Akutagawa

Two puppet specialists, Japan's Koryu Nishikawa V and the U.S.'s Tom Lee, collaborate on a tribute to the early-19th-century Japanese short story master Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The piece stages five of Akutagawa's stories through a multimedia blend of mix of video imagery and kuruma ningyo puppetry: "Rashomon"—which also inspired the famous Akira Kurosawa film—as well as "Hell Screen (Jigokuhen)," "The Dragon," "Toshishun" and "Kappa." Yukio Tsuji provides original live music and sound effects.