Bunraku Puppet

about:

· Japanese traditional puppet theatre in which half-life-size dolls act out a chanted dramatic narrative, called jōruri, to the accompaniment of a small samisen (three-stringed Japanese lute).

· each figurine is operated by three puppeteers –

o a lead puppeteer who manipulates the puppet’s head, face and right hand, and two assistants who manoeuvre its left hand and legs.

o While you can see the face of the lead puppeteer – who is the star of the show and is often colourfully dressed – the other two are cloaked in black with their faces covered, to reflect their status as “invisible” actors.

how there made:

· Bunraku puppets are assembled from several components: wooden head, shoulder board, trunk, arms, legs, and costume.

· The head has a grip with control strings to move the eyes, mouth, and eyebrows. This grip is inserted into a hole in the centre of the shoulder board.

· Arms and legs are hung from the shoulder board with strings, and the costume fits over the shoulder board and trunk, from which a bamboo hoop is hung to form the hips.

· Female puppets often have immovable faces, and, since their long kimono completely cover the lower half of their bodies, most do not need to have legs.

· There are about 70 different puppet heads in use. Classified into various categories, such as young unmarried woman or young man of great strength, each head is usually used for several different characters, although they are often referred to by the name of the role in which they first appeared.