Bunraku!

Thursday night at 7pm there will be a performance of bunraku (Japanese traditional puppet theater) at Tomiura Genki Club by world renowned puppet master Kanjirou Kiritake.  Seats fill up quickly so it's best to arrive at least 30 minutes early.  Tickets are 1800 yen at the door and 1500 yen in advance.


The story is called 傾城阿波鳴門(けいせいあわのなると)　巡礼歌の段 (which can be loosely translated to mean "The Pilgrimage of the Courtesan Naruto of Awa).  The synopsis is as follows:


The priceless sword, Kuniji(?) is stolen from minister Sakurai Suzen, who was charged with keeping it by daimyo Awa Tokushima.  The vassal, Jurobe, in order to eventually get the sword back, has to change his name to Ginjurou, make friends with the thief, and move to Osaka with his wife Oyumi.


One day while Oyumi is at home alone a young girl on a pilgrimage comes by.  When Oyumi inquires into the girl's personal history, she realized that the girl is Otsuru, her long-lost daughter who she left in her grandfather's care at the age of 3 before moving to Osaka.


Oyumi is so delighted to see her beloved daughter that she wants to reveal her true name and hug the girl on the spot, but worried that she might involve the child in she and her husband's situation, Oyumi sends the girl away with tears in her eyes. However, she realizes that she may never see the girl again and goes after her.


This kind of theater uses an old style of Japanese that can be a little difficult to understand, but there will be a very thorough explanation at the theater about the story as well as the art of bunraku.  Plus, now you know the basic gist of the story!  I hope to see you there!


Liz