◎ いつ頃から寄席が禁煙になったのかは知りませんが、もうもうと紫煙の立ち昇る映画館、演劇場を含めて「今は昔」の感がありますね。JR線車内の座席に灰皿があった時代です。今月4日(土)、国立演芸場で2度目の落語を聴き、全館禁煙で中入りまでの時間が長く感じました。
◎ とくに、落語にはたばこをシーンもよく出てきますから、そんなときはこっちも吸いたくなって困りましたね。それでも、国立演芸場の入口付近には、景観にマッチした縦長の立派な喫煙コーナーがありました。たばこを吸う場所としてばかりではなく、来場する喫煙するお客さまへの気配りを感じた次第です。
I don't know when the smoking ban was introduced in Yose (Japanese-style) theaters, including movie theaters and theaters where purple smoke was billowing out of the windows.
It seems like "a long time ago," including movie theaters and theaters where purple smoke billows out.
Those were the days when there were ashtrays on the seats of regular JR trains as well as on the Shinkansen.
On Saturday, the 4th of this month, I attended my second rakugo performance at the National Engei Theatre, and it felt like a long time before I could get inside because of the no-smoking policy in the entire building.
Especially because rakugo often includes scenes of smoking, I found myself wanting to smoke.
Even so, near the entrance of the National Theater, there was a magnificent vertical smoking corner that matched the scenery.
I felt that this was not only a place to smoke cigarettes, but also a place that cared for the smoking patrons in attendance.