Kyoraku Theater (京洛劇場)
Kyoraku Theater was an entertainment hall that existed in Matsugae-cho, Rokkaku Higashi-iru, Shinkyogoku Street, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City. It was managed by Sentochi Kogyo (later, Nippon Dream Kanko).
History
Originally, it was a movie theater. It was located at Rokkaku-dori Street, Shinkyogoku, Kyoto. The theater opened on April 6, 1939 as Kyoraku Movie Theater affiliated with Shochiku Company. Although news films and cultural films were mainly screened at this theater, pseudo-television show using Eidophor was also played. It became a theater for secondhand Japanese films after the World War Ⅱ, but it was converted into an entertainment hall on May 1, 1958. The event titled 'Kyoraku Theater becomes Yose (storyteller theater)' was held on the eve of its opening.
Around that time, Fuki (Yose) of Fuki Shinkyogoku was located in Shinkyogoku and it prospered as a leading Yose in Kyoto. After the birth of Kyoraku Theater, however, the two theaters became rivals. While Fuki used entertainers belonging to Shinsei Production (one of origins of current Shochiku Geino Co., Ltd), all entertainers belonging to Sentochi Kogyo, many of them were quite popular at the time, performed at Kyoraku Theater. As a result, Fuki was defeated in the competition because of its poor programs, and it was converted into a strip club.
After Sennichi Theater opened on December 1 in the same year, Kyoraku theater brought entertainment performance to an end as of January 28, 1959, the following year, and again became a movie theater from February in the following year. The reason was that Sentochi concentrated on the entertainment business in the Sennichi Theater. In spite of its opening with great fanfare, it operated as Yose for a short period. Since Fuki withdrew from the entertainment business in the middle of the previous month, there was no entertainment hall in Kyoto City until June 1962 when Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. revived the Kyoto Kagetsu Theater.
Kyoraku Theater continued its operation as a theater for secondhand Japanese films, new films of Toei, new western films or classic films, but it ceased operations as of the end of January 1967. Thereafter, it was converted into a cabaret 'Night Salon Hanataba' (bouquet flowers). However, it operated as a movie theater for one year from October 1969 during which Kyoto Theater, a theater for new films of Toei, was temporarily closed for renovation. Thereafter, it again became a cabaret 'Mini-Mini Salon Mango,' but it ceased operation in the middle of 1980's and the building was demolished. The land was sold to a third person and used as a parking space, and eventually a building with space to rent mainly for restaurants was constructed there.
Principal performers
Beicho KATSURA (the third)
Shokaku SHOFUKUTEI (the sixth) (then Shikaku SHOFUKUTEI)
Bunshi KATSURA (the fifth) (then Kobunshi KATSURA)
Keisuke OTORI, Utako KYO and others