This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1951 post-World War II rebuilding of Tokyo's Kabuki-za theater. The Kabuki-za held farewell performances in April 2010, and has now been closed for approximately 16 months as it undergoes renovations and rebuilding. It will reopen in its new form in 2013. The Yamatane Museum of Art, with the full cooperation of the Kabuki-za Co. Ltd., Shochiku Co., Ltd., and Shōchiku Ōtani Library, presents this special exhibition during this renovation process.

Kabuki is one of Japan's native theatrical forms. It boasts a history spanning more than 400 years, since Izumo no Okuni first performed kabuki dances at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto in 1603 (Keichō 8). The kabuki theatrical form was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government in 1965, and in 2008 was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Tokyo's Kabuki-za's history stretches back more than 120 years to its founding in 1889 (Meiji 22), and is a home for the performing arts, beloved by many.

The post-war rebuilding of the Kabuki-za in 1951 set as its goal "a place that symbolizes Japan's finest arts and sentiments," and, "a microcosm of the loftiest and most noble." The rebuilt Kabuki-za was then decorated with modern Japanese art works donated by corporations and others. Since 1951, visitors to the Kabuki-za have been able to enjoy viewing this "between the acts art museum," featuring works by such Nihonga artists as Takeuchi Seihō, Kobayashi Kokei, Yasuda Yukihiko, Okamura Togyū and Hayami Gyoshū, and such Western-style painting artists as Takahashi Yuichi, Asai Chū, Okada Saburōsuke and Wada Eisaku.

Since a small-scale exhibition held 23 years ago, the current exhibition marks the first time that masterpieces from the Kabuki-za have been presented publically in a special exhibition. In addition to the modern paintings that are only normally viewable in the theater itself, this exhibition also features historical reference materials such as the Kabuki no sōshi that recounts the history of kabuki, and a program from the Kabuki-za's opening performance in the Meiji era. The exhibition also presents numerous must-see exhibits, such as works by Yokoyama Taikan, Uemura Shōen and Kawai Gyokudō, not normally seen by the general public given their usual installation in the special guest rooms and reception halls of the Kabuki-za. Some materials are shown here for the first time, such as letters by General MacArthur who was instrumental in the post-war rebuilding of the Kabuki-za, and the Red and White Plum Blossoms painted by Nakamura Utaemon VI for his own dressing room transom.