Incredible Gekijo size fully mobile Bunraku Puppet Head

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All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese: Pre 1980: item # 578903

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The Kura
16-1 ShimoWakakusa-Cho
Murasakino Kita-ku Kyoto 603-8234
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Incredible Gekijo size fully mobile Bunraku Puppet Head

Massive Bunraku puppets head of a wild warrior, judging by hair style possibly the character Benkei painted in the kabuki style. The eyes move right to left, up and down. Eyes and eyebrows, angle of head and mouth are all controlled by toggles on the neck. His hair is all horse-hair. As the head is spring loaded to the neck, we have not removed the head to look for a signature, but it is a most dramatic piece and certainly the star of our latest offering. This size is much larger than average, and would have been made for a massive hall, most likely the Osaka or Tokyo National Theaters. The head itself is almost 8 inches (19 cm) tall and is in fine condition. The pictured stand will be included with the sale. Bunraku, or Japanese puppet theater, is probably the most highly developed form of puppetry in the world. @The term Bunraku is a byword used to describe what is properly called Ningyo Joruri, Puppetry accompanied by Chanted Narration. Its origins lie in the 10th or 11th centuries in the central region around the Japanese Seto Inland Sea. Bunraku as we know it today, accompanied by shamisen and drum music and Noh like chanting, developed in the Edo period. The puppets are large, with the main characters operated by three puppeteers. Most Bunraku plays are historical and deal with the Japanese theme of giri and ninjo - the conflict between social obligations and human emotions. The main puppeteer, visible to the audience, manipulates the head and right arm while two lower ranked puppeteers cloaked entirely in black, operate the left arm and the legs (Female characters usually don't have legs as they are clad in full-length kimono).