What is Bunraku?
[[File:Osonowiki.jpg|thumb|The character Osono, from the play ''Hade Sugata Onna Maiginu'' (艶容女舞衣), in a performance by the Tonda Puppet Troupe of Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture.]] [[File:Sanbasopuppet.jpg|thumb|277x277px|Close-up of a male puppet's head with mechanical eyes. This particular puppet is a head used in ''sanbaso'' performances.]] [[File:National Bunraku Theatre in 201408.JPG|thumb|263x263px|National Bunraku Theatre in [[Osaka]]]] '''''Bunraku''''', also known as ''Ningyō jōruri'', is a [[Japan|Japanese]] [[puppet theatre]], founded in [[Osaka]] in the 17th century. It was mainly related to [[kabuki]] from [[Genroku|Genroku period]]. Bunraku developed in [[Edo period]] combining puppet art with ''[[joruri]]''. Bunraku has the narrator with puppets and the action is accompained by a game on the [[shamisen]]. The most famous Japanese bunraku playwright is Chikamatsu Mozaemon. His most famous work is ''The Love Suicides at Sonezaki''. == History == Originally the term bunraku referred to theatre founded in Osaka in 1805. In Edo period, male pupeteers were hidden from the audience by the curtain while they held pupepts. The narrator and musician were also hidden. In 1703, pupeteers apperead in full view of the audience. In 1728, the narrator and musician were given their own stage. <ref>{{Cite journal|last=Skipitares|first=Theodora|date=2004|title=The Tension of Modern Bunraku|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3246436|journal=PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art|volume=26|issue=1|pages=13–21|doi=10.1162/152028104772624883|jstor=3246436|s2cid=57569101|issn=1520-281X}}</ref> == Related pages == * [[Kabuki]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Entertainment in Japan]] [[Category:Puppets]] [[Category:Theatres]]