Bunraku, Essay Example

Historically, Bunraku has presented itself as an ancient form of entertainment art. It is usually performed as a Japanese puppet show accompanied by music and dramatic recitals. It is also referred to as ningy?j?ruri which implies representing literature through doll performance and dramatic presentations. These performances often utilize music and beats.

Origin of Bunraku

• Bunraku performances originated about four hundred years ago in Japan during the later part of sixteenth century.
• Originally, these arts were associated with visually impaired persons whose performance involved chanting and playing Japanese flute.
• Puppets were part of the performance and even though the arts originated in Ky?to, it spread out to other parts of Japan beginning from ?saka and Edo.

Bunraku Conventional Developmentss

• The earliest bunraku play was by Giday?and called “The Love-Suicide at Sonezaki”.After 1703, other theater performance groups also embraced bunraku.
• Competition among performance groups promotedinnovation in puppetry techniques.
• After reaching peak by mid eighteenth century, unsuccessful artistic transfer to new generation as well as death of prominent artists had led to the decline of art by the end of 18^th
• By 19^th century, public performances had decreased significantly, paving the way for other forms of art like Kabuki.Bunraku performances still take place though on a narrow scale and not openly.

Performance Style and Theatre

• Puppets are approximately one meter tall with average body sizes. They have flexible hands and legs as well as movable eyelids and jaws.
• Bunraku is performed by three major performers one of which is a chanter, also called Tayu. The second group is musicians who are referred to as Shamisen players and perform off-script presentations and instrumentals and the third group consists of head, hand, and foot puppeteers.
• The puppeteers work in conjunction with each other to ensure a match between puppets’ movements and the accompanying music.

Important Artists

• The most famous and successful Bunraku artists include prominent names such as Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Takemoto Gidayu who were both play rights though Takemoto Gidayu also engaged in puppetry. SonezakiShinj?was a master puppeteer and Chikamatsu Monzaemon is referred to as the Bunraku “Shakespeare” of Japan.

Work Cited

Brandon, James R, and Martin Banham. The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press, 1993: 142-179. Print.