Right whale
The marionettes are made of wood, silk and brocade or embroidered cloth. They are operated by strings and push rods from within the yatai. “Karakuri (mechanical) puppet plays performed on a stage are superb”. The puppets like the Yatai represent the skilled craftsmen of the area. The three marionettes “on Hotei Tai (the god of fortune)” require 9 puppet masters to manipulate the 36 strings which make the marionettes move in a lifelike manner, with gestures, turns and other movements. A problem with the puppets are parts needed to repair the puppets. The springs in the puppets are made of Right whale baleen and cannot be replaced with steel springs or the baleen of other whales. Other materials used to make the springs cannot duplicate the movements of the springs made with Right whale baleen.