Ichimura-za
| Murayama-za, Ichimura-Takenojō-za, Miyamoto-za, Satsuma-za | |
Ichimura-za at Saruwaka-machi in Asakusa (1854)
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| Address |
Edo Japan
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|---|---|
| Owner | Ichimura family, others |
| Designation | Licensed theatre |
| Type | Kabuki theatre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | March 1634 |
| Closed | 1932 |
| Rebuilt | 1657, 1703, 1855, numerous other times |
| Years active | On and off from 1634 to 1932. |
The Ichimura-za (市村座?) was a major kabuki theatre in the Japanese capital of Edo (later, Tokyo), for much of the Edo period, and into the 20th century. It was first opened in 1634 and was run by members of the Ichimura family for much of the following nearly three centuries before it was destroyed by fire in 1932. It has not been rebuilt.
The theatre which would later be known as the Ichimura-za was founded as the Murayama-za, by Murayama Matasaburō I in March 1634. After it was destroyed by fire in 1641 and rebuilt, the theatre, now controlled by Murayama's son-in-law Murata Kuroemon, with the help of Ichimura Uzaemon III, was renamed the Ichimura-za in 1643. Uzaemon became the official manager of the theatre in 1652, upon Kuroemon's death.
The Ichimura-za was destroyed by fire and rebuilt numerous times over the years, including during the famous 1657 "Furisode Fire" or "Great Fire of Meireki". Ichimura Uzaemon III retired to become a priest in 1664, leaving ten-year-old Ichimura Takenojō I as his successor as zamoto (manager) of the theatre. It was then renamed the "Ichimura-Takenojō-za" for roughly a decade. In 1670, the shogunate officially restricted the licensed theatres in the city to four; the Ichimura-Takenojō-za received a license along with the Nakamura-za, Morita-za and Yamamura-za. The Ichimura-za would be host to numerous premieres and significant historical events for the kabuki genre. March 1680 saw the very first performance of a sayaate scene, or love rivals' competition; Chikamatsu Monzaemon's masterpiece The Battles of Coxinga, the first kabuki play derived from a bunraku (puppet) play to be performed in Edo, premiered simultaneously in 1717 at the Ichimura-za, and two other licensed theaters.Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami, which remains today among the three most famous and popular kabuki plays, debuted at the Ichimura-za in 1747.
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