Volume

Bunraku puppets

Osaka, Japan

In the beginning of a drama acted out by these large-scale puppets, the puppet masters are clothed and hooded in black, so their presence won't distract views. By the second act, the puppets are so real and life-like that the puppeteers take off their hoods, and the audience no longers "sees" them.

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Mark Cummins writes:

A title for this picture might be "Bunraku" -- Japanese Puppet Theatre. Bunrkaku is a theatrical form that was a popular prerunner to the better known Kabuki. Many Kabuki plays started as Bunraku theatre. The puppets are large. Main characters have three pupeteers to manipulate them. The character here is a secondary character -- thus only two pupeteers. Main characters are articulated by "masters" -- who get to perform unmasked. The Japan National Bunraku Theatre is in Honmachi, Osaka

January 26, 2003