Tachikawa Keyakiza

Enjoy amazing popular dramas with all your emotions

A theater is on the way to Showa National Park from the north exit of Tachikawa station. Many flags are waving around a stylish building. It is Keyakiza, a popular drama theater for ordinary people. Leaving a daily life, you can enjoy the attractive Japanese popular culture.

A tiled roof, a Japanese lantern and Namako wall will remind you of a nostalgic playhouse in Edo period. The world you are going to see will be beyond your imagination.

You will see a kabuki color’s draped curtain and a long stage passage when you step into the theater. The inside is spacious enough and you can choose form three types of seats such as Tamariseki seats, ringside seats, Isuseki, chair seats, and Sajikiseki seats next to the stage passage. You can relax and enjoy the show while watching the show.

From the left of a picture: Mr. Senzen Maehara, a leader, Ms. Satomi Nakahara, a director and Ms. Tomoko Noguchi, a staff member. They are supporters of the Japanese popular culture.

There are two stages in a day: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. We saw Asai group performing. We couldn’t keep our eyes off a magnificent last scene performed by all the members.

Greetings called “okuridashi” is the time when audience shake hands and talk with actors and actresses after their performances. The close communication is one of events that attracts people to the popular culture. Under the current crisis of Covid-19, it is prohibited. Instead, audience can take a picture with them on a stage after the performance.

In 2015, the theater was opened. Ms. Nakahara said, “We are a construction company, which used to run a hot spring facility in Fukushima. There we met the popular drama. We were wondering how to use this building and we came up with an idea of bringing a drama theater back to Tachikawa and deliver Japanese popular culture to local people.” Ms. Nakahara inherited her father’s wish and started the operation. “Many people might be unfamiliar with the popular drama,” she said, “but it is one of old Japanese popular cultures which started from Edo period for people in all generation to enjoy.” The audience seem to be enjoying their conversation with each other during the show. And the marvelous performance will take you to the different world which greatly attracts you. The actors and actresses performing all over Japan will drag you into the show with their sense of humor.
Before the pandemic, they used to join festivals in Tachikawa and enjoyed with local people. We wish drama fans all over Japan will get together in Tachikawa.