A farewell livestream has been announced for one of Kansai entertainment’s most important homes.
On March 24 at 18:00 JST, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT will livestream the「ほんまおおきに大阪松竹座 ～WE are 松竹座男子。今まで永らくお世話になりました。関ジュの頃、和室の楽屋で向き合った日々。そんな青春の場所でSUPER Aぇ!卒業式。～」event.
The event will be broadcast via FAMILY CLUB online, with an archive viewing scheduled for a later date.
Tickets for the livestream go on sale January 31 at 17:00 JST. Pricing is set at ¥3,900 (tax included) for FAMILY CLUB members (Japanese site only) and ¥4,400 (tax included) for general viewers. FAMILY CLUB member tickets are available to all fan club members, including those registered with the Junior Information Bureau.
Set at Osaka Shochikuza, the historic theater scheduled to close following its May 2026 performances, the program brings together generations of Kansai-born STARTO artists for a collective farewell to the stage that shaped them. Appearing together are members of SUPER EIGHT, WEST., Naniwa Danshi, Ae! group, as well as Ren Nagase (King & Prince), Koji Mukai (Snow Man), Ryuta Muro, Daichi Imae, and today’s Kansai Juniors.
Full artist list:
SUPER EIGHT（You Yokoyama・Shingo Murakami・Ryuhei Maruyama・Shota Yasuda・Tadayoshi Ohkura）/ WEST.（Daiki Shigeoka・Akito Kiriyama・Junta Nakama・Tomohiro Kamiyama・Ryusei Fujii・Takahiro Hamada・Nozomu Kotaki）/ Naniwa Danshi（Daigo Nishihata・Ryusei Onishi・Shunsuke Michieda・Kyohei Takahashi・Kento Nagao・Joichiro Fujiwara・Kazuya Ohashi）/ Ae! group（Yoshinori Masakado・Seiya Suezawa・Ken Kojima・Masaya Sano） / Ren Nagase（King & Prince） / Koji Mukai（Snow Man） Ryuta Muro / Daichi Imae / Kansai Junior
More than a variety program or concert, the event is framed as a graduation ceremony — a symbolic passing of time. The Japanese title itself reads less like a headline and more like a handwritten letter of thanks. Its phrasing subtly incorporates the names and kanji of the participating groups and artists, underscoring their shared roots and the fact that all of them once stood on this same stage as Juniors.
The wording recalls tatami-mat dressing rooms, long rehearsals, and the quiet moments of youth spent facing one another before anyone knew where their paths would lead. For many of these artists, Osaka Shochikuza was not just a venue, but a classroom, a proving ground, and a second home.
Shochiku has announced that due to the aging of the building’s facilities, Osaka Shochikuza will conclude its theatrical operations after the May 2026 performances. The entire Shochikuza building, including its underground retail spaces, is scheduled to close thereafter. Plans for the building’s future use have not yet been finalized.
Originally opened in 1923 as a motion picture theater, Osaka Shochikuza was reborn in 1997 as a full-scale theatrical playhouse. As Kansai’s first Western-style theater, its neo-Renaissance façade survived air raids and decades of change, becoming a beloved symbol of the Dotonbori area. Over the years, it hosted everything from kabuki and traditional stage productions to concerts and performances by Kansai Juniors, quietly shaping the region’s entertainment culture.
In its official statement, Shochiku expressed heartfelt gratitude to audiences who supported the theater for generations, while reassuring fans that kabuki and other theatrical productions in Osaka will continue at alternative venues in the future.
Within that broader history, this livestream carries a particular emotional weight. It is not only about the closing of a building, but about acknowledging where so many journeys began — and how far they have traveled since.
This is where the Kansai legacy was built. From Junior days to debut, from shared dressing rooms to individual paths as groups, solo performers, and mentors to the next generation, Osaka Shochikuza has been the place that raised them all.
As reactions poured in across social media, fans echoed the same sentiment: gratitude.
A final gathering. A shared memory.
And one last chance to say, with feeling — honma ookini (ほんまおおきに)—thank you so much.
More Kansai STARTO on Dumpling Box
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