Bunraku

Visible puppeteers in Japanese bunraku are rendered invisible by their art and our willingness to accept puppets living in "a world in which being manipulated is itself a condition of paradoxical freedom." ❋ By JOHN ROCKWELL (2011)

The term "bunraku" originally referred specifically to the puppet tradition of Osaka, but now the word is used more generally in Japan to describe the three-man form of puppet manipulation. ❋ Unknown (2008)

The shamisen usually is heard playing traditional Japanese folk songs, and as accompaniment for kabuki and bunraku theater. ❋ Gil Asakawa (2011)

As if the harrowing play weren't strong enough on its own, he not only adds multiple jazz interludes with a piano-and-horn trio and several singers, he also swamps it in Japanese theatrical techniques: Black-garbed stagehands move furniture and dispense props as in bunraku marionette theater. ❋ Judy Fayard (2011)

Women today share the same "pain" and "oppression" experienced by the feudal female characters in bunraku, says Junko Saeki, a professor of media studies at the University of Doshisha in Kyoto. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

The late French writer and critic Roland Barthes was right: Japan's bunraku puppets make for total, unique, and riveting theater. ❋ Mark Robinson (2009)

The Web site of Toyotake Sakihodayu, a 34-year-old popular bunraku reciter, shows maps of theaters in Osaka and Tokyo where you can pick a seat and make a reservation. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

"The sole fact that I can spot the problems of a patriarchal society when watching bunraku is proof that I am experiencing the same problems today, and that I am not free from them," says Ms. Miura, who has written a bestselling novel about the backstage world of bunraku and a guidebook for novices called "Charmed with Bunraku." ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Says bunraku fan Yoko Nishimura, a 37-year-old systems engineer, "I see (puppet shows) as something happening in a different world." ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

They're wearing kimonos, hosting formal tea ceremonies, reading centuries-old literature and watching bunraku theater. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Many bunraku fan sites, such as the blogs Mannaka Na Hibi (kayabatyou. blog11.fc2.com) and Yoshida Tamame San Ouen (tamamefun. seesaa.net), are linked to sites of reciters, puppeteers and even samisen players. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Mayuko Mase, a 34-year-old lawyer in Tokyo, has seen bunraku performances many times with the club. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

"Female fans see a different style of masculinity in bunraku, compared with what they see at their office." ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Tokyo, Japan On a sunny afternoon in Tokyo, hundreds of young working women enter the red-carpeted entrance hall of the National Theatre of Japan to see bunraku, a centuries-old Japanese puppet show. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

When they aren't attending a performance, they gather on bunraku Web sites; they also share information on future ticket sales through text messages, organize group outings to see performances and go on bunraku tours. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Not all male bunraku characters are weak or villainous. ❋ Aika Nanao (2009)

Soon wails will rise as Levis once a prize are found as rags bound to limbs dancing for bunraku. ❋ Unknown (2008)

In a modification of the traditional bunraku technique of Japan, one operator works a puppet's head and torso, a second the arms, a third the feet. ❋ Unknown (2008)