Japan's kabuki theatre resumes with social distancing measures in place after coronavirus hiatus

The theatre has been closed for five months

A member of staff wearing a protective mask disinfects a seat at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Workers wearing protective face masks disinfect seats at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Japan's stately traditional Kabuki theatre resumed performances on Saturday, August 1. Reuters

The theatre has been closed for five-months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters

Seats are blocked off to support social distancing at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Staff members wearing protective face masks and shields hold a meeting at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Staff members wear protective face shields, as well as masks. Reuters

Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama performance. Reuters

Foot marks indicate the social distancing measures in place. Reuters

A staff member wearing protective face mask and shield shows directions at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Body temperature checks and hand sanitising procedures are in place at the entrance of the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

The main entrance of the Kabukiza Theatre, where Japan's stately traditional kabuki theatre has resumed. Reuters

Japan's stately traditional kabuki theatre resumed performances on Saturday after a five-month break due to the novel coronavirus, with musicians in masks, actors farther apart on stage and only half the usual number of seats. Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama performance.

The re-opening of Tokyo's famed Kabukiza Theatre, which called off performances from March due to the spread of the coronavirus, came even as new cases have spiked to record highs around the country.

"We're re-opening based on guidelines from infectious disease experts, paying attention to audience safety from the time they enter until the time they leave," Kabukiza manager Yoshitaka Hashimoto said at a Friday preview for journalists.

Workers wearing protective face masks disinfect seats at the Kabukiza Theatre. Reuters

Onstage, the number of musicians is limited and all wear draped black cloth masks from nose to chest.

Performers stand farther back on stage and keep a greater than normal distance from each other. Actors and staff are completely different for each act, to shorten contact.

Though the traditional black-dressed stage assistants who approach the performers most closely wore both masks and face shields during a rehearsal, the company that runs the theatre said they wore only masks from Saturday's performance because the shields apparently made their job harder to do.

Staff members wearing protective face masks and shields attend a meeting at the Kabukiza Theatre ahead of its reopening. Reuters

Audience members face temperature checks at the entrance and must wear masks. Seats are roped off so fewer than half are usable, and the auditorium will be sterilised between each act.

Though eating boxed lunches between acts has long been a cherished kabuki custom, it's currently prohibited.

Tokyo on Friday confirmed a record 463 cases and Governor Yuriko Koike warned the capital could declare a state of emergency should things deteriorate further, a situation Hashimoto said they're reluctantly keeping in mind.

"Of course if there are limits and requests from the government, we'll ... look into a different form of performing – which might mean halting partway through the run," he said.

Chiaki Sakurai, a 46-year-old Tokyo resident who usually watches kabuki two or three times a month and was dressed in a green kimono, said she was grateful and excited.

"To say nothing good has happened the last five months may be an exaggeration, but I feel as if I've finally come back to life," she added.

Around 1,000 people have died in Japan due to Covid-19, with some 36,330 infected.