The Japanese puppet theater, bunraku (also called ningyo joruri) is a very developed form of puppetry. It is believed to go back as long as till the 10th or 11th century and had its peak during the 17th century. The plays usually speak about the conflict between social obligations and human sentiments, and many times reach their climax in a love-suicide.
Bunraku in its present form combines puppetry, joruri and music. Joruri is a type of sung narrative. There is just one narrator, who voices all of the characters. The most important instrument is the shamizen, but other instruments, such as taiko are also used.
The puppets are quite big and 3 people need to move them. One moves the legs (ashizukai), one the left hand (hidarizukai) and one the head and the right hand (omozukai). The omozukai is the main puppeteer and the leader of the 3 people moving the puppet, He gives out invisible directions on how to and where to move next. He is the only one who is visible, as the other two puppeteers usually wear hoods that cover their faces. It takes many years of practice as ashizukai and hidarizukai before one can become an omozukai.
The head of the puppets is carved from a single block of wood, then split into two, scooped out and a device is inserted which moves the eyes and eyebrows. There are various heads for different characters, depending on the age, sex, social class,etc.
It is amazing what a range of feelings and emotions can the main puppeteer express and after some time the audience forgets that there are actually 3 people beside the puppet who move it and get totally involved in the story.
