Nippon Gekijo Theatre
Yuraku-cho,
Tokyo
Yuraku-cho,
Tokyo
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My Dad went to the movies here during the occupation of Japan in 1945 and 1946. It had been damaged in the bombings but somehow remained relatively intact. He worked in the Dai-Ichi Insurance Company Building which served as General Mac Arthur’s headquarters GHQ.
The Nippon Gekijo (Japan Theater) usually known as Nichigeki, opened in 1933. Although it looked circular in appearance from the street, the theater was actually ‘U’ shaped by design Its Art Deco interior and exterior, comprised of seven stories above and three stories below ground, were designed by Watanabe Hitoshi to accommodate both staged and motion pictures entertainment. Said to be patterned after New York’s Roxy, the Nichigeki was planned to be the biggest in all Asia with a seating capacity of four thousand. Was shuttered and demolished in 1981.