[KineJapan] Shinsekai RIP

[Markus Nornes]

Thanks Pete!  I was never able to go inside, but this is the kind of story
I often heard.

Somewhere I have a photo book of the signs, which were absolutely retro and
charming. Could you share any?

Markus


On Sun, Mar 22, 2026 at 3:16 PM Peter Larson <pslarson2 at gmail.com> wrote:

> oh man, I always make a pilgrimage to the Kokusai whenever I visit Osaka,
> I have numerous pictures of those handpainted signs.
>
> I even braved going into the basement level pink theater, which was an
> experience all its own. While the theater was kind of what you'd expect,
> video projection of pink films, really not clean, lots of elderly men, some
> cross dressing... people doing stuff (stay away from the bathrooms).
>
> The drink machine section was the real attraction for me where there were
> som extremely interesting conversations to be had. One time I had drinks
> (Ozeki One Cup, baby!) with an elderly couple (the lady was not cross
> dressing) who had been coming to the kokusai for decades. They happily told
> me all about what would go on there back in the 1960s, when they started
> visiting. They didn't even dress it up, no graphic detail seemed to be
> spared, but it was still extremely endearing all the same to hear an
> obviously still very happy couple happily reminisce about the objectively
> wild things they did in their youth.
>
> Among all my other life regrets, I regret not showing up on a Monday for
> the sign change.The person working there invited me to show up and meet the
> guys who paint the signs.
>
> Shinsekai is hardly what it used to be, many of the cinemas, pink or not,
> are gone, and the earthy vibe that used to make it a great place to be is
> long gone. But still, if you go there late at night, the same crossdressing
> street walkers are hidden in corners, still making the rounds. With the
> closing of the Kokusai, I'm not sure they will have anywhere to go.
>
> Say what you will about these kinds of theaters, but there was a real
> community of people built up around them, just like any other communal
> space. With the loss of the Kokusai, that community might no longer exist.
>
> Pete
>
> On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 10:48 PM Markus Nornes via KineJapan <
> kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>
>> Mike Arnold brought this sad news to my attention. What a drag.
>>
>>
>> https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6399ba6eeddeb27cac6e171146e55276d41a77fa?fbclid=IwdGRleAQsNmJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xNzM4NDc2NDI2NzAzNzAAAR7KWBGOPFc3ZABYKa7fqO3KwkMVG5jhanOuU0hrpnn-tFL1ONZ0yY3LhW463Q_aem_SuJarwy-iIC7XzmjgRvqAA
>>
>> Read the article. It’s great. You’ll get a sense for what you missed if
>> you never visited. Anyone have stories?
>>
>> M
>>
>> ---
>>
>> *Markus Nornes*
>> *Professor of Asian Cinema*
>>
>> Department of Film, Television and Media, Department of Asian Languages
>> and Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Homepage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nornes/
>> <http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nornes/>*
>> *Department of Film, Television and Media*
>> *6348 North Quad*
>> *105 S. State Street
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/105+S.+State+Street+Ann+Arbor,+MI+48109-1285?entry=gmail&source=g>**Ann
>> Arbor, MI 48109-1285
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/105+S.+State+Street+Ann+Arbor,+MI+48109-1285?entry=gmail&source=g>*
>>
>>
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>>
>
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