Japanese puppet theater Bunraku Japanese puppet theater

Bunraku theater is ancient Japanese puppetry that dates back as far as Noh, founded in Osaka.

There are three kinds of performers involved in Bunraku theater; the NingyOtsukai (puppeteers), the Tayu (chanters) and the Shamisen (Musicians)

The heads and hands of traditional puppets are carved by specialists, while the bodies and costumes are often constructed by puppeteers. The heads can be quite sophisticated mechanically. In plays with supernatural themes, a puppet may be constructed so that its face can quickly transform into that of a demon. Less complex heads may have eyes that move up and down, side to side or close, and noses, mouths, and eyebrows that move.

Controls for all movements of parts of the head are located on a handle that extends down from the neck of the puppet and are reached by the main puppeteer inserting his or her left hand into the chest of the puppet through a hole in the back of the torso.

The bunraku puppets are pretty big and require 3 separate people to operate them.

The main puppeteer, the omozukai, uses his or her right hand to control the right hand and if needed the head of the puppet. He is the most important one and doesn’t always wear a head covering. It takes many years to become an omozukai.

The left puppeteer, known as the hidarizukai or the sashizukai, depending of the tradition of the troupe, manipulates the left hand of the puppet with his or her own right hand by means of a control rod that extends back from the elbow of the puppet.

A third puppeteer, the ashizukai, operates the feet and legs.

It takes decades to become an omozukai It takes decades to become an omozukai. If you want to become a puppeteer you literally start at the bottom. You will operate the feet for about 10 years. If you do a good job you then get to move on to operate the left hand for about 10 years. After that you move on to operating the right hand of secondary characters and finally after many years you get to be the lead and operate the right hand of a main character. Becoming a puppeteer is a life time commitment. This lengthy training is considered an artistic necessity but also keeps young artistic ego’s in check.

Although the puppeteers walk on stage and are not hidden, when they have their heads covered with black fabric the audience considers them invisible.

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The shamisen player provide the essential music of the traditional Japanese puppet theater.

The puppeteers do not express any emotions but create all the expressions through the movements of the puppet. The tayu (chanter) however does express emotions both in his inflections and his facial expressions.

Every play begins with a short ritual in which the tayu, kneeling behind a small but ornate lectern, reverentially lifts his or her copy of the script to demonstrate devotion to a faithful rendering of the text. The script is presented at the beginning of each act as well.

This is the auxiliary stage upon which the gidayu-bushi is performed This is the auxiliary stage upon which the gidayu-bushi is performed. It juts out into the audience area at the front right area of the seats. Upon this auxiliary stage there is a special rotating platform. It is here that the chanter and the shamisen player make their appearance, and, when they are finished, it turns once more, bringing them backstage and placing the next performers on the stage.

Bunraku stories come from samurai legends and actual events involving commoners. The puppets wear gorgeous costumes, and each theatrical scene is like a beautiful picture.