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==History==
==History==
Kabuki-za first opened on 21 November 1889.
Kabuki-za first opened on 21 November 1889, in a rather Western-style building. This was replaced in [[1911]] by the second Kabuki-za, constructed in the now-iconic hybrid style, incorporating elements of Azuchi-Momoyama or Edo period castle architecture.<ref>Gallery labels, History of Kabuki-za displays, Kabuki-za, summer 2013.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9339763818/in/photostream/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9336978045/in/photostream/]</ref>
The theatre was destroyed in an electrical fire in 1921, in the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, and again in the 1945 Allied bombing of Tokyo, but was rebuilt each time, the latter time in concrete, reopening in January 1951. The theatre was torn down intentionally for the first time in 2010, after closing that April, and was built anew, re-opening in April 2013. The newly reconstructed Kabuki-za retains much of its former appearance, especially in terms of the main facade, but is more modernized in terms of its earthquake protection, and accessibility for the handicapped. A modern steel-and-glass skyscraper structure was built directly behind, and attached to, the newly rebuilt Meiji-style theatre, to house the offices of the Shôchiku corporation.
The theatre was destroyed in an electrical fire in 1921, in the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, and again in the 1945 Allied bombing of Tokyo, but was rebuilt each time, the latter time in concrete, reopening in January 1951. The theatre was torn down intentionally for the first time in 2010, after closing that April, and was built anew, re-opening in April 2013. The newly reconstructed Kabuki-za retains much of its former appearance, especially in terms of the main facade, but is more modernized in terms of its earthquake protection, and accessibility for the handicapped. A modern steel-and-glass skyscraper structure was built directly behind, and attached to, the newly rebuilt Meiji-style theatre, to house the offices of the Shôchiku corporation.
