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Bunraku, or Japanese puppet theater, 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. The puppets
are large - usually about one-half life size - 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.
A 'musume' or maiden puppet head |
A 'bunshichi' or warrior puppet head |
Bunraku is actually the name commonly used for ningyo joruri - ningyo
meaning puppet and joruri 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.
Bunraku as we know it today, combining puppetry, joruri and musical
accompaniment provided by the three-stringed shamisen, began
in the Edo Period (1600~1868) in Osaka. Like
kabuki before it, in the 1600's bunraku became the common man's equivalent
of the noh, which only the aristocracy were allowed to study. It flourished
from the end of the 17th century, thanks particularly to the popular
collaboration of the chanter Takemoto Gidayu I with Chikamatsu.
Chikamatsu's Love Suicides at Sonezaki (1703, Sonezaki Shinju) is equivalent in stature and theme to
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The play, based on an actual recent
love-suicide, was so popular that it caused an increase in this
kind of suicide - until the government made it illegal. The concept
of basing a play on a recent event was revolutionary and really
caught the imagination of the public. The most famous bunraku
play is probably Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers
(Kanadehon Chushingura), a story of heroics, loyalty and revenge, which has also been
made into a famous kabuki play and filmed many times.
The omozukai, or main puppeteer, manipulates the head and features and the
right arm while the two lower ranked puppeteers operate the left
arm and the legs (with a 10-year long apprenticeship on each before
becoming an omozukai). 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. Puppets of female characters
usually don't have legs as they are clad in full-length
kimono.
Since the Meiji Period
(1868~1912), when Western culture became increasingly popular,
bunraku has been in decline and relies on government sponsorship
and revenue from the National Theater in Tokyo and the National
Bunraku Theater in Osaka. When the National Theater opened in 1966, it was the
first permanent home bunraku had had in almost 150 years. Although
there are occasional increases in popularity, the real problem
lies in the fact that the craftsmen who create the puppets and
costumes are dying out and the long apprenticeship necessary to
take their place does not appeal to today's young generation.
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