Kabuki-za, Traditional kabuki theatre in Ginza, Japan
Kabuki-za is a theatre in Ginza, Tokyo, with a low-rise Momoyama-style facade designed by Kengo Kuma. Its white upper storey has rectangular windows and a red-railed balcony, above which a broad tiled roof with upturned eaves carries ornamental ridge ends. A vertical red banner reading "歌舞伎" hangs on the right, and the base has a central arched entrance draped with a dark purple curtain bearing white circular crests.
The theatre opened in 1889 on the initiative of journalist Fukuchi Gen'ichiro, aiming to make kabuki accessible to a wider audience. Following fires, the 1923 earthquake, and wartime damage, it was rebuilt several times, most recently in 2013 with modern safety standards.
The name Kabuki-za was unusual: "za" was a suffix for playhouses named after a place or owner, while "kabuki-za" had been a common noun for a grand theatre. Fukuchi Ochi made it the theatre's proper name. The crest is the Hōō-maru, a phoenix roundel from a Hōryū-ji treasure, seen on the purple entrance curtain and roof tiles. In November a yagura is raised above the entrance gable.
The theatre offers nearly 2,000 seats spread across several tiers, giving visitors different angles on the stage. English subtitles are available via handheld devices, allowing guests without Japanese to follow the storyline.
Stage technicians dressed in black, called kurogo, change scenery and operate special effects directly on stage while the audience traditionally ignores them. A narrow walkway, hanamichi, runs through the seating area to the stage, allowing performers to make dramatic entrances among the spectators.
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