichi, a narrow raised walkway that runs from the back wall of the building through the seating area all the way to the main stage. Performers use this path to enter and exit right among the audience, which makes the boundary between stage and seating almost disappear.
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