The curtain is coming down on Tokyo’s Kabukiza, the iconic home of Japan’s traditional kabuki drama, which is set to be demolished next month to make way for a skyscraper.
Women dressed in their finest kimonos and crowds of tourists have flocked to the venue, a landmark that evokes ancient Japanese castles and temples, to catch the final shows before its date with the wrecking ball.
Nestled amid the glass and steel of the upscale Ginza shopping district, the four-story playhouse, with its curved roofs and red paper lanterns, is a reminder of a quieter past beloved by many in the bustling metropolis.
For more than half a century it has been the premiere venue in Tokyo to see kabuki, the stylized classical dance-drama whose all-male actors perform in extravagant costumes and mask-like facial makeup.
The theater’s owner, movie and entertainment company Shochiku, plans to take down the building sometime next month and build a 49-story office tower on the site by 2013 at a cost of US$467 million.
The company, which says the old structure fails to meet earthquake-safety standards, has said it will rebuild the theater, using some original facade ornaments, on the bottom floors of the new building.
In contrast to the half-century old structure, the new version will boast elevators and the latest energy saving technology.
In the meantime the show must go on and daily plays will continue to be staged at several other venues in the city, including the nearby Shimbashi Embu theater, and elsewhere in Japan.
Still, for many the Kabukiza demolition will mark the end of an era.
“When the Kabukiza closes, I will close my shop,” said Kazushi Nishii, 80, who sells roasted chestnuts outside the theater. “My girlfriend called the Kabukiza will be gone. I don’t want to see a new one.”
Kikuko Murakami, 79, a nearby kiosk owner, said: “I am very sad, and it’s difficult to buy tickets this month ... There are a lot of people visiting.”
Crowds have been queuing outside the theater, which is listed as a
cultural property and has been decorated with blue and red drop curtains with the farewell message “Kabukiza. Sayonara performance.”
Artists have been drawing and painting the theater, while foreign and Japanese tourists have posed for photos in front of an electronic countdown board showing the days left until the final show on April 30.
The Kabukiza was originally built in 1889 and has since been reconstructed repeatedly following fires, the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, and US air raids at the end of World War II.
The current theater was built in 1950, using some materials from the bombed site, with an audience capacity of 2,000.
“It is a symbol of rebirth after the war, so this is a very important building for us,” Nobuyuki Suzuki, 66, said, painting a picture of the theater from the sidewalk.
“I don’t think it’s right to break it down,” Suzuki said. “I think this building should remain as a treasure of Japan.”
Kana Kashima, a 21-year-old university student, said: “I feel very sad. It is historic and doesn’t look so old, so tearing it down is unfortunate.”
The firm, however, says reconstruction is unavoidable.
“We also feel very sad as we have an emotional attachment to the current building, but it is our duty to offer a safe environment to our audience,” said Ippei Noma, a Shochiku official in charge of the reconstruction.
“And many of our audience members are complaining about the inconvenience and unfriendly facilities for the elderly, such as the absence of elevators or escalators,” Noma said.
The company plans to set up a “Kabuki” gallery in the new building to pass on the 400-year-old tradition to younger generations, as well as an information center to help foreign visitors better understand the art form.
“Theater can’t exist without an audience,” Noma said. “It is our mission to take measures to maintain our traditional art.”
“In kabuki, we have long maintained old things while embracing the challenge of the new,” Noma said. “The concept of kabuki is exactly the same as our reconstruction concept.”
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50