Ina Asahiza

Ina Asahiza (伊那旭座) is a movie theater located in Ina, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It operates two screens, Ina Asahiza 1 and Ina Asahiza 2, and is run by the company Tabata Eiga Yugen Kaisha (有限会社タバタ映画). The theater is notable for its main building, Ina Asahiza 1, a wooden structure completed in 1913, which is one of only a handful of surviving wooden movie theaters in Japan. The site's history stretches back to the Meiji era, when it began as a playhouse called Asahiza. Over the decades it evolved from a venue for plays and variety shows into a full-fledged cinema, surviving the decline of movie theaters across Japan. Today it continues to screen films for a diverse local audience, including families, students, and older patrons, and occasionally hosts stage greetings and special events. The theater also has a connection to the local film club Ina Cinema Club, which held monthly screenings there for about 30 years until 2012.

The history of Ina Asahiza begins in the Meiji era, when a playhouse named Asahiza was opened by Tabata Kō, the first president of Tabata Eiga Yugen Kaisha, the company that still operates the theater today. In its early days as a playhouse, the venue had tatami seating and a second-floor seating area arranged in a "ko" (コ) shape. With a capacity of over 400, it was the largest hall in Ina and hosted not only plays but also live performances and song shows. In 1913 (Taishō 2), the current building of Ina Asahiza 1 was completed in what was then Ina-machi, Kamiina District (now Ina City, Arai-ku Nishiki-machi). During the Taishō and early Shōwa periods, the theater primarily staged plays and song shows while also screening five or six films a year. Around 1924 (Taishō 13), the building was destroyed by fire. In 1940, the theater was leased for an astonishingly high rent of 2,000 yen, but it achieved great commercial success: a Shochiku film, "Shin Josei Mondō" (directed by Sasaki Yasushi, starring Kuwano Michiko), was shown three times a day and earned more than 2,000 yen in three days, and a women's sumo event drew 2,000 spectators at once, requiring admission limits. After World War II, the theater converted to a dedicated movie house, removing the box seats and the hanamichi (flower path) and installing six-person bench seating. In the late Shōwa 20s (around 1950–1955), daily attendance sometimes exceeded 1,000, and the doors could not be closed. In 1953 (Shōwa 28), Ina-machi had two theaters: Ina Asahiza (525 seats), which screened Shochiku, Toho, and Shintoho films, and Ina Denkikan (500 seats), which screened Daiei and Toei films, dividing the market. In 1957 (Shōwa 32), the building was renovated: the tatami second-floor seating was replaced with chestnut wood flooring, and CinemaScope was introduced. In the late 1950s, Ina Chūō Gekijō opened in front of Ina City Station on the Japanese National Railways. By 1960 (Shōwa 35), the peak year for movie theaters in Japan, Ina City had three theaters: Ina Asahiza, Ina Denkikan (along the Tenryū River), and Ina Chūō Gekijō (in front of Ina City Station). During the golden age of cinema, the 400 seats were always full, and with standing room the theater could hold about 600 people; daily attendance reached nearly 3,000. Ina Asahiza was called the "hall of entertainment for the citizens of Ina." According to the "National Movie Theater Directory 1960," Ina Asahiza had 1,180 seats and screened both Japanese and foreign films. In 1968 (Shōwa 43), Ina Denkikan closed, and Ina Eiga Gekijō (now Ina Asahiza 2) was built behind Asahiza, opening as a Japanese-film specialty theater screening films from all major studios including Shochiku, Toei, Toho, and Nikkatsu. During the 1960s and 1970s, the theater also hosted live performances, including group sounds bands such as The Jaguars. Asahiza 1 was originally a foreign-film specialty theater focusing on 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures releases, but when Ina Chūō Gekijō, also a foreign-film theater, switched to adult films in the early 1970s, Asahiza 1 began screening films from all distributors. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, neighboring theaters closed one after another, but "The Towering Inferno" (1974, directed by John Guillermin) helped bring audiences back. In 1978 (Shōwa 53), "Seishoku no Hi" (directed by Moritani Shirō), about a mountaineering accident on Mount Kisokoma, drew 60,000 spectators at Ina Asahiza alone, surpassing Tokyo theaters and recording the highest attendance in Japan for that film. Other hits at Ina Asahiza included "Ah, Nomugi Tōge" (1979, directed by Yamamoto Satsuo) and "Nankyoku Monogatari" (1983, directed by Kurahara Koreyoshi). From 1980 to 2012, the independent screening group Ina Cinema Club held monthly screenings. In 2011, "Hokaihito: Ina no Getsu" (directed by Kitamura Minao), about the life of the haiku poet Inoue Getsu, was produced, and a talk event with director Kitamura and actor Tanaka Min was held on November 19, the day before its release. In July 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Nitta Jirō's birth, "Seishoku no Hi" was screened for the first time in 34 years, and 150 people attended on the opening day, July 1. The film "Haiyū Kameoka Takuji" (directed by Yokohama Satoko) was shot in Suwa and Ina, and the scene where characters go to a movie theater was filmed at Ina Asahiza; a stage greeting by director Yokohama was held on February 27, 2016, the opening day. Ina City was a filming location for "Boku dake ga Inai Machi" (directed by Hirakawa Yūichirō), and in April 2016 a panel exhibition of props used in the film was held. In 2023 (Reiwa 5), the building marked its 100th anniversary, and in April of that year, "Hitoribocchi ja Nai" (directed by Itō Chihiro), starring King Gnu's Iguchi Satoru (a native of Ina City), was screened; on the 2nd of that month, a stage greeting by Iguchi and director Itō was held. Also related to King Gnu, "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" (directed by Park Sung-hoo, released December 24, 2021), which used a King Gnu song as its theme, was screened, and Iguchi himself commented, "I did jujutsu at Asahiza." According to a survey by the Nagano Prefecture Local History Research Group, as of 2014 Ina Asahiza was one of nine surviving wooden movie theaters in Japan. The group's journal "Nagano" also featured Ina Asahiza.

• 2023

  Building marked its 100th anniversary; "Hitoribocchi ja Nai" screened with stage greeting by Iguchi Satoru and director Itō Chihiro.

• 2016

  Stage greeting for "Haiyū Kameoka Takuji" held on February 27; panel exhibition for "Boku dake ga Inai Machi" in April.

• 2012

  Ina Cinema Club suspended activities after 30 years and 362 screenings.

• 1982

  Ina Cinema Club established; held monthly screenings at Ina Asahiza.

• 1978

  "Seishoku no Hi" drew 60,000 spectators at Ina Asahiza alone, a national record for the film.

• 1974

  "The Towering Inferno" helped bring audiences back to the theater.

• 1968

  Ina Denkikan closed; Ina Eiga Gekijō (now Ina Asahiza 2) opened behind Asahiza.

• 1960

  Peak year for movie theaters in Japan; Ina City had three theaters including Ina Asahiza.

• 1957

  Building renovated; second-floor tatami replaced with chestnut wood flooring and CinemaScope introduced.

• 1953

  Ina Asahiza (525 seats) and Ina Denkikan (500 seats) divided film distribution in Ina-machi.

• 1940

  Leased for 2,000 yen; achieved major box-office success with films and women's sumo.

• 1924

  Building destroyed by fire around this time.

• 1913

  Current building of Ina Asahiza 1 completed in Ina-machi, Kamiina District (now Ina City).

A historic, locally rooted cinema preserving a rare wooden movie theater building, serving the Ina community with a mix of mainstream and special programming.

• Ina Asahiza 1

  Main screen with 352 seats (including a second floor) and a 10m x 3.5m screen, one of the largest in Nagano Prefecture. The wooden building completed in 1913 retains a wide stage and a revolving stage beneath it.

• Ina Asahiza 2

  Second screen with 204 seats and a 3.0m x 8m screen, opened in 1968 as Ina Eiga Gekijō.

1. 1旭座ホームページasahiza.jpn.org
2. 2Ina Asahiza - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3伊那旭座 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org