Bunraku in Osaka for tourists.

I love puppetry and in Australia, it's really a lost art, viewed only as an entertainment for children. However, around the world it is more for adults, and in Osaka is the perfect example of this. The puppet shows run for four hours or so, but you can buy a tourist ticket for a slot of around an hour. Which is enough if you can't understand the language. The show however has surtitles as it's in an old Japanese (think like Chaucer in old English).

There is live music and the stories and puppets are well known to the audience, steeped in tradition since the Edo period.

The tourist tickets need to be purchased in person before the show. So allow enough time to do all that in case there are queues. My experience was  quick, and there were plenty of tourist tickets. However, there was ample to see to fill in the time I'd allowed before it started.

Upon arrival, I found myself surrounded by women in their kimono finery (most men were just in puffer jackets so I felt like I was traversing two time periods and not completely underdressed!). There was a tea ceremony in the foyer and after I purchased my ticket, I looked at the displays of past puppet shows. There is a tourist guide brochure explaining the puppets in English (I have to say, as soon as I saw the two faced demon puppet, I really wanted that to be in our show but alas I had to be happy with the Monkey God - my other favourite).

There is plenty to see in the foyer and even a sort of raffle. There's theatre food kiosk and a souvenir shop (theatre souvenirs and snacks). People are milling about in excitement. There is a buzz of real Japan - not in aspic but the locals enjoying an event. 

The show began to an almost full house, though the tourists have to sit in a different section, and there were only 4 of us. Maybe only 4 children, two of them tourists, in the whole theatre. The experience is more like going to the Opera in Australia.

The puppets themselves are scaled at half human size and are operated by a puppet master (unhooded) and one or two hooded assistants. I am presuming the unhooded artists are celebrities as they received huge applause upon entering the stage. 

It was mesmerising and when our session was over, I filed into the foyer and felt I'd experienced something really special. It's Japanese culture in action, rather than the static visit to temple or a castle, where you feel on the outside looking in or looking back in time at history. This time you step into the atmosphere and are welcomed to share it. Yet another experience that made me fall in love with Osaka.

Practicalities:

Tourist Information on National Bunraku Theatre, Osaka

National Bunraku Theatre (what's on)

Further Reading:

An Ode to Osaka - A Love Story or Things as the Ought to Be.

Linking with #TalkaboutitTuesday