BUNRAKU

Bunraku

The Birth of Three New Stars /Young Performers’ Heroic Efforts
Kameoka Noriko

The year 2022 was the third successive year that the theatre world was forced todeal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The seats available for sale at each performance have returned to their pre-pandemic levels, but audiences have yet tocome back to the theatres. Theatre audiences are traditionally older, and as had
been feared, it will take some time to break the habits of the past few years andtempt these customers back to the theatres. Of course, it is not only bunraku that054

has been affected. From noh to kabuki, the entire traditional theatre world continues to suffer from the effects of the pandemic. Theatre workers become
infected or are identified as close contacts, leading to frequent cancellations ofperformances and cast changes. It has proved extremely difficult to eradicate
infection in the theatre environment entirely. While different policies have beentrialled, including requiring cast members to vacate the theatre as soon as theirperformance is over, transmission can still occur during rehearsals and performances. COVID-19 has still not run its course.
In the middle of this ongoing crisis, however, there was a glimmer of goodnews. From the April performances at the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka,three chanters were newly elevated to the rank of kiriba gatari – those chanterswith sufficient talent to take on a play’s key climactic act. The chanters in question were Toyotake Rodayu, Takemoto Shikorodayu, and Takemoto Chitosedayu.
They were also the first new chanters to be accorded this honour in thirteen years
since Living National Treasure Toyotake Sakitayu.
To mark the occasion, Rodayu performed the Gappo’s House scene fromSesshu Gappo ga Tsuji (The Tale of Tamate Gozen) with Takezawa Seisuke onshamisen. Shikorodayu, meanwhile, was accompanied by Takezawa Sosuke, onlead shamisen, as he chanted Shizuka Gozen in the Journey with a Drum scenefrom Yoshitsune senbon zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees).
Chitosedayu was accompanied by Toyozawa Tomisuke in his performance of theHyuga Island scene from Musume Kagekiyo Yashima nikki (The Blind Kagekiyoin Exile). The performance provided an ideal showcase for the differing characters of each chanter’s art: Rodayu’s passion and pure soulfulness, Shikorodayu’s
stirring brilliance, and Chitosedayu intimate approach to the fate of a proud, isolated warrior. Shikorodayu’s scene was sung by five chanters (kakeai), so it wasn’t
a true kiriba gatari performance. However, in the special summer vacation performance in Osaka, he got the chance to shine alone in Kamiya Jihei’s Home
scene from Shinju ten no Amijima (The Love Suicides at Amijima). To the accompaniment of Sosuke’s shamisen, Shikorodayu’s chanting brought a profounddepth to this contemporary life play. At the same show, Rodayu and Seisuke performed an energetic, impressive Shido Temple scene from Hana no Ueno homare
no ishibumi (The Self-Sacrifice of Otsuji).

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The August 20 Bunraku sujoruri no kai puppet-less performance at theNational Bunraku Theatre featured the three new stars competing against eachother in dramatic scenes from jidaimono history plays. Chitosedayu withTomisuke on shamisen tackled the rarely performed Sakai Village scene fromGotaiheiki shiraishi banashi (The Vendetta by Two Sisters), while Rodayu andSeisuke performed the Sodehagi saimon scene from Oshu Adachigahara (TheRebellion of the Abe Clan), and Shikorodayu with Tsuruzawa Tozo tackled theKurosuke’s House scene from Genpei nunobiki no taki (The Nunobiki Waterfall).
The three stars performed together again in another puppet-less performance at
the National Theatre in Tokyo in October. The scenes were different, but audiences got to experience the grit and determination of these chanters who willlead bunraku in the years to come.
Unfortunately, chanter and Living National Treasure Toyotake Sakitayu
struggled with his health this year and was unable to perform for several months.
Fans were worried when he missed both the latter half of the April (April 18onwards) programme in Osaka and the whole May programme in Tokyo,
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performances that were supposed to celebrate his being named a Person ofCultural Merit last autumn. However, fears were allayed somewhat when
Sakitayu made a strong return at the summer vacation performance in Osaka.
He performed the Yamatoya scene from Shinju ten no Amijima, and his rich,exquisite chanting was quite the thing to behold. His presence can really make all
the difference to the impact of a performance. At the moment his chanting istruly exquisite, bringing together the highest levels of technique and dignity withan unerring sense of theatre. So it was worrying that he was again absent during
the November shows, but we hope that he will make a return to the stage sometime in 2023.
In Sakitayu’s absence, it was his pupil Takemoto Oritayu who stepped into
the breach, standing in for his teacher’s scenes and demonstrating his own skill.
He added those scenes to the ones that had originally been allocated to him, so it
must have been exhausting but we can hope that it can also fuel his growth as aperformer. The best example of what he was able to accomplish was his Benkei in056

Kanjincho (The Subscription List) in the November programme in Osaka. To behonest, I always feel that the bunraku Kanjincho plays somewhat flat in comparison to the drama that kabuki’s human actors can invoke in the same play. To
make things even more challenging, this bunraku version was being performedat the same time as a kabuki version was being staged at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo,starring Ichikawa Ebizo in the Benkei role as part of the name-taking ceremonies
for his succession to Ichikawa Danjuro XIII Hakuen. Two versions of Kanjincho
in the same month signalled a true competition between bunraku and kabuki.
The bunraku version normally uses the title Narihibiku Ataka no shinseki (TheNew Barrier Gate at Ataka), but for this performance it was titled Kanjincho,
hinting at the dimension of competition from the bunraku side.
However, this version of Kanjincho was a real triumph. The cast included
some of the spirited young mainstays of the theatre, with Oritayu as Benkei,Toyotake Yasutayu as Togashi, and Takemoto Kosumidayu as Yoshitsune. On thepuppets, Benkei was manipulated by Yoshida Tamasuke, Togashi by Yoshida
Tamashi, and Yoshitsune by Kiritake Montomi. Normally, it is only the chief
puppeteer who shows his face, but for this performance the puppeteers who

controlled Benkei’s left arm and feet also went unmasked and provided a deeplycommitted performance. The chanters, musicians, and puppeteers all put theirheart and soul into it, creating a performance that blazed with a new heat andlight. Especially notable was Oritayu, who in addition to this play stood in for histeacher Sakitayu in the comical Wakigahama hobiki scene from Ichinotani futaba
gunki (Chronicles of the Battle of Ichinotani). Yasutayu dug his teeth into the linesthat Oritayu threw at him, and listening to his chanting was like watching sparks
fly. Tamasuke was making his first attempt at Benkei, a role that he had long
dreamed of. The force that he brought to the role was frightening, truly inhabiting Benkei’s desperate extremity of loyalty. The theatre also acted decisively in
reducing the price of the most expensive seats for the Kanjincho section of theprogramme to 2500 yen halfway through the run. Those seats are normally soldat 5500 yen, so it was an excellent bargain for customers new to bunraku or those
returning to the theatre. Osaka audiences have always been primarily drawn by
word of mouth, with numbers increasing towards the end of the run, and thiswas definitely the case with Kanjincho. Everyone can admire the art of veteran057

performers, but spirited performances like this by younger stars will draw in newaudiences.
Many other performances linger in the memory. In November’s Shinju
yoigoshin (Love Suicides on the Eve of the Koshin Festival), Chitosedayu andTomisuke performed the Ueda Village scene and Toyotake Rosetayu andTsuruzawa Seiji the Greengrocer scene. It was a high-quality performance, withthe chanters creating a nuanced portrayal of the characters’ wavering emotions,while puppeteers Yoshida Tamao as Hanbei and Kiritake Kanjuro as Ochiyo
created a pair of beautiful lovers.
The quality of Tamao’s work over the past few years has been eye opening.
He manipulated Matsuomaru in the Village School scene from Sugawara denju
tenarai kagami (Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy) at the New Year’s performances, and Shunkan in Heike nyogo no shima (The Priest in Exile) in February,and both were performances of grace and scale that succeeded magnificently inpresenting the characters’ inner pain and loneliness. Amongst the other puppeteers, Yoshida Kazuo’s performances of Tamate Gozen in Sesshu Gappo ga TsujiTheatre in Japan

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in February in Tokyo, and Osan in Shinju ten no Amijima breathed life into roles
that his master, the late Yoshida Bunjaku, had excelled in. Kiritake Kanjuro’s
Oharu in Shinjuten no Amijima and his Sodehagi in Oshu Adachigahara in theSeptember show in Tokyo demonstrated outstanding talent in their presentationof the characters’ inner lives.
Kanjuro is well known for the breadth of his talents and has long designed
the illustrations used on the stamps available at bunraku performances. This year
he both wrote and directed a new play for the summer vacation programmecalled Suzu no ne (The Tinkle of a Bell). It was a charming, simple story about akappa water sprite and a fox that delighted children who were seeing bunraku forthe first time.
There were a string of independent shows put on by the younger performers
in spite of the dangers created by the pandemic. In particular, I’d like to draw
attention to the performances put on by the chanters, which were less about theirown artistic growth and more about shrinking the distance with the audience to058

let them experience the full power of live gidayubushi chanting. I didn’t manage
to make it to all of these shows, but the list included Toyotake Yoshihodayu andTsuruzawa Enjiro performing the Amagasaki scene from Ehon taikoki (A PictureBook of the Taiko Hideyoshi, Minorikai, April 29 at Sennichitei, Osaka, and May
4 at the Nago no kai in Tokyo); Toyotake Yasutayu and Tsuruzawa Seiko performing the Kurosuke’s House scene from Genpei nunobiki no taki (July 3 at ArtHall Timbre in Nara); and Kosumidayu and Seiko performing the Skylight scenefrom Futatsu chocho kuruwa nikki (Diary of Two Butterflies in the Pleasure
Quarters, October 21, small hall at the National Bunraku Theatre). This final performance was part of a double bill with the rakugo comedian Shofukutei
Shikaku. These were all strong attempts at plays that these young chanters only
get to perform at these kinds of events.
We must not forget the second annual Bunraku muso keishoden (Bunraku
Dreams: A Tale of Succession) event, which was organized by mid-rank performers and held on August 6 at the National Bunraku Theatre. It began last year atpuppeteer Yoshida Tamasho’s instigation and involved something that could
never happen at a regular performance: master puppeteers and their young

students, all of whom had around ten years of training under their belts, performing equal roles. The first event in 2021 attracted a lot of attention and was ahuge success. Building on their experiences the previous year, in 2022 theyounger performers again pooled their talents to create the programmes andthink up the returns for the crowdfunding campaign for the show. This year saw
the students playing the lead puppeteer roles (i.e. the head and right arm), while
their teachers and senior students took on the left arm and feet respectively. Thiswas something you would never see at a regular performance and it attracted
large crowds.
There was another really fascinating performance in February at theNakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka. It was a collaboration between the contemporary artist Morimura Yasumasa and the puppeteer Kanjuro under the title
Ningen joruri (Human Joruri). During the performance, Morimura became apuppet and was manipulated by Kanjuro. Morimura is best known for hisself-portraits where he dresses up as historical figures or subjects of famous
paintings by artists, such as Van Gogh, and this time he became a bunraku

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puppet. For the performance, a new play called Shin kyoeikitan (New Strange Taleof a Mirror Reflection) was written. It is about a master dollmaker called Kyojuro
and a kyo ningyo doll that he creates by reflecting the body of a beautiful woman
in a mirror. Morimura played the kyo ningyo reflected in the mirror, and after theperformance he declared that he didn’t understand the need for any dividing line
between contemporary art and classical performance. The performance itself
opened new expressive possibilities for bunraku.
The year 2022 marked the 150th anniversary of the naming of the Bunraku-zatroupe. Performances at the National Bunraku Theatre and the National Theatrein Tokyo from April onwards all carried a special commemorative text. The
name the company now uses was originally the name of a playhouse in Osaka,
which was taken in turn from Uemura Bunrakuken I, an entrepreneur who ran apuppet theatre troupe. On March 1, the performers attended a memorial service
at Enjo-in Temple in Osaka’s Tennoji district which houses Bunrakuken’s grave.
As well as praying for the success of the upcoming performances, Shikorodayuand Tsuruzawa Enza performed a puppet-less version of a section of theTheatre in Japan

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Retirement Cottage of the Old Bamboo Cutter scene from the revival ofYamato-uta taketori monogatari (A Japanese Poem of the Tale of the BambooCutter), a play originally written by Bunrakuo.
Finally, it was announced that the National Theatre in Tokyo, bunraku’s
home away from home, will close at the end of next October for reconstruction.
A brand new theatre on the site is due to open in 2029. Bunraku has begun aseries of performances to bid farewell to Japan’s first national theatre. During thesix years before the new National Theatre opens, the plan is to stage bunraku performances at various theatres around the capital.
Kameoka, Noriko060

Special reporter and editor of the cultural section of the Osaka head office of the Sankei
Shimbun newspaper, responsible for coverage of Japanese traditional performing arts.
Joined the newspaper in 1990. In addition to theatre reviews and interviews, she also writes
the ongoing columns Riken no ken (Seeing Yourself from the Outside). Has published several
books, including Bunraku zanmai (Devoted to Bunraku) and Yume: Heisei no Tojuro Tanjo(Dream: The Birth of a Heisei Tojuro), and the jointly authored Umewaka Rokuro ke no shigei (TheConsummate Art of the Umewaka Rokuro Family).
(Translation: Alan Cummings )