The illustration shows part of a byobu (folding screen) on which a theater of the early Genroku period [around 1690] is depicted. The biggest distinction is that the structure of the Kabuki stage imitated that of the Noh stage, which is constituted of a Hombutai (main stage) projecting into the audience seating area and a Hashigakari (passageway) extended from this structure to the Shimote side. We can understand that in its early days Kabuki was strongly influenced by the preexisting forms of entertainment, Noh and Kyogen (Noh farces).

The audience area had Sajikiseki (box seating) on both wings of the stage in the second floor section, and non-reserved seating in the Doma (earthen-floored pit) area around the stage. This byobu depicts audience members, seated wherever they please on straw matting called hanjo, and enjoying a play.
The roof was constructed only over the Sajikiseki and stage. Because the whole theater was not roofed, Kabuki was not performed on rainy days.

This nishikie print was published in 1858, showing the interior of a theater in Edo at that time. Comparing the above illustration with that of the early Edo period shows that 2 points have changed greatly.

The first change is that a Hanamichi passing through the audience seating area has been installed. Exactly when and how the Hanamichi was established is not clearly known, although permanent Hanamichi are assumed to have been in use by the beginning of the 18th century. However, unlike the Hanamichi of today, the Hanamichi of theaters in Edo at that time were installed diagonally relative to the Hombutai (main stage), as shown in this print.
The second change is that all audience seats are covered by roofing. Permission was granted by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and a theater covered by a tiled roof was completed in 1724. After this, the floor in the audience seating area was gradually covered with boards, and Masu-seki (box seating) was created by boards installed in the lengthwise and sideways directions.

The picture shows the interior of the Kabukiza in 1893. The Kabukiza was built as part of the westernization of Japanese theaters, influenced by the "Engeki kairyo undo" (theatrical performance improvement movement). As shown here, the interior finishing was Japanese-style, but the external appearance of the theater was that of a 3-story brick building.

Comparing the Kabukiza with theaters in the latter half of the Edo period shows 2 points that are very different. One difference is that the frontage (width) of the stage in the Kabukiza became very wide. The width of the Nakamura-za stage at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate era was about 12 meters, but in contrast to that, the width of the Kabukiza stage was about 22 meters. This was done because of the consciousness of overseas theaters at that time, and the increase of size was meant to show high-ranking officials of the Meiji government and guests from overseas that Kabuki was a noble, large-scale type of theatrical performance.
Another big difference is lighting. A large chandelier is visible hanging from the ceiling above the audience seats, and lamps are installed above the Sajikiseki (box seats) on both sides. Gas lamps were already in use in the Shintomi-za, which had opened in 1878 [Meiji 11], but the Kabukiza was the first to install electric lamps.
The entire theater has become much brighter with the use of electric lamps rather than lighting using candles or gas lamps. This change of lighting fixtures eventually affected all dramatic techniques including stage sets and the acting itself.