“Tokyo Review 029” Shinjuku area-5
The person who decided the name of Kabuki-Cho
In 1945, the major cities in Japan were totally destroyed by air raids, and the whole Shinjuku area became burnt fields. The country enacted the special urban planning law. This promoted the War Damage Reconstruction Project by administrative leadership. The man who was struggling as the chief of urban planning section, the Department of Interior, was Hideaki Ishikawa. He is famous for the “Ishikawa Award” in Japan Urban Planning Institute.
Actually, many projects were proposed among the War Damage Reconstruction Projects, but only a few projects had been implemented. Such projects as Harima-Zaka, a 100m width road with cherry blossom trees in Bunkyo Ward, Azabu-Juban Square and Shinjuku Kabuki-Cho. This Kabuki-Cho development project is very unique because it is a project initiated by a private sector, and realized by full support by a man in the government sector, Mr. Ishikawa.
Mr. Kihei Suzuki who was the chairperson of the township of Tsunohazu 1-Chome North Block (currently a part of Kabuki-Cho) was the largest leasehold owner, and immediately after returning from the war evacuation, he urged the former residents and established the “Reconstruction Cooperation Association” to entrust leasehold rights and obtained the cooperation of the largest land owner as well. Moreover, he set up a future vision to “realize an outstanding entertainment district”. He launched a private initiative War Damage Reconstruction Plan to involve theaters, movie theaters, and other entertainments after implementing a large-scale land re-adjustment project. As they were aiming to invite Kabuki-Za into this place, there were opinions among the former residents that they shall decide the name of the town. Thus, the town was named “Kabuki-Cho” by Mr. Hideaki Ishikawa’s proposal, and “Kabuki-Cho” was finally born in 1948 April.
The “Shinjuku Koma Theater” opened in 1956 and had a special feature including the triple rotating stage in a concentric circle, six Seri (small self-elevating stage) rotating and moving up and down. It had been recognized as “the hall of fame for Enka (Japanese Traditional Ballad)”, and a number of musicals were performed there.
The Koma Theater Plaza was also designed by Mr. Ishikawa. Having learned in Europe, he thought that of it as a plaza that is an expression of democratic society and a symbol of cultured city, and he wanted to make the plaza and the theater as an eye-stop of the broad avenue in Kabuki-Cho.
Koma Theater has long been the landmark of Kabuki-Cho, but it finally closed its curtain to the sixty-years-history. “Shinjuku Toho Building” with “Godzilla head” opened on the site in April 2015 containing a cinema complex named TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku with twelve screens including an IMAX theater on the 3rd to 6th floor. Cafés and restaurants are on the 1st and 2nd floor and the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku with 1030 rooms is operated by Fujita Kanko on the upper floors from 9th to 31st.
