In this paper, I will analyze the construction and character of the Imperial Court Nohgakujo. The theater, designed by Katayama Toukuma, was built in 1915 for Emperor Taisho's accession ceremony, and was dismantled the following year. It can be said that this represents the first case in which the Noh performance space manifests as a theater proper. This is extremely important when we think about the modernization of the Noh theater. It is at the Imperial Court Nohgakujo, where for the first time, Western-style benches were introduced to the auditorium and the Noh stage was brought to the interior in the building. In this paper, I describe the style of the new Noh theater. After the Imperial Court Nohgakujo was disassembled, it was later reconstructed on a site at Peers' Club. The theater was in continual use as an important Noh theater during royal visits. Using this example, I will illucidate the transfer from the Noh space to the Noh theater, the process of modernization of the Noh space.
