IMPERIAL THEATER

Names

Teikoku Gekijô
Imperial Theater
Théâtre Impérial

City

Tôkyô

History

March 1911: opening of the Imperial Theater; the project is led by the businessman Shibusawa Eiichi and the three leading actors of the Kabuki troupe based in this theater are Onoe Baikô VI (onnagata), Ichikawa Komazô VIII (tachiyaku) and Sawamura Sôjûrô VII (wagotoshi).

November 1911: Ichikawa Komazô VIII takes at the Imperial Theater the prestigious name of Matsumoto Kôshirô VII, which has not been held since 11th lunar month of 1846.
Premiere at the Imperial Theater of Tsubouchi Shôyô's Nagauta-based dance-drama "Kanzan Jittoku". It was staged with a non-Kabuki casting: Tsubouchi Shôyô's nephew Tsubouchi Daizô and the actress Tanaka Iseko in the roles of Kanzan and Jittoku.

September 1914: premiere at the Imperial Theater of the dance "Onatsu Kyôran"; the roles of Onatsu and the pack-horse driver are played by Onoe Baikô VI and Matsumoto Kôshirô VII.

28 ~ 30 June 1915: first program of the Bungeiza at the Imperial Theater; the Bungeiza is a theater study group led by Morita Kan'ya XIII, which focuses on new productions (Shinkabuki, modern theater) and also the adaptations of Western plays, .

March 1921: premiere at the Imperial Theater of the dance-drama "Chatsubo", which is adapted from kyôgen to Kabuki by Okamura Shikô and stars Onoe Kikugorô VI and Bandô Mitsugorô VII in the roles of the countryside servant Magoroku and the thief Kumataka Tarô.

February 1922: revival at the Imperial Theater of the Nagauta-based dance-drama "Tsuki no Kao Monaka no Natorigusa", which is entitled "Oniji Hyôshimai" and staged for the first gala of the Hagoromokai from the 26th to the 28th of February 1922 with the following casting:

Roles	Actors
Osada Tarô	Bandô Mitsugorô VII
Matsu-no-Mae	Nakamura Fukusuke V

July 1922: premiere at the Imperial Theater of Tanizaki Jun'ichirô's drama "Okuni to Gohei", which is staged with the following casting:

Roles	Actors
Gohei	Bandô Jusaburô III
Tomonojô	Morita Kan'ya XIII
Okuni	Kawamura Kikue

September 1922: revival at the Imperial Theater of "Uirô Uri". It is entitled "Uirô" and stars Ichikawa Sanshô V in the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune. The script has been written by Hirayama Shinkichi.

March 1923: premiere at the Imperial Theater of Osanai Kaoru's drama "Musuko", which was staged with the following casting:

Roles	Actors
The buraikan Kinjirô	Onoe Kikugorô VI
The hori	Morita Kan'ya XIII
The rôya	Onoe Matsusuke IV

1 September 1923 (11:58 AM): Tôkyô is destroyed by a powerful earthquake called Kantô Daijishin, which kills more than 200,000 people; the Imperial Theater is destroyed.

October 1924: the newly-rebuilt Imperial Theater reopens.

June 1929: premiere at the Imperial Theater of Tsubouchi Shôyô's dance-drama "Ryôkan to Komori", which was staged with the following casting:

Roles	Actors
Ryôkan	Morita Kan'ya XIII
The farmer Jinroku	Suketakaya Takasuke V
The komori	Bandô Shûka III

December 1929: the management of the Imperial Theater is taken over by the Shôchiku Company.

1940: the management of the Imperial Theater is taken over by the Tôhô.

10 March 1945 (00:08 AM): 344 US Army B29 bombers drops 2,000 tons of bombs on Tôkyô, killing more than 120,000 people and destroying almost everything; the Imperial Theater is one of the few buildings, which were spared the destruction.

October 1945: the Imperial Theater reopens; the troupe of Onoe Kikugorô VI appears on stage with a program which includes the dance "Kagami Jishi".

September 1947: premiere at the Imperial Theater of Atsumi Seitarô's version of "Nansô Satomi Hakkenden", which is staged with the following casting:

Roles	Actors
Inuyama Dôsetsu Tadatomo, Inuzuka Shino Moritaka, Yamashita Sakuzaemon Sadakane	Ichikawa Omezô IV
Inusaka Keno, Hamaji, Hikite	Onoe Baikô VII
Inuta Kobungo Yasuyori	Onoe Shôroku II
Inukawa Sôsuke, Yamabayashi Fusahachi	Bandô Hikosaburô VII
Inukai Genpachi Nobumichi, Aboshi Samojirô	Sawamura Tanosuke V
Kamezasa	Onoe Taganojô III

The façade of The Imperial Theater