Kabukiza (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

To some, Kabuki might only be an incomprehensible stage performance featuring an all-male cast in elaborate kimonos and striking makeup dancing to traditional music or emoting in dramatic movement. However, this elaborate art form is steeped in history and worth experiencing at least once while you’re in Japan.

To start your immersion into this 420-year-old creative tradition, why not visit the center of it all, the Kabukiza in Tokyo’s Ginza district. Since 1889, Kabuki performers have taken the stage to entertain visitors throughout the years.

The theater has been rebuilt five times as it has been destroyed by fire and the air raids in World War II. Its latest incarnation is a four-story traditional Momoyama-style building with anti-quake and barrier-free technology. It is connected to a modern 47-foot, 29-floor office building called Kabukiza Tower. Combined, the two buildings have been dubbed “Ginza Kabukiza.”

The 73,000-square-foot facility has 1,808 seats. Just stepping onto the scarlet carpet of the tits grand lobby can make you feel as if you are transported back to old Edo-era Tokyo.

Not ready to take in a full performance? Kabukiza’s rooftop garden, theater gallery, various souvenir shops and restaurants are open to the public, no ticket required. A wide variety of gifts and souvenirs are also available at many different stalls within the theater. This includes beautiful textiles and brightly printed hand cloths, as well as a selection of cards and notepaper.

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

(Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi/Stripes Japan)

Theater restaurants offer traditional Japanese meals ranging from soba noodles to elaborate bento-box meals. The exhibits on display at the theater gallery offer insights into the unique performing art.

To soak in the traditional atmosphere of Kabukiza, you can get a glimpse of live Kabuki performance by using “makumi-seki,” an economy seat and standing-only space for single-act viewing, along with an English-language “earphone-guide.”

Kabuki usually consists of three or four individual segments that take over four hours combined. Since each segment, which is about 40 to 90 minutes long, is a stand-alone story, dance or performance, viewing one segment can be sufficient. Viewing a single segment at the makumi-seki only costs 1,000 to 2,000 yen ($7 -14) depending on the duration, although the seats (about 70) are on the fourth floor and a bit far to see every detail onstage.

Makumi tickets go on sale online at noon the day before the target performance and sales end when the 70-ticket capacity is met.

Once you have your ticket secured, make sure to rent the English earphone guide at the entrance of the makumi-seki when you arrive at the theater. It will provide translations of the dialogues and lyrics in the performance, as well as explain the stories, music, dance, actors and other aspects of Kabuki.

During performances, don’t be surprised by shouts of “Mattemashita!” (which literally means, “This is what we’ve been waiting for!”) from the audience. This is similar to “bravo” in Italian Opera, encouraging the actors and adding to the live-show experience.

Visit Kabukiza in Ginza and experience the unique Japanese traditional art!

Kabukiza

U.S. officer saved Kabuki

If you’re an American who likes Kabuki, you’re not the first to be charmed by this art form. U.S. Army Maj. Faubion Bowers (1917-1999) was so enthralled with Kabuki that he earned the moniker of “The Man Who Saved Kabuki in Japan.”

Bowers discovered Kabuki on his travels through Asia prior to World War II and decided to stay in Japan to study the art. During World War II, he was a Japanese language interpreter in the Army and rose to major. After the war, he returned and stayed in Japan as a military secretary and interpreter of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers during the Occupation (1945-52).

When Japanese tried to rebuild Kabukiza, which was totally destroyed by the Allied air raids during World War II, MacArthur held the view that it should be banned due to its portrayal of feudal values that had raised Japanese militarism. Bowers strongly disagreed, arguing that Kabuki is not only Japanese, but world culture, and advocated for its preservation and its postwar renaissance both as military aide and later as a civilian censor under MacArthur’s administration.

Bower persuaded high-ranking officers to support Kabuki, promoted actual kabuki performances at Tokyo Army College in 1946-47 and garnered support for the rebuilding of Kabukiza in 1950. During the opening ceremony for Kabukiza, MacArthur, who was once strongly against Kabuki, celebrated the grand opening and said, “May this splendid new edifice not solely preserve the best of the past, but stimulate further contributions to the world’s drama,” according to Stars and Stripes, Jan 4, 1951.

That original Kabukiza building was widely recognized as a symbol of Ginza for 60 years until it was demolished to make way for its replacement.