Minami-za Theatre

One of Kyoto's landmarks, Minami-za was built in 1615 as a theatre for "Kabuki." Among many performances throughout the year, the December performance is called the all star "Kao-mise" which means "face showing," and is particularly popular.

The huge boards (about 6 feet tall) showing Kabuki actors' names were placed along the wall of the theatre on November 25. Underneath the boards, the colorfully painted bulletins depicting famous scenes from the performance are shown.

Names of sponsors/patrons are written on these boards.

The opening day of the performance is November 30, and you can see many beautifully dressed geisha and maiko girls at the theatre on this special day.