Tokyo Gekijo, Movie theater in Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Gekijo is a cinema in the Tokyu Building at 4-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo, run by Shochiku Multiplex Theaters. The current auditorium seats 397 (a Korean source gives 435). The 1975 high-rise replaced the 1930 theater; Shochiku's headquarters occupies the same building.
Tokyo Gekijo opened on 29 March 1930 as a playhouse in Tsukiji, with a kabuki opening run by Onoe Kikugoro VI, Ichimura Uzaemon XV and Onoe Baiko VI. After the Kabukiza burned in the 1945 air raids, it became Tokyo's main kabuki stage until the Kabukiza was rebuilt in 1951. It switched to film on 31 December 1950; the 1930 building was demolished in 1974 and replaced by the current Tokugeki Building, completed in 1975.
The name is shortened to Toku-geki, and the cinema is known for Cinema Kabuki, filmed stage performances of kabuki plays, as well as live-viewing screenings of Metropolitan Opera productions. It is run by Shochiku Multiplex Theaters, the company behind the MOVIX chain, though it does not offer the same services as those multiplexes.
Tickets can be booked online in advance, with seats assigned at the time of booking. Arriving a few minutes early is a good idea, especially on weekends and public holidays when the rooms fill up quickly.
The current 397-seat cinema, opened in 1975, replaced a 1930 theater that had 1,711 seats. The 1975 building cost 10 billion yen, twice the original budget, due to the oil shock. Shochiku's headquarters is in the same building, and the cinema is set to close in 2029, with a new theater planned for 2035.
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