Waseda Shochiku

The Waseda Shochiku opened its doors on December 21, 1951 as a first-run Shochiku premier theater, but in its very early days, they also screened films by Shintoho for a time. In 1975, it became a fine arts theater focusing on older double features retaining operations by Shochiku, and was popular mainly with Waseda University students.

A major renovation took place between November 10 and December 28, 1993, during which ticket sales were shifted from manual to machine. It was reopened on January 4, 1994. It was closed from April 1, 2002, but due to the efforts of the “Waseda Shochiku Revival Project” launched mainly by Waseda University students, it pre-opened on December 21, 2002, and fully reopened after renovation on January 25, 2003. This forced the seating capacity to downgrade from 196 to 153.

Since reopening on June 1, 2020 after being closed due to COVID-19, tickets have been sold manually and all seats have been reserved. As of 2025, the Waseda Shochiku screens a mix of independent films and classic films from around the world. A second-run American film can also be played at extremely rare occasions.

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