 The Shintomi-za would be rebuilt bigger and better several times in the late 19th century, and experimented with new styles of productions.In September 1879, it premiered a play called "Hyōryū Kidan Seiyō Kabuki" (漂流気団西洋歌舞伎, "A strange story about drifters and Western Kabuki"); the story was one of Japanese exploring Europe and the United States, and featured a number of Western actors, and Italian-style arias.It was not well-received, and was a commercial failure in this first performance, but is representative of the kinds of experimentation and innovation that the Shintomi-za explored.