Imperial Theatre

Name of the theater. It opened in March 1911 (Meiji 44) in front of the Imperial Palace as Japan's first European-style theater. Eiichi Shibusawa was the founding chairman, and business leaders of the time invested in the theater, with the aim of making it a theater with the characteristics of a national theater. It was designed and constructed by Tamisuke Yokogawa. It was equipped with chairs on all floors, a lobby, a dining room, and a coffee shop, and the overall structure was in a Renaissance style, completely changing the image of kabuki theaters from the Edo period. It also introduced new ideas in the way it was run, abolishing the teahouse system, setting seat numbers, adopting a pre-sale system, and introducing a system of ushers, all of which were modern. Onoe Baiko VI and Matsumoto Koshiro VII were exclusive performers, and they performed kabuki, while also taking up translated plays and original plays. They also established the Imperial Theater's attached arts school, and began training actresses, producing such stars as Mori Ritsuko and Murata Kakuko. Furthermore, they invited the Italian Rossi to open an opera club (later a Western theatre club), and during the Taisho period they also contributed to cultural exchange by inviting top overseas musicians and dancers such as Herman, Kreisler and Pavlova. After it burned down in the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923), it was rebuilt and was run by Shochiku for a time, but after 1940 (Showa 15) it became a theatre under the umbrella of Toho. During that time, it left its role as a theatre for premiering Western films, and it was here that the large-scale Cinerama film was first shown in Japan (1955). In 1964 (Showa 39), it was demolished due to the wave of urban high-rise construction, and in 1966 it became a theatre in a building on the premises (Marunouchi 3-chome). The seating was on the first and second floors, with a total of 1,917 seats (1,844 for musicals, etc.). The opening performance of "Gone with the Wind" was a hit that ran for six months, and since then it has become Toho's main theater, focusing on musicals and large-scale entertainment productions.

Since the 1990s, the proportion of musical performances has increased, and while it continues to perform classic Broadway musicals such as "Fiddler on the Roof," "My Fair Lady," "The King and I," and "Man of La Mancha," it has also performed large-scale musicals using high technology such as "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon." Since its premiere in 1989 (Heisei 1), "Les Miserables" has been performed almost every year, becoming the flagship performance of the Imperial Theater. In 1999, the original musical "Roman Holiday" was performed, and now musicals make up the majority of the annual performances.

[Kiyoshi Mizuochi]

"Fifty Years of the Imperial Theater" (1966, Toho Co., Ltd.) ▽ "The Imperial Theater Opens Today, the Imperial Theater, Tomorrow, Mitsukoshi" by Takashi Mine (Chuko Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

劇場名。1911年（明治44）3月、皇居前に日本初のヨーロッパ風劇場として開場。渋沢栄一を創立委員長に当時の財界人が出資、国立劇場的な性格をもつ劇場にするのが目的だった。設計・施工は横河民輔(たみすけ)。全階椅子(いす)席、ロビー、食堂、喫茶室を備え、全体はルネサンス様式で、江戸時代からの歌舞伎(かぶき)小屋のイメージを一新した。また興行方式にも新機軸を打ち出し、芝居茶屋制度を廃止、座席番号を決め、前売り方式を採用、案内係制度にするなど、近代的な興行制度を取り入れた。6世尾上(おのえ)梅幸、7世松本幸四郎が専属となり歌舞伎を上演する一方、翻訳劇や創作劇を並行して取り上げた。また帝国劇場付属技芸学校を設立、女優の養成に乗り出し、森律子(りつこ)、村田嘉久子(かくこ)らを送り出した。さらにイタリア人ローシーを招き歌劇部（のち洋劇部）を開設したり、大正期にはエルマン、クライスラー、パブロワら海外の一流音楽家、舞踊家を招くなど文化交流にも尽くした。関東大震災（1923）で焼失後再築され、一時は松竹が経営したが、1940年（昭和15）以後、東宝傘下の劇場となった。その間、演劇興行を離れて、洋画の封切り館として親しまれたこともあり、大型映画シネラマの日本初公開（1955）もこの劇場であった。1964年（昭和39）都市高層化の波で取り壊され、1966年、敷地内（丸の内3丁目）のビルの中の劇場となった。客席は1～2階、客席数1917（ミュージカルなどの場合1844）。開場記念公演の『風と共に去りぬ』が6か月のロングランでヒットし、その後ミュージカルや大型娯楽劇を柱に東宝演劇の中心的劇場となっている。

　1990年代以降はミュージカル公演の比重が高まり、「屋根の上のヴァイオリン弾き」「マイ・フェア・レディ」「王様と私」「ラ・マンチャの男」などのブロードウェーの名作ミュージカルの上演を続けるとともに、「レ・ミゼラブル」「ミス・サイゴン」などのハイテクを駆使した大型ミュージカルも上演してきた。「レ・ミゼラブル」は1989年（平成1）の初演以来ほとんど毎年のように上演され、帝劇の看板公演になった。1999年にはオリジナル・ミュージカル「ローマの休日」を上演、現在は年間公演の多数がミュージカル公演になった。

［水落　潔］

『『帝劇の五十年』（1966・東宝株式会社）』▽『嶺隆著『帝国劇場開幕　今日は帝劇明日は三越』（中公新書）』

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