Otome Bunraku: Female Puppeteer as Storyteller
Otome Bunraku is a rare Japanese puppetry tradition that features a solo female puppeteer. Through her skilled performance, stories and myths come to life through a uniquely feminine lens.
Sense of Wander: ★★★★☆
A female puppeteer is seen maneuvering the head, hands, and legs of a puppet featured in the play “Ninin Sanbaso”. Image courtesy of Hitomi-za.
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan — Growing up, I’ve always been a fan of hand puppetry. Taiwan’s hand puppetry, also known as “glove puppetry” or budaixi (literally “cloth bag opera”), originates from southern China and is integral to Taiwan’s temple culture and rituals. It was the very first performing art that I encountered as a child.
Having lived in and traveled to different parts of the world, I’ve had the opportunity to appreciate a variety of puppetry traditions from other cultures, including those of southern Italy and Indonesia. Yet, it wasn’t until this spring that I encountered Otome Bunraku — a unique form of traditional Japanese puppetry that finds no parallel in the world.
Otome Bunraku in a Nutshell
Otome Bunraku (乙女文楽), literally translated as “maiden’s Bunraku,” derives from the Bunraku (文楽), Japan’s traditional puppet theatre that combines the art of tayu (cantor narrator), shamisen musicians, and puppeteers. A performing art that dates back to 400 years ago, Bunraku is regarded as one of the major traditional arts in Japan, alongside Noh and Kabuki.
In Bunraku puppetry, a puppet is maneuvered by three male puppeteers: one controls the puppet’s legs, another its left hand, and the master puppeteer being in charge of the puppet’s head and right hand. Otome Bunraku, on the other hand, breaks free from this male-dominant tradition by featuring a solo female puppeteer who maneuvers a puppet nearly the size of her own body. Originating from doll performances in the 1920s, Otome Bunraku boasts a tradition spanning over a hundred years.
This spring, Hitomi-za theatre staged their Otome Bunraku performance at the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts (Weiwuying), featuring a rendition of the classic repertoire titled “Ninin Sanbaso.” Image courtesy of Hitomi-za.
Female Puppeteer as Storyteller
This spring, Hitomi-za (ひとみ座) theatre traveled to Taiwan and presented their Otome Bunraku performance at the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts (Weiwuying), a visit postponed until this year due to the pandemic.
The performance opened with a classic repertoire titled “Ninin Sanbaso” (二人三番叟), an adaptation of the Sanbaso dance rooted in ancient religious rites and prayers for peace and good harvest. Ninin Sanbaso features two Sanbaso instead of one, each showcasing distinct personalities through stylised dance onstage.
The second play, “Junreiuta no dan” (順礼歌の段), is an excerpt from Keisei Awa no Naruto (傾城阿波の鳴門). It told a heartbreaking tale of love between a mother and her daughter. The story followed a pilgrim girl searching for her parents, from whom she had been separated at a young age. Unknowingly, she arrivd at the doorstep of Oyumi and Jurobei’s house, who were her parents.
During their conversation, Oyumi recognised the girl as their long-lost daughter who had been left behind in their hometown. However, the mother held back from telling the truth and instead sent the girl back home. This decision stemmed from the father’s perilous situation — a samurai living in disguise as a thief, searching for the stolen treasure of his local lord. She didn’t want to involve her beloved daughter in these dangers.
In “Junreiuta no dan,” it’s remarkable to witness the profound love and emotions between the mother and daughter conveyed through puppets. Image courtesy of Hitomi-za.
Sitting in the second row provided me with a unique vantage point to observe the delicate hand movements of the two puppets — the mother and the daughter — during the performance. I was particularly intrigued by Oyumi’s skillful handling of a folded letter, which she effortlessly returned to its original state after reading it.
I was also impressed by how the puppets’ tiny fingers delicately caressed their hair or deftly inserted a hairpin, reminiscent of the artistry of hand puppeteers in Taiwan, especially as seen in the play A Chance Encounter Leads to Marriage (巧遇姻緣).
But unlike the hand puppet tradition in Taiwan, in Otome-Bunraku, the audience sees the face of the female puppeteer. This is different from the Bunraku tradition, where only the master puppeteer’s face is visible, while the other two puppeteers have their faces covered with black cloth.
Some, including myself, may find it odd that the puppeteer’s face is visible when the spotlight should be on the puppets. However, I became accustomed to it during the second play, where my focus remained solely on the puppet itself. From time to time, curiosity led me to glance at the puppeteers’ faces, only to find them expressionless every time.
In “Modoribashi no dan,” a warrior encounters a beautiful lady on the Modoribashi bridge, who is soon revealed to be a demon. Image courtesy of Hitomi-za.
The last play presented by Hitomi-za is “Modoribashi no dan” (戻り橋の段), a ghostly excerpt from Zoho Oeyama Shutendoji (増補大江山酒呑童子). Set in the Heian period (794-1185), the tale revolves around a demon that appeared every night at the Modoribashi bridge on the outskirts of Kyoto, spreading fear amongst the citizens.
One evening, Watanabe no Tsuna the Brave, one of the warriors tasked with exterminating the demons, encountered a beautiful lady on the Modoribashi bridge. While escorting her home to ensure her safety, he caught a glimpse of her reflection in the river, revealing her demonic nature.
The lady attempted to seduce the warrior, but Tsuna remained steadfast until he finally exposed her identity. This revelation led to a fierce battle between the two, where we witnessed the warrior skillfully wield his sword and engage in intense combat choreography. The intricate movements and swift exchanges once again showcased the mastery of the female puppeteers onstage, leading to a compelling finale to the performance.
Under the Sleeves of the Female Puppeteer
As the performance has shown, the puppeteer and puppet synchronizes with one another, demonstrating elegant movements and delicate emotions. However, it would be difficult to appreciate the art of Otome Bunraku without looking at what’s behind the scene, namely, understanding what is it that facilitates the movements of the puppets, and how does a female puppeteer engage with her puppet.
When watching Otome Bunraku being performed, I couldn’t help but being impressed by the intricate movements of the puppets. I was also moved by the complexity of emotions conveyed through the emotionless face of the puppet, well knowing that this was due to the synchronization between puppet’s movements, the tayu, and music.
In between the plays, we were lucky to peek behind the scenes and be introduced to the ingenious mechanisms and gadgets hidden beneath the puppets’ costumes.
I got to see how a puppet was attached to the puppeteer, much like how a mother carries a baby that rests gently on her chest.
The joint mechanism used is credited to Jiboku Hayashi, a skilled puppet-maker who, in 1926, devised a metallic brace known as the “udegane,” marking the dawn of a distinctive performing art tradition.
Due to their association with brothels, Japanese female puppeteers once faced a ban from theatres that lasted more than four centuries. With the introduction of the udegane and shifts in societal norms, however, young women gained the ability to manipulate the traditionally three-man-operated Bunraku puppet on their own.
Using wires, a female puppeteer could control the puppet’s head by linking it to their own, and move its hands by gripping wooden handles concealed under the puppet’s kimono sleeves. This innovation led to the emergence of a distinctive bodily performance known as Otome Bunraku, and I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed it live, within arm’s reach.
Have you also experienced a live performance of Otome Bunraku? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts — feel free to leave a comment below :)
Reference:
Program notes for “Hitomiza Otome Bunraku”. May 17-19, 2024, National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts (Weiwuying), Kaohsiung.
Hitomiza Otome Bunraku presented their captivating performances at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwujing) from May 17th to 19th, 2024.