Interest Place 4 - Kabukiza Theater ( Japan )

Kabukiza theater where is located in 4-12-15 Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo . Kabuki-za is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form. Kabuki performances are held periodically throughout the year in the Kabukiza Theater. It opened in 1889, and is one of the city's finest extant examples of Meiji-era construction using Western materials in traditional Japanese architectural styles. The building was originally constructed as the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1921, and was uncompleted when the 1923 Kanto earthquake struck. It was rebuilt in a baroque Japanese revivalist style, meant to evoke the Japanese castles of the 16th century; The theater was again destroyed in the Allied bombing during World War II . It was rebuilt once again, as a reconstruction of the 1924 structure, and today remains one of Tokyo's more dramatic and traditional buildings.


Matinees usually open at 11a.m. and evening performances open at 4:30p.m. Each performance consists of some acts and lasts about 5 hours including intermissions. One act viewing called makumi are available on the 4th floor. Makumi ticket prices vary by acts from 600 yen to 1,200 yen, and they are sold on the day of the performances about 20 minutes before each act. Earphone rental services which provide viewers explanations of performances in English are also available. There are plans to demolish the structure in spring 2010, and rebuild it, a process which is expected to take three years. Reasons cited for the reconstruction include concerns over the building's ability to survive earthquakes, as well as accessibility issues. A series of farewell performances, entitled Kabuki-za Sayonara Koen ( "Kabuki-za Farewell Performances"?) will be held from January through April 2010, after which kabuki performances will take place at the nearby Shinbashi Enbujo and elsewhere until the opening of the new theatre complex, currently scheduled for 2013. The respond of the tourist is good , describe that a performance of Kabuki is one of the most unique experience in the world of theater .