Bunraku : traditional puppet theatre of Japan

Bunraku, (文楽), also known as Ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃) or Japanese puppet theater founded in Osaka in 1684, is probably the most developed form of puppetry in the world. It is closer in style to Punch and Judy than Pinnochio as there are no strings and in its early days the puppeteers were hidden behind a curtain. Unlike kabuki, which emphasizes solely the performance of the actor, bunraku simultaneously demonstrates elements of presentation and representation. In this way attention is given to both visual and musical aspects of the marionnettes as well as the performance and the text.



The puppets are large - from two-and-a-half to four feet tall- and the main characters are operated by three puppeteers. Many bunraku plays are historical and deal with the common Japanese theme of giri and ninjo - the conflict between social obligations and human emotions. The greatest works by Japan's most famous playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653~1724) are bunraku plays, many of which are written around this kind of conflict.

Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:

• Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai - Puppeteers
• Tayū - the chanters
• Shamisen players

The heads of the puppets ("kashira") are divided into categories according to gender, social class and personality. Certain heads are created for specific roles, others can be employed for several different performances by changing the clothing and the paint. And the costumes are designed by a costume master and are composed of a series of garments with varying colors and patterns.

The main puppeteer, the omozukai, manipulates the head and features and the right arm while the two lower ranked puppeteers operate the left arm and the legs. The omozukai is visible to the audience - he is the star of the show, after all - and often colorfully dressed while the other operators are 'invisible' - actually they're just cloaked in black robes and hoods. The left puppeteer, known as the hidarizukai or sashizukai, manipulates the left hand of the puppet with his or her own right hand. A third puppeteer, the ashizukai, operates the feet and legs. Puppets of female characters usually don't have legs as they are clad in full-length kimono.

The most accurate term for the traditional puppet theater in Japan is ningyo joruri - ningyo (人形) meaning puppet and joruri (浄瑠璃) being a kind of chanted narration. Puppet plays are believed to have their origins in the 10th or 11th century. Itinerant entertainers, many from Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea, presented plays in the nearby cities of Osaka and Kyoto.

The term "Bunraku" originally referred only to the particular theater established in 1872 in Osaka, which was named the Bunrakuza after the puppeteering ensemble of Uemura Bunrakuken(植村文楽軒), an early 19th century puppeteer on Awaji, whose efforts revived the flagging fortunes of the traditional puppet theater in the 19th century.

The later prominence of the National Bunraku Theater of Japan, which is a descendant of the theater founded by Bunrakken, popularized the name "Bunraku" in the 20th century to the point that many Japanese now use the term to refer generically to any traditional puppet theater in Japan.

However, almost all of the traditional puppet troupes currently in existence outside Osaka were founded and named long before the appearance of Uemura Bunrakukken and his theater, so they generally do not use the word to describe themselves. Exceptions are the few troupes that were organized by puppeteers from the Bunraku-za or its successors who left Osaka to found theaters in the provinces.