Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Subscribe by Email 
An Edo Era Puppet Performance in Tokyo
Dec 4th, 2008 | By Shane Sakata | Category: Events
Ningyo or Japanese marionette puppetry is one of Japan’s traditional art forms and dates back to the Edo period when the puppets were first brought over from Europe. In 1635, almost 400 hundred years ago, Youkiza, a marionette theatre company, was founded by Youki Magosaburou I in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. The company is designated a “National Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property” and a “Tokyo Municipal Intangible Cultural Property” and is the oldest company in Tokyo specializing in Edo Period string operated marionette performances.
From December 10th to 14th, Youkiza will will stage a production of “Yabure-gasa Choan (Choan and the Broken Umbrella)”, an adaptation of the kabuki masterpiece “Murai Choan” by Kawatake Mokuami (1816-93), at Theatre Tram. The story follows Choan, an evil doctor in Edo (present-day Tokyo), who kills Chobei, his brother-in-law, and makes a false charge against Fujikake Michijuro, a samurai who forgot an umbrella at his clinic. Read more about the plot of Choan and the Broken Umbrella and a the process of creating a contemporary adaptation from kabuki to marionette puppetry.
The beauty of a Japanese marionette puppetry show is that although the performances are in Japanese the audience members are able to transcend the language barrier through the skillful maneuvering of the puppets by a group of well trained and talented puppeteers that elicit emotions and lifelike movements their stringed muses.
If you have the time and will be in Tokyo do yourself a favor and attend this event. I had the privilege of attending a performance by a disciple of Youkiza this past summer and loved it – I even got blessed by a puppet!
Event Details:
Performance Dates: December 10, 11 & 12 at 7:30PM, December 13th at 2PM and 7PM and December 14th at 2PM.
Ticket Prices: Y5,000 (reserved) and Y3,500 (non-reserved)
Location: Setagaya Public Theater, Theatre TRAM (access map)
Inquiries and Reservations: 042-322-9750 (In Japanese) or Theatre TRAM online.
Image Credit: Personal Collection
Join JapanSoc Today!
The #1 social bookmarking site for Japan-related blogs, news and people.
[...] manipulated skillfully by the puppet-master in a performance of the shishi-mai, lion dance, in an Edo era puppet show that I attended last year in Tokyo’s picturesque Rikugien [...]