Asahiza Theatre

The Asahiza Theatre opened its doors on July 2, 1923. The theatre itself was once the tallest building in the Haramachi area of Fukushima and was constructed by Sekiba Kiyomatsu, who was the founder of the Sekiba Construction Company and was also the ones who built the Haramachi Radio Tower and several other buildings across the area.

Some of its original information includes a variety of oddities. Some of which include the first floor being a box-seat auditorium with a gangplank in a “K” shape, and also had a revolving stage and runway that was used in both kabuki and shinpa drama performances. There is also a seating area behind the auditorium. It was originally a silent movie house until 1931 when the first talkie film was screened at the Asahiza Theatre, and live performances were also presented as well.

The Asahiza Theatre building received renovation by the Takato Construction Company in 1951, and the Asahiza became a full-time movie theatre that same year. Throughout the following three-to-four decades, the area was left with two movie theatres, which were the Asahiza Theatre and the Haramachi Cinema. Unfortunately right after the Haramachi Cinema closed in 1989, this left the Asahiza Theatre as the only movie theater operating in Haramachi.

The Asahiza Theatre closed as a movie theatre for the final time on September 30, 1991 with “Home Alone” and “Edward Scissorhands”, and the entirety of its auditorium and projection sat abandoned after its closure. It last operated as a 230-seat movie house screening a mix from the Toei, Toho, and foreign chains.

In March 2008, a group of local residents formed the “Asahiza Enjoyment Association” and has been working to promote the area using the Asahiza Theatre. On March 22, 2009, the “Nagame Kuroko Association” from Midori City was invited to hold a forum to discuss the preservation and reuse of the theatre. Based on the movie posters and projectors that operator Yukio Nunokawa had entrusted to the Minamisoma City Museum. The Asahiza Theater was also used as a location for a Japanese movie afterward that September with Minamisoma residents also participating as extras.

During the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, Minamisoma city lost a grand total of 636 people, the highest number in Fukushima prefecture, and 489 people died as a result of the earthquake itself. However, the Asahiza Theatre sustained almost no damage to the building. After the earthquake, the “Asahiza Enjoyment Association” quickly resumed its activities, and in June of the same year, a reconstruction film festival was held at the Asahiza Theatre. In December of the same year, the Asahiza General Incorporated Association was established, and the ownership of the Asahiza Theatre, which had been privately owned, was transferred to the Asahiza General Incorporated Association. The activities of the Asahiza Enjoyment Association created connections with architectural experts, which became the catalyst for the Asahiza building repair and investigation process. Many buildings in Minamisōma were at risk of demolition following the Great East Japan Earthquake, but Asahiza’s efforts led to a full-scale investigation of the distribution of buildings, and experts recognized the cultural value of the Otani Family Residence in Kashima Ward, the Kobayashi Eye Clinic in Haramachi Ward, and the Sōma Silk Industry Cooperative Association office in Odaka Ward.

On April 27, 2012, the roof replacement work was completed, and tours of the backstage and projection room were held. In December 2013, a recommendation was made to have Asahiza registered as a tangible cultural property, and on April 25, 2014, it was officially announced as a registered tangible cultural property. It is the first registered tangible cultural property in the Sōsō region.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it received fame following the 50th anniversary of the Fukushima Central Television (or JOVI-TV), the Asahiza Theatre had a special triumphant preview screening of a made-for-TV movie that was made by the station.

It is a two-story wooden building with a mortar-painted exterior with the front being gabled structure while the back is a hipped-roof structure. The truss structure ensures a large space for the theatre with beams are over 10 meters long. Inside the theatre, the current first floor has chair seating, but when it was a playhouse it was a box seating structure. There were box seats on both sides of the first and second floors, but they are now sealed off by partition walls. There used to be six dressing rooms and accommodation rooms behind the stage, but they are now just one large room.

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.