Cinema Department Yuraku

The Cinema Department Yuraku replaced a total of four movie theaters that previously operated in the Kakuburicho area of Nara City, all of which closed between 1989 and 1990, and the theater was also build on the site of the Nara Toei Theatre which first started life as a newsreel theater during World War II. The Cinema Department Yuraku opened its doors with five screens on December 15, 1990, with the opening ceremony being attended by then-Nara Prefecture Governor Shigekiyo Ueda and Nara City Mayor Eizo Nishida. Only two American movies were presented on opening, which were “Rocky V” and “Total Recall”.

The main building is a five-story reinforced concrete structure designed by Shinkenchiku Toshi Kenkyusho, constructed by Shimizu Corporation, and with projection equipment by Xebex. While multiplexes in later years often had all their stadium-seating theaters on one floor, due to site constraints, this one had one or two sloped theaters spread across multiple floors. The total construction cost was approximately 1.5 billion yen. Initially, the building had a mauve-colored exterior reminiscent of the wisteria at Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and each theater was a single color such as blue, red, or yellow. The speakers were built-in and made by JBL, and in the projection booth contained fully automatic projectors made by Italian company Cinemeccanica.

Despite the difficulties the city faced with the rise of television and rental videocassettes, the company came up with a choice to clear off the Yuraku Dai-Geki, Yuraku Eigeki, Yuraku La Scala, and Nara Toei Theaters, believing that a more accommodating theater would increase attendance. After the renovation, costs were cut by 30% through automation and other measures, and sales increased by 40%.

In 1996, when multiplex theaters became commonplace, the five screens were no longer enough to accommodate the number of films shown, so an additional building was added nearby, known as the Cinema Department Yuraku East, and a separate triplex (integrated with the adjacent game center) was built around 100 meters away across Konishi Sakura Street, bringing a total of screens to eight. The East building had three screens on the second floor, and was equipped with cup holders and digital surround sound, which were becoming standard at the time, from the time those three screens opened.

In 2005, the theater was renovated at a cost of 300 million yen, designed by the Michishita Hiroki Design Office. The design makes extensive use of lattices that resemble the map of Heijo-kyo. The exterior is made of latticed aluminum, and the first floor store area is finished with a wood-grain lattice. Inside, the walls were renovated with curtains in muted colors, and the seats were replaced with high-pack seats made of custom fabric.

However, due to the increase in competing multiplex in the suburbs after 2000, attendance numbers stagnated, and the president of the operatin, the Cinema Department Yuraku closed for the final time on January 31, 2010. The theater’s projection equipment was donated to the Nara International Film Festival Executive Committee, of which Kawase served as chairman, on June 23 of the same year.

Screen 5 was the largest with 244 seats, while Screen 8 was the smallest with 108 seats. The rest have ranging capacities of 115-200, and all auditoriums have installations of SRD and DTS sound.

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