Joruri, The Art of the Puppet Theatre

http://ynt.yafjp.org/en/performing-arts/
Bunraku "Gionsaireishinkoki" (KIRITAKE Kanjuro) National Theater Collection

A few weeks have passed and Junichiro's words still resonate in my mind. Hence, going along with the first post I made this year and with the theme of Japanese tradition, I am sharing a brief essay I read on my anthology of Japanese literature, Chikamatsu on the Art of the Puppet Stage.


Chikamatsu (1653-1725) is a Japanese playwright who wrote for the Bunraku, or puppet theatre as well as the Kabuki. As opposed to Kabuki,  the art of living actors, Joruri seeks to give life to inanimate objects. Therefore, the plays should resound clearly and expressively in the written word, and likewise, should transfer unto a stage in the same vivid manner. The aim is to compel in the audience specific emotions. According to Chikamatsu, Joruri creates a sphere where, for the sake of art, words and facts are communicated that would have, in any other form, remained silent. Much like the evocative power of poetry. This art form, being centered on inanimate objects, allows the writer and the audience to journey through uncharted waters of the psyche, it enables hidden truths to shine through that would not have otherwise been seen in daily life. The essay also delves into the pathos in theatre, how it is a matter of restraint. Of containing the emotions while pulling the audience in.

While speaking of the puppet theatre and playwriting, Chikamatsu firmly resides within the territory of art. Postulating the question, what is art? According to him, it is about playing with light and shadow, the real and the unreal, and molding these elements with stylization so as to compel and delight minds.
Even though this essay is about theatre and those elements that create Bunraku, it reveals much more to the reader, especially if said reader has artistic inclinations. It speaks about the aesthetics on appealing to a public, and on another spectrum, reveals aspects of Japanese tradition that retains value within the realm of this post-modern era.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/culture/AJ2011101411068
A scene from the bunraku classic Hirakana Seisuiki at the National Theater in September.
(Provided by the National Theater)

"Art is something which lies in the slender margin between the real and the unreal."

If the subject is of interest see these other sites for further info.
YokoHama Noh Theatre
Blog on Japanese culture
Bunraku at Princeton
On Chikamatsu