Minamiza Theater

The kabuki introductory event for 5000 yen is recommendable. The artists and other staff clearly love their work. The 20 min kabuki show was most impressive. In my opinion, you get the story without the audio tranlation for 880 yen and can better appreciate all the sounds and movement from the stage. There was an audiance participation segment (you had to volunteer, no random selection).

The theater and a performance is a "must see". The staff, inside, seemed to be more concentrated on "defence" of the rules of the place. This slightly cut the magic off, but the actors and the on-stage stories definitely excelled in creating an unforgettable atmosphere.

The theater featured a spring presentation of a Traditional Japanese Puppet play except with actors. It was a serious dose of culture especially since I don't speak the language. The Announcer/Comedian who opened the show spotted me in the audience and I believe he made a little inside joke with the whole rest of the audience! Also before the serious part of the show we were allowed to take a picture and he looked right at me and said, "Go ahead, take a picture, it's ok" in English! I was in the tenth row! (the only westerner) The first half of the presentation had wonderful costumes and poses and at times I could understand the symbolism. The theater itself is beautiful and added to the cultural immersion. It was a taste of the past to see a lot of stage functions done by hand. After the first Play there was a lunch break with a snack shop in the theater and some concessionaires selling food in the auditorium. The second half of the show was put on by the younger actors who did high spirited songs and dance and set decorations that were a celebration of spring! If you enjoy exposing yourself to the wonderful culture of Japan try to catch one of these shows in Kyoto, Osaka or Tokyo.

This is an awesome traditional Japanese theatre that have all sorts of traditional Japanese shows. The inside of the theatre looks magnificent and have multiple tiers which all have pretty good view of the main stage. I came here to see the geisha performance and thought it was quite good.

The Kabuki introductory program was such a great experience. Included some interactive parts and a translated introduction act, ending with the Kabuki act. I think I would not have appreciated it as much without the intro. Highly recommended for first timers.

I watched the performance for Kabuki beginners with English assistance. I found part 1, the discussion about Kabuki, to be kind of boring but the play was beautiful. I don't know if this is offensive but the discussion at the beginning made me think a lot about drag queens. The exaggeration of femininity and masculinity was interesting. The dancing and costumes were mesmerizing.

Watched the introduction to Kabuki show which I found enjoyable and informative. The actual performance was very interesting, but I would recommend reading about what the performance is about to enjoy it more!

The Minami-za, established in the early Edo period (1615-1623) in the Shijo Kawara area of Kyoto, stands as one of the first of the seven officially licensed kabuki theatres. Predating similar venues in Tokyo and Osaka, the existing structure of Minami-za was constructed in 1929. It features the architectural aesthetics of the Momoyama period, complete with a traditional gabled roof and a turret.

What a beautiful theater!! If you hate going to purchase tickets, I'd recommend doing so online or through your hotel concierge. It can get quite packed during the day. I learned the hard way and had to weave through people just to get to the ticket counter. We opted for the full 5 hour show, which began at 10:30am. If you don't want to do the full 5 hours, you can purchase tickets to just watch one act, which are about an hour each. Once we got inside, we were surprised by how packed it was. We were also treated with a crowd of geishas who had reserved the 2nd level seating on the sides. What a cool experience to see them there! The show itself is several acts long with an intermission of 30 mins for lunch. I was told by the ticket counter to just bring your own boxed lunch or purchase one in the theater to eat at your seat. This is what most people did, and so, we did the same. We went out to a convenience store and purchased some sandwiches and onigiri. The actors are stupendous, and the backdrops are simply gorgeous!