Nakamura-za was one of the three main kabuki theaters of Edo, first established in 1624 by Nakamura Kanzaburō I. The first theater was located in Nihonbashi, on the place of today’s Maruzen Department Store, but the building and several other reconstructions were all burned by the many fires that ravaged Edo.

A reconstruction of the original theater can be visited inside the Edo Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku, Tokyo, while another reconstruction is in Kyoto, housing a theater inside the Toei Uzumasa Eigamura theme park. Here it is, adorned with modern-day posters, traditional sake barrels and lanterns featuring the ginkgo tree kamon of the Nakamura family.

Toei Uzumasa Eigamura, Kyoto

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