Kabukiza Theatre

The Kabukiza in Tokyo's Ginza district is Japan's largest kabuki theatre and the only one in continuous year-round performance. It opened in 1889 in the Meiji era, founded by journalist Fukuchi Genichiro to establish kabuki as serious stagecraft; the present structure is already the fifth on the site, predecessors lost to fire, earthquake and war. Today's 2013 building by Kengo Kuma keeps the temple-like curved gable of the 1950s version with gold curtains and banner lanterns, fused to a 29-storey office tower behind. The main auditorium seats over 1,800; the hanamichi runway cuts through the audience, and performances can run six hours, with single-act tickets for the time-pressed.