![]() Audiences do not know who you are and the applause goes to the main puppeteer,” he said, referring to operating the limbs. It can take more than 30 years until a puppeteer is allowed to manipulate the head. ![]() Like everyone else, he started with the puppets’ feet, then moved on to the left hand. (REUTERS)įollowing his father’s path, Kanjuro started his career as a puppeteer at 14, becoming a disciple of Minosuke Yoshida, who at age 87 is now the oldest living puppeteer. Kanjuro Kiritak performs Japan's traditional puppet drama called 'Bunraku' which emerged in 15th century and the characters are manipulated by three puppeteers, during a program titled Komochi Yamanba (The Pregnant Mountain Ogress) at National Theatre in Tokyo, Japan September 7, 2020. They also wore socks in neon-bright colours he had purchased online. The five puppets Kanjuro made had comical faces framed by yarn hair. Performances are accompanied by narrators, or tayu, and traditional instruments. The head puppeteer manipulates the head and right hand, while one person manipulates the left hand and another both feet. In Bunraku, each puppet is operated by three people - the head puppeteer, and two others dressed in black, their faces covered. Nearly 30 sixth graders took part in recent classes, with children practicing their puppetry in a gymnasium amid scorching heat, as a T-shirt-clad Kanjuro instructed them.ĪLSO SEE | Photos: Traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry amid coronavirus pandemic He has been teaching Bunraku at Kozu elementary school in Osaka for 17 years. ![]() To him, it tied into decades of efforts he’s made to keep the centuries-old art of Bunraku alive. It is a rare pursuit for a Bunraku puppeteer. The solution was to spend his time at home making puppets for children. Kanjuro Kiritake, a Bunraku puppeteer who was designated a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government, performs Japan's traditional puppet drama called 'Bunraku' which emerged in 15th century and the characters are manipulated by three puppeteers, during a program titled Komochi Yamanba (The Pregnant Mountain Ogress) at National Theatre in Tokyo, Japan September 7, 2020.(REUTERS) Kozu elementary school students touch puppets made by a Bunraku puppeteer Kanjuro Kiritake, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Kozu elementary school in Osaka, western Japan August 28, 2020. “Many things crossed my mind: when would the pandemic end, when would performances resume, if my 87-year-old master could ever perform again,” Kanjuro, 67, said in his home, which has a room dedicated to puppetry. His art, a traditional, male-only Japanese puppet theatre, was born in Osaka in the late 1600s, but in 2020 felt existentially threatened, he said. Stuck at home for weeks while Japan was under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, renowned Japanese Bunraku puppet master Kanjuro Kiritake, all his performances cancelled for months, was stricken with deep anxiety.
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