.:Bunraku:. Research Investigation

Research Investigation IB Theatre HL

Word count  2,227

How would the puppets, puppeteers, narrator, and musicians interrelate to create a Bunraku performance of the Love Suicides at Sonezaki created by Chikamatsu Monzaemon?

“The art of Bunraku lies in achieving perfect synchronization of these three elements-puppets, chanter and shamisen- for intense dramatic effect.” [1] Bunraku puppetry is an interesting and complex form of theatre which is becoming more popular as it delves into different cultures. The origin of Bunraku and the role of each of the members in a Bunraku performance are needed to investigate how the puppets, puppeteers, narrator and musicians interrelate to create an intricate form of puppetry. To help us gain an understanding of how all these different factors make up a Bunraku puppetry performance, we need to look at the origin of Bunraku and the significance this had in the formation of the puppets, puppeteers, musicians and narrators. However, to understand how these components are used in a Chikamatsu Bunraku performance, we must understand how and where this particular playwright created and compiled his themes for his plays.

Chikamatsu Monzaemon grew up in a Samurai family and became closely connected to Takemoto Gidayu, a puppeteer, and moved near his theatre. Monzaemon wrote a number of Kabuki plays, however then decided to write plays specifically for characters. He had two genres of plays, domestic tragedies and historical romances. Most of his works were based on real incidents, for example, double suicides of lovers. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki were actually based on a real incident of a double love suicide. Monzaemon’s themes include loyalty, vengeance, filial piety, religious miracles and love. “Chikamatsu’s works are distinct or adding human elements…Confucian concepts of the importance of loyalty over personal feelings and the tragedy that arise when one blindly follows the precepts.”[2] Bunraku theatre was used to convey these certain themes, it was also Japan’s most famous and important form of puppetry.

Bunraku was first established in Japan, Bunraku was the actual name of the theatre in which this form of puppetry would be performed, but the real art of this puppetry was soon officially named after the theatre. Bunraku is known for its highly artistic technique and its amazing Joruri music coincided with the unusual way of manipulating the puppets. Bunraku puppetry is unique as it takes a whole day for the drama in the tale to unfold. These two different features of this art have made Bunraku into what it is today, a highly developed puppet theatre of the world. Bunraku is known as a very complicated commercial doll puppet theatre, and it is interesting to acknowledge that puppeteers have all been male since 1652. A day of Bunraku puppet theatre usually consists of a domestic or historical play or particular scenes. The two or three scene divisions are important, they are divided into the opening, middle and conclusion. During the performance, a different character is assigned to each scene. Also, most plays are 8-10 hours long and consist of five acts in order to convey a variety of emotions to the audience. The musician, narrator, puppets and puppeteers interact with each other to create a Bunraku performance by using their own personal techniques. Each of these different components help each other to create a Bunraku performance. An example of this relationship is the joruri and the shamisen, as seen in figure 1. The shamisen is sitting to the right, whilst the joruri is sitting to the left. Both the shamisen and the joruri are placed to the right of the stage.

Figure 1

In the 1590’s, shamisen music and joruri narrative chanting was combined with puppets to create a complex style of puppetry, Joruri was originally the style of music which combined with puppetry to create a Bunraku puppetry performance, however, it was soon used as the name of the chanter for a Bunraku performance. Joruri music is always performed by one person, however in Bunraku puppetry, sometimes there is more than one chanter, these chanters are known as Tayu. Joruri is still a popular form of music, even when it is not involved with Bunraku. The joruri is always a man, usually a younger man begins the Bunraku performance, and the most talented and experienced joruri ends the performance as he is able to build up the most emotion in the audience. The younger, less experienced chanters take the early scenes which are less important, the experienced and older chanters take the conclusion and the more important scenes. Sometimes, 4 or 5 chanters are combined and perform together. They provide a voice for each individual character for the performance, this is originally an influence of Kabuki, which is a form of puppetry which originated before Bunraku puppetry. The joruri retells the story in a diverse range of chants and emotional portrayals. The must have a very strong voice and when using this voice, must be able to convey their emotions to the audience. A skilled joruri can create an overall mood for an entire audience, whether that be a happy mood full of laughter, or an unhappy mood accompanied with tears. The joruri chanter was originally more important then the actual writer of the script, until Japan’s the appearance of Chikamatsu Monzaemon. There was a 30 year collaboration including Chikamatsu and a chanter named Takemoto Gidayu who created this form of puppetry into a high-art. [3]

Therefore, if a Chikamatsu Monzaemon Bunraku play was going to be performed, there would need to be a one or more joruri to chant the different components of the performance. The joruri would also need to speak as a narrator, and as the voice of the puppets in order to create the desired emotion throughout the audience. The joruri would also need to be able to interrelate with the shamisen player very well, including being able to stay in synchronization with the shamisen and the movement of the Bunraku puppets by the puppeteers.

In order to help convey the emotions effectively for a Bunraku audience, the joruri needed to interact with a shamisen to help him create the emotions needed to create the atmosphere throughout the audience for the Bunraku performance.

The shamisen is an old Japanese stringed instrument. It can be compared to an orchestra in a European opera as it has a similar function. It supports the actions and mood needed when accompanying a scene. The shamisen player sits next to the joruri, and, combined, the shamisen player and the joruri must create a balanced team, as they require great harmony in their performance. The shamisen plays in synchronization as the joruri chants the scenes of the Bunraku performance. This creates an intense dramatic effect and is able to convey passionate emotions throughout our Bunraku audience. In order to interact with the puppets and puppeteers, the shamisen and the joruri are placed to the right of the stage on an elevated platform. To create a relationship between the shamisen, chanter and the audience, they are positioned in a certain position.

The chanter, shamisen and the audience sit together and can be seen by the audience. As seen above, the chanter pretends to read from the text from a stand in front of him, but he has actually memorized it. This stand is called a kendai, and is placed in front of the joruri. The text is placed on top of this stand, and often the joruri will place his hands on the kendai either side of the text. The actual text is comprised of alternating sections of prose, this is commonly spoken in dialogue. Verse is usually sung using various vocal techniques, and these techniques, accompanied by the playing of the shamisen, comprise into an emotional journey for a Bunraku audience. In recreating a Bunraku performance of the Love Suicides by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the connection between the shamisen and the joruri may be the most difficult. The chanter may have to actually read off the text which is in front of him, so that if there is only little time to prepare, he does not miss the cues from the shamisen player. The consequence of the shamisen player and the joruri not being in perfect synchronization is the misunderstanding of the emotion being conveyed by the puppet and the chanter.

A Bunraku theatre stage

Bunraku performances are usually performed on a proscenium stage, as seen above. This stage is divided into two or three zones by railings, each from to back. This allows the audience to see all of the different components of the Bunraku performance, including the shamisen, joruri, who are sitting on the right of the audience. Also, it is important where the different partitions are, as this is where different characters are placed according to their rank in the play.  However, most importantly the puppets and puppeteers, need to be seen, therefore, in a Bunraku performance of the Love Suicides by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, there would need to be a proscenium stage. However, if this was unavailable, there would need to be a set up of the different components so that all were perfectly visible and on the same level as the audience.

Bunraku Puppeteers

Bunraku puppeteer is connected to the puppet, but at the same time, is separate. It is a very intricate form of puppetry and requires much discipline and practice. The puppeteer not only forms processes for the puppet but also for themselves. Sometimes the puppeteer will be in relationship with the puppet, and the puppeteer can very often seem ‘invisible’ to the audience, this form of puppetry is called disassociation. [4]As seen in figure 5, there are three puppeteers which hold, move and surround a Bunraku puppet. The head puppeteer (on the left) takes control of a puppet’s right arm with his right and hand head and body with his left hand. The second puppeteer (on the right) controls the left arm and the third puppeteer (in the middle) moves the feet of the male puppet, or the kimono hem of a female puppet, as they are legless. As seen above, the puppeteers usually wear black costumes or black dark coloured kimonos in order to keep the focus on the puppets, not themselves. The puppeteers can improvise movements during a performance. However they do have a wide range of highly stylized movements. The interesting fact about Bunraku puppetry which is very different to other types of puppetry is that Bunraku puppeteers take no means to hide themselves from the audience. However, they very often appear invisible to the audience because of there astounding relationship with the puppet. Together, the three puppeteers make the inanimate puppet into a living character in a Bunraku performance. “Although it is inanimate wood and cloth, the energy infused into a puppet by the manipulators, chanter and musician make it appear lifelike and real, while a kabuki character may seem quite unreal. Puppets, puppeteer a, canter and musician all have their own visual presences in Bunraku and vie for attention.” [5]Therefore if creating a Bunraku performance of the Love Suicides by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, there would need to be much practice of the use of Bunraku puppets by the puppeteers. The puppeteers would need to learn how to relate with each other in order to seem as though the puppet becomes an animated figure in the eyes of the audience. Also, they would need to correctly relate to the puppet and take into serious consideration the importance of their relationship between themselves and how they combine with the other puppeteers in the creation of the personality and characteristics of the Bunraku puppet. The important feature of a Bunraku performance is how the joruri and shamisen interact with the puppeteers and puppets.

Bunraku stage

Figure 6 is interesting in relating to this, as there are actually a number of shamisen and joruri to create the desired effect. This would be a very complex puppetry performance as the joruri and shamisen would have to interact with each other including the puppets and puppeteers.The puppeteers, joruri and shamisen interrelate with each other to create a Bunraku performance, without each other, they could not create an effective, emotional and powerful performance. The joruri and the shamisen watch the performance and chant and play according to what the puppets and puppeteers are doing. Likewise, the puppeteers wait for certain cues given by the shamisen or the joruri. As the joruri is the voice of the puppet, these two components depend entirely on each other. If the puppet fails to make the gesture to convey the emotion created by the joruri, then the emotion that needed to be conveyed will not be recognized by the audience, likewise, if the joruri fails to chant when the puppet makes a certain move to convey a particular point or emotion, the audience will be unsuccessful in recognizing this.

As Bunraku puppetry is an intricate form of Japanese theatre comprising of many components which, with perfect synchronization, can create a range of different emotions in an audience, it is important to realize that to create the performance which was originally written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, much detail and planning must be conducted. The shamisen and joruri must relate with each other in order to convey certain emotions to the audience, and they must also give and take certain cues from the puppeteers and puppets so that they can maintain their level of perfect synchronization. In a performance of the Love Suicides which was originally written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the staging of the play is most important so that not only can the joruri, shamisen and puppeteers be in full view of each other, but also that all of these different components of the play can be seen by every audience member.

Critique of Sources

Published Works:

1. Brandon, James R: 1993, The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre, ©Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 171-173 this is a in-depth book which has everything one needs to know about Asian Theatre. I did look at the whole of Japanese theatre, but my main focus was on Kabuki and Bunraku puppetry. This was one of the best resources that I found as it is a published work and therefore I could depend on the information being accurate.

1. Anna Forbes: Puppet Manipulation Notes © 2002 These particular notes on puppet manipulation explain the work needed to input in order to create the illusion that the life is actually in the puppet, not in the puppeteer. I took a range of information from this resource as it helped me explain why and how the puppeteers needed to do certain actions with the puppets in order to show certain emotions. This resource was reliable as I had previously had a puppet making and manipulation workshop with Anna Forbes and she gained her knowledge from the famous Philippe Genty.

Websites:

1. Kodansha International Ltd:The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts: Bunraku Puppet Theater, http://web japan.org/museum/bunraku/about_bu.html, last accessed August 12^th 12:43 pm. This website was much like the Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre book. It contained detailed information and pictures about Bunraku theatre. This website is literally a museum of Japanese Arts, however it is virtual and online. From this website I used a range of information regarding the art of Bunraku puppetry and how the interrelation between puppet, chanter and shamisen must be complete in order to correctly display this intense form of puppetry. As this particular site was produced for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was created by an international company who are Japanese, I found the information to be more accurate and complex than other websites I looked at.

Research Investigation IB Theatre HL

1. Jōruri, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306273/joruri, © 2008 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, last accessed 17^th of August, 2008. As this particular source is an encyclopedia, it contained a range of information that I needed in regards to the shamisen and the joruri. From this internet source, I gained much information regarding the joruri and his relationship with the shamisen and puppets. I feel as though this is a reliable resource as it can not be manipulated by any person, only the founders of Britannica, also, I found this as a reliable resource because it is an encyclopedia which is published, and therefore the information appeared very accurate and relevant to my research investigation.

Bibliography of images

Figure 1: http://www.yoshinoantiques.com/images/tayu-shamisen.jpg, created by CityCenter Co., Pasadena, CA. Copyright (c) 1999. Last visited 17^th of August, 2008.

Figure 2 & 3: http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/bunraku/en/contents/creaters/tayu.html, created by Japan Arts Council / Production: Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd. / Cooperation: Sony PCL, Inc. Last visited 9^th of August, 2008.

Figure 4: http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/bunraku/en/contents/whats/stage.html, created by Japan Arts Council / Production: Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd. / Cooperation: Sony PCL, Inc. Last visited 9^th of August, 2008.

Figure 5: http://www.kneeplays.com/catalog/img/bunraku-puppet.jpg, created by © Copyright 2007 DAVID BYRNE / Todo Mundo Ltd. Last accessed 21^st of August, 2008

Figure 6: http://www.bunraku.or.jp/ebunraku/p07.html , created by Bunraku Kyokai ©. Last accessed 25^th of August, 2008

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¹The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts, Bunraku Puppet Theater, http://web-japan.org/museum/bunraku/about_bu.html, August 12^th 12:43 pm

[2] Brandon, James R, 1993, The Cambridge University Guide to Asian Theatre, ©Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 171-173

[3]Jōruri, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306273/joruri, © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc, last accessed 17^th of August, 2008

[4] Anna Forbes, Puppet manipulation notes © 2002

[5] Brandon, James R, 1993, The Cambridge University Guide to Asian Theatre, ©Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 171-173