Bunraku Theatre

Last week, a friend and I saw a performance of Ninin Kamuro (Two Apprentice Geisha) and Komochi Yamamba (The Pregnant Mountain Ogress) at Bunraku Theatre in Osaka. Bunraku Theatre is a traditional form of Japanese Theatre in which puppets are used to play the roles of commoners that lived in Japan 200-300 years ago. Most of the plays were written in the 18th century. Bunraku Theatre does not solely feature puppets though. It takes three manipulators to handle one puppet!! There is also a joruru, reciter, who tells the audience the story as the puppets acts it out, and the shamisen player, who plays the shamisen in accompaniment to the joruru's story.
I had a great time!! The puppets costumes are so vibrant that I had no trouble distinguishing the colors, even from the very back of the auditorium where my seat was. The story lines are easy to follow, and there's a lot of dancing and singing to keep things lively. I was able to rent an English earphone guide, so that I could enjoy not only the sights and music of Bunraku, but also appreciate the story!! I was glad that I got to experience a form of traditional Japanese culture!!