Japan

On the island of Awaji, birthplace of Bunraku puppetry, where a company still perpetuates a unique form of the art, I observed rehearsals and interviewed puppeteers. I also traveled to remote mountain villages where I interviewed Hoichi Okamoto, a leading contemporary puppeteer who has performed to great acclaim in New York, and viewed the private treasures of Japan’s leading puppeteer/collectors, Sennosuke Takeda, the leading string puppeteer in Japan, and Katami Eimei. In Tokyo and Yokohama, I attended a broad range of puppet and live theatre performances, including a visit to the wonderful Koryu Nishikawa Troupe, and an all-day Bunraku performance where the technical director of Japan’s National Theatre, escorted me backstage. I also toured an exhibition of designs by Kihachiro Yamamoto, a leading Japanese film and television puppet designer who allowed me to interview him on video.