千穐楽

Senshūraku names the final day of a run—in theatre, sumo, and beyond. The word is said to derive from a piece of gagaku court music traditionally played at the close of ceremonies, and has long carried the sense of an auspicious ending.

Because playhouses were so often destroyed by fire, theatres came to avoid the character for "autumn"—which contains the element for "fire"—and instead write senshūraku with a variant containing the auspicious "turtle." Within a run, opening day, the midpoint, and senshūraku are marked as special milestones.

In the theatre the word is shortened to rakubi or simply raku; the day before is the maeraku, and the final closing day of a tour the ō-senshūraku, or ōraku. Once a term of kabuki and sumo, it now marks the last day of virtually every kind of show—plays, musicals, and concerts alike.

Senshūraku is a word of kabuki as a whole rather than of any one house. Even the great milestones of the Ichikawa Sōke—such as name-succession productions—close on this day, passing the art on toward the next stage.