Minami-za

Minami-za

南座

Address	京都市東山区四条通大和大路西入中之町198 Kyoto Japan
Coordinates	35°00′13″N 135°46′20″E / 35.003518°N 135.772305°E / 35.003518; 135.772305
Owner	Shochiku
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (1996)
Type	Kabuki theater
Capacity	1,086
Website
www.shochiku.co.jp/play/minamiza/

Minami-za (南座, Minami-za) is the primary kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded in 1610 as Shijō Minami-za. The current building, with a 1,086 seat capacity, was built in 1929.^[1][2]

The Minami-za is one of the earliest of the seven officially-licensed kabuki theatres built in the early Edo period (1615–1623) in the Shijo Kawara area in Kyoto; the theatre pre-dates those of Tokyo and Osaka.^[3] The current Minami-za theatre was built in 1929 in the architectural style of the Momoyama period, with a gabled roof and a traditional turret marking the official approval of the government. In 1991, after the end of the Shōwa period, the interior was drastically refurbished and modern stage mechanism was installed.^[3]

In 1996, the Minami-za was registered as a Japanese Tangible Cultural Property in respects to its historical architectural value in connection to the city of Kyoto.^[3]

The Minami-za features a number of stagecraft mechanisms unique to kabuki, such as the hanamichi (runway) and the seri (trap-door mechanism at the end of the hanamichi). The theatre also features a mawari-butai (revolving stage); all of the theatre's mechanisms were invented in playhouses during the Edo period.^[3]

• Official site (in Japanese)

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