There were a number of theater towns in the three main cities of the Edo Period, Tokyo (then called Edo), Kyoto and Osaka, and the nucleus of these were the shibai-goya (theaters) and their accompanying tea-houses.
江戸時代の三都にはそれぞれいくつかの芝居町が存在したが、その中核を成したのが芝居小屋と、それに専属する芝居茶屋だった。