Otome Bunraku Lecture and Demonstration

By Hitomiza Otome Bunraku Troupe

Otome Bunraku 

(Paul Baila / Sibiu International Theatre Festival 2013)

Dear Members of Club Nippon

Copenhagen Business School, Japan Foundation and the Embassy of Japan would like to invite you to a lecture/demonstration on Otome Bunraku (Japanese Puppet Theatre) at Rialto Theatre performed by Hitomiza Otome Bunraku troupe.
Otome Bunraku is a form of puppet theatre where the puppet is controlled only by one female person. Normally in Bunraku puppet theatre the puppet will be controlled by three persons.

Venue: Rialto Theatre, (Nørrebro Teater - Frederiksbergscenen), Smallegade 2, 2000 Frederiksberg.
Date: 28 October 2014
Time: 10.30-12.00 and 14.30-16.00 (there will be same arrangements twice).
Price: Free of charge
Registration: Required

To join this event please send an email to info@ch.mofa.go.jp
The email should include your name, your guests names and whether you wish to join
the first lecture: 10.30-12.00 OR
the second lecture: 14.30-16.00

 

Program:
1 “Ninin Sanbasou(二人三番叟)”
(by Naomi Kameno, Aya Suzuki and Masato Tomomatsu)
2 “Sanbasou(三番叟)” workshop
(by Naomi Kameno, Aya Suzuki and Yuki Muramatsu)
3 “Osono no Kudoki from Adesugata Onna Maiginu—Sakaya
(艶姿女舞衣～酒屋の段～から“お園のくどき”)”
(by Naomi Kameno)

“Ninin Sanbasou(二人三番叟)”
Ninin Sanbasou was originally a Noh performance. The ritualized music that closely resembles sacred rites is actually a prayer for peace on earth and bountiful harvests. The dance involves three characters –Senzai, Okina, and Sanbasou – who perform the celebratory dance known as the Shikisanba. The dance is performed not only as a puppet show, but also as Kabuki.

Today, Ninin Sanbasou is performed as a celebratory event and is the very first item after New Year’s Day and on other auspicious occasions. Although there were originally roles for three puppets, it is now common to have only Sanbasou in the performance. While the dance had initially evolved from Noh, at present the chants and gestures of the puppets differ for different schools of the art form. Sanbasou in Hitomiza Otome Bunraku is largely the same as that of Bunraku.

“Osono no Kudoki from Hadesugata Onna Maiginu—Sakaya
(艶姿女舞衣～酒屋の段～から“お園のくどき”)”
Composers: Saburobei Takemoto, Oritsu Toyotake (collaborative work)
Premiered in 1773

Synopsis
The story is based on the true story of a suicide incident that took place at the time.
Hanshichi was the son of Hanbei, the owner of a sake trader called Akaneya living in Osaka. He fell deeply in love with a dancer named Sankatsu, and they gave birth to a child named Otsuu. Hanbei did not approve of the relationship, and forced his son to marry Osono, the daughter of Sogan. However, Hanshichi could not even touch the hands of Osono. Hanbei could no longer stand by and watch the situation go on, so he disowned Hanshichi, and Osono was taken back in by her own family.
Meanwhile, Sankatsu turned up at Akaneya, left her child Otsuu there, and then disappeared.
Sogan could not bear to see the sorrowful state of Osono after she was separated from Hanshichi, so he brought her to Hanbei and requested that the family welcome her back as Hanshichi’s bride. However, Hanbei would not accede to the request for Osono’s sake. In truth, Hanshichi had killed a man who had fallen in love with Sankatsu, and was now on the run from the law as a murderer.
Left alone, Osono soliloquized on her thoughts of Hanshichi, wondering where he was and how he was doing, and thinking that if he had died from illness last year, she would not have had to suffer so much. <This scene is titled Osono no Kudoki.>
After that, a letter from Hanshichi was found on the child Otsuu. In the letter, Hanshichi apologized to everyone, and told Osono that they will be together again in their next life. He then wrote that he had decided to commit suicide with Sankatsu.
Hanshichi and Sankatsu then depart on their journey of death.

What is Otome Bunraku? (Bunraku with one female puppeteer)

Why did Bunraku performance with one female puppeteer emerge?
The decline of Ningyo Joruri (Joruri puppet show) with three puppeteers
In Bunraku, one puppet is controlled by three different puppeteers. This form of puppetry is unique to Japan, and creates a highly dramatic and expressive performance when compared to the conventional practice of having one puppeteer. However, this of course increases the number of performers required in each performance, which in turn incurs additional performance-related expenditures. This gradually began to put financial pressure on Bunraku groups.
Consequently, starting from the Edo era, performers began to attempt to perform Ningyo Joruri with one puppeteer, but without losing the expressive power that three puppeteers provided. One of the puppetry forms created as a result of this movement was Otome Bunraku.

Who, and when?

　The inventor of the form was a Bunraku puppeteer, Monzo Kiritake V. During the Showa era (from the 1920s to the 1930s), Monzo and other researchers of Bunraku involving single puppeteers formed a group, which became the first to spread the form across Osaka under the labels “Onna Bunraku” and “Musume Bunraku.” After several years of delay, the Otome Bunraku that Monzo had developed was launched as a troupe called “Osaka Otome Bunraku-za.”
While Onna Bunraku and Musume Bunraku use a belt attached to the puppeteer’s arm (known as “udegane shiki”), Otome Bunraku uses a belt attached to the waist (known as “dogane shiki”).

What is the difference between Otome Bunraku and Bunraku?
The puppets, Gidayu Bushi narrative style, and gestures in Otome Bunraku are basically the same as those in Bunraku. However, particularly in view of the fact that the inventor of Otome Bunraku had been a Bunraku puppeteer, Otome Bunraku puppeteers were always required to have technical skills at least as good as the skills of Bunraku puppeteers.
Hitomiza Otome Bunraku has inherited a long-standing tradition, but at the same time, it aims to incorporate new repertoire to create even more enjoyable performances for its audiences.

What has Otome Bunraku inherited?
Chieko Kiritake was the only person who had studied directly under Monzo Kiritake. She inherited the Osaka Otome Bunraku-za, and held public performances as the sole successor of the troupe. However, after the war, the environment for performing arts changed significantly. By the 1960s, the Osaka Otome Bunraku-za had mostly stopped performing in public.
In 1967, the puppetry troupe Hitomiza came under the instruction of Chieko Kiritake (who passed away in 2008), and began to perform Otome Bunraku. Today, the troupe is directed by Kanjuro Kiritake, a leading Bunraku puppeteer. 
Currently, Hitomiza Otome Bunraku is the only group that performs publicly as a troupe.

For further information:  Rialto Theatre: http://nbt.dk/om-teatret#aabningstider.