Konpira Grand Theatre - Kanamaruza

Note: This is primarily a historical theatre building to view as architecture and heritage. Performances are held only occasionally and are very rare. When a performance is scheduled, announcements are posted on the Konpira Kabuki Official Website (Japanese). Please check there for the latest information.

About the Old Konpira Grand Theatre

The Old Konpira Grand Theatre was founded in Tenpo 6 (1835) and is the oldest surviving playhouse in Japan.

In the town of Konpira, which attracted worshippers from all over Japan as a center of popular faith, a permanent playhouse was built to replace temporary performances held during festival periods. Modeled after the Ōnishi Theatre in Dōtonbori, Osaka, it was also designed to serve as a lottery drawing hall.

Back then the town hosted plays, sumo, acrobatics, and puppet shows, with theatre-going becoming the top entertainment. It became renowned throughout Japan as a prestigious theater where famous actors from Edo and Kamigata performed. It is said that celebrated stars from both eastern and western Japan once graced its grand stage.

In modern times it was converted into a cinema and renamed several times (Inariza → Chitoseza → Kanamaruza) before closing. Thanks to preservation efforts, it was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1970, then relocated and restored on the mid-slope of Mt. Atago in 1976. Since 1985, the annual Shikoku Konpira Kabuki Oshibai has been held here as a beloved spring tradition.

During the Heisei-era major renovation, seismic studies led to steel reinforcement in the attic and the removal of four pillars supporting the main beam—allowing the interior to return to an appearance close to its Edo-period form.