ALTERNATIVE TO NOH AND KABUKI

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Most people have heard of Kabuki and Noh, but Japan has another trditional form of theater - bunraku.

Bunraku is a kind of puppet theater. The puppets are quite large, and each puppet is operated by three puppeteers. The puppeteers are visible on stage, but they are dressed all in black with black hoods over their heads to help the audience "filter them out".

The puppets have gorgeous costumes and are capable of very sophisticated movements. In fact,sometimes it is easy to forget you are seeing a puppet and not a human actor. The sets are very impressive too. If you attend a Bunraku performance you should take a lunchbox. The whole performance lasts about 4 hours, with a lunch break in the middle. People eat their obento in the auditorium or in the lobby on seats and benches provided.

Bunraku is not theater for children. The stories are similar to kabuki, and sometimes the same plays are performed in both. However Bunraku performances are much cheaper to attend than kabuki, possibly because Bunraku is designated a cultural treasure in Japan and subsidized by the government.

  

SIT-DOWN COMEDY

Image by rwangsa via FlickrIn the West we have 'Stand-up Comedy' where someone stands up, usually with a microphone, in front of a group of people, and tells jokes and humorous stories. But in Japan they have 'Sit-down Comedy' - Rakugo. One person sits in the middle of the stage and tells a humorous story, often dependent on puns and word-plays. In fact, they don't so much "tell the story" as act it out, doing all the voices and facial expressions, and using a folding fan and a small cloth as props. I'm told it's quite amazing how expressive these minimalist props can become in the hands of a talented rakugo performer.
A few weeks ago a Japanese friend took me to a rakugo performance in English. a Canadian and two Japanese performers told several stories assisted by a female presenter. I have to admit, I've never really been a fan of comedy shows and I was a little bored. But once I read a famous rakugo story about a man who said he was scared of manju - a small Japanese cake filled with sweet bean paste. It was kind of funny, and I can imagine that it might make a good performance. You can read a translation of the story here: http://jeisensei.blogspot.com/

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• 'Rakugo' pro crosses borders with humor (search.japantimes.co.jp)