Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex

What Is the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex?

The Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex (祇園甲部歌舞練場別館, Gion Kōbu Kaburenjō Bekkan) is a two-storey timber building of 1913 that adjoins the south side of the theater at Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001.

It is long and narrow, with its ridge running east to west and its entrance in the gable end (Tsumairi). The roof is tiled and the building area is 712 m². The west gable, which serves as the front, faces the forecourt, with the Entrance as its northern neighbor. The Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex went up in the same year as the theater, to look after its audiences.

Why the Annex Was Registered: A Stepped West Front

What the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out in the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex is the west front. Lowest and nearest is the curved karahafu over the carriage porch; above it, a Chidori-hafu sits on the eave over the doorway; behind and higher still comes the gable of the main Irimoya-zukuri roof. The three rise like steps, and the Agency calls the effect lively. The building is registration No. 26-0084, entered for its contribution to the country's historic landscape.

Stacking three different gable shapes, curved, triangular and the broad end of the main roof, one behind the other turns a narrow gable end into a front with real depth. Rather than expose the long, slim plan, the builders shaped the view from the forecourt.

What to Look For: A 70-Mat Tea Room and Upstairs Lounges

The ground floor of the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex was originally a single tea room of 70 tatami mats, where tea was whisked for guests. Upstairs were a rest room and a waiting room, two rooms each fitted with a Tokonoma alcove and shelves. The plan shows a building conceived together with the theater, to serve tea and a place to settle before the show.

The organizers say the Miyako Odori tea ceremony goes back to the first season in 1872, when the ryurei style devised by Gengensai, eleventh grand master of the Urasenke school, was first shown in public: tea made and served at tables, with guests on chairs. Tickets with tea still include a seat at the tea ceremony before the performance, but the organizers do not say where in the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex, if anywhere, it now takes place.

Visiting the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex

The west front can be seen from the forecourt inside the Main Gate. Move a little to the north and look at it on the diagonal to read the three gables most clearly. The forecourt is mainly accessible while the Gion Kagai Art Museum is open and on performance days.

The museum lists the Main Building's theater and the pond garden as part of its route but says nothing about the interior of the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Annex. Ask the organizers if the inside can be visited, including during the Miyako Odori. At the tea ceremony and during the show, photography, filming and recording are not permitted.

Hours, admission and directions are on the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo page.