Sakura, Bunraku, and Sayonara, Nihon!

For our last day in Japan, we did some administrative things (or tried to), and managed to see some cherry blossoms which were finally out in Osaka. Not exactly the full experience we had hoped for, but better than nothing. Foregoing more time in Kyoto for our Okinawa trip was definitely worthwhile, and I have a feeling we lucked out with the weather the particular week we chose. In any event, I have some photos of cherry (sakura) blossoms, as well as Mt. Fuji from the homeward-bound plane.

Our last afternoon we met up with Norbert-san for a couple hours of bunraku, Japanese puppet theater. The story, called "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami" or "Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy", was one of the masterpieces of the bunraku repertoire and included everything one could want in a puppet show (treachery, dishonor, a birthday party, pretty ladies, puppet fights, and ritual suicide). To be less waggish, the puppetry was really remarkable, with three puppeteers controlling each (approximately half-life-sized) puppet. The main puppeteer was fully visible, and he controlled the major movement of the puppets, as well as the subtle artistry and facial expressions. The two helpers controlled the left arm and the legs, and they wore black outfits with black hoods, which was actually a bit disconcerting. Black is apparently the traditional color of invisibility, though they were clearly visible.

The dialogue was sung or chanted by one or several joruri reciters, situated on a platform well to the right of the main stage. Sometimes one reciter played all parts, varying his voice for different characters (men and women). At one point there were four reciters, one for each character, adding volume to an argument and fight scene. The recitation reflected the emotion of the puppet, with incredible synchronization considering neither the reciter nor puppeteer were looking at each other. In fact, the facial expressions of the puppet were mirrored by the reciter, and it was interesting to watch them cry or laugh. (The puppeteers were mostly expressionless, with one or two exceptions.)

The shamisen player sat with the reciters, and provided musical accompaniment and sound effects (wind, battle sounds, and the like). These three skills (puppeteer, recitation, and shamisen) take years to master, and at least in the old days a trio of artists would often work together throughout their careers, forming the necessary relationship to perform this difficult art.

Today we returned to the States, our vacation and my six-month stint in Japan both completed. Here ends the blog, thank you all for your interest and your emails of support! It was quite an experience, and I'm sure I'll be returning, though for periods of briefer duration, in the near future.