Bunraku •¶Šy

Puppet performances in Japan date back to many years ago, where places like Awaji and Aomori developed puppet performances for cermonies and temple rituals.

Bunraku (name of Osaka origin) attracted great writers like Chikamatsu Monzaemon during the Edo period. A great writer writing for puppets and not actors!! Now that's something!! Puppet art in Japan is not just mere entertainment for children like Punch and Judy, but pure aesthetic art. So far, my own experience lies in reading books. The puppets even come to life just by concentrating on the pictures!!  Some of the famous plays are Kana-dehon Chushingura (The Faithful Forty-seven Ronin), Imose-Yama Onna Teikin (The proper upbringing of a young lady at Mount Imose), Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the thousand cherry trees), Kanjincho (the subscription list, although the best adaptation is the Kabuki version), Onna Goroshi Abura no Jigoku (Burning of a woman in a hell of oil) and Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Moralistic tales of Sugawara Michizane). Most of them have famous moving scenes that are are termed "classic". There are still many more plays to be explored... A good book to start would be Bunraku by Tokio Oga and Koichi Mimura (Hoikusha Press). Curious to know more? Then click here!

I hope to see a real life Bunraku performance one day. Please feel free to ask me any questions or click any of the pictures below to bring you to links of Bunraku and other puppet theatres of the world!!!!

A performance by the Awaji theatre.

All puppets are supported by three assistants. It takes a total of 30 years to train to control the head, 20 for arms and 10 for legs and mere support (don't qupte me on this...subject ot further updating!) Most of the assistans wear black. Truthfully, which did you observe first, the puppets or the assistants? Although some may think the assistants are distracting, most bunraku audiences don't even notice them. Audiences are more enthralled by the deep emotions the puppets display. Life-like huh? :)

Woah check out this guy!!! He looks aaaangry...but can you see that the anger is so well evoked? :) Looks like the Kabuki mie (that's also why most kabuki is almost puppet-like in acting style). By the way, the eyes, eyebrows and mouths can move and for women, there's a hook near the lips to catch a sleeve for crying scenes. You won't see Sesame Street the same way again!!!!

Click here to view the  gallery!

How about a general overview? Go back to Theatreland!!

Kabuki

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