Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre performed to the sounds of shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese musical instrument. This Shibuya show will make an engaging introduction to this classical performing art as you watch bunraku-shamisen master Seiji Tsuruzawa, a living national treasure and member of the Japan Art Academy, bringing two entertaining tales to life.
The two-hour performance will feature two unrelated pieces of text from the late 17th and early 18th century, written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a Japanese dramatist of joruri, which is the predecessor of bunraku and kabuki performing arts.
The first story is taken from the historical piece Nihon Furisode Hajime (‘The Origin of Flowing Kimono Sleeves in Japan’); based on a Japanese mythology, the text highlights Prince Susanoo’s battle with an eight-headed dragon.
The second story, Sugimoto Bunraku’s Onnagoroshi Abura no Jigoku (‘The Woman-Killer and the Hell of Oil’) is a collaboration between Seiji Tsuruzawa and New York-based contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. The story revolves around an 18th-century murder case in Osaka.
While the production is in Japanese, the personal in-ear audio guide as well as explanation booklet are both in English.