Bunraku puppeteer Yoshida Tamame operates the puppet for Sawaichi in “Miracle at Tsubosaka Kannon Temple-Sawaichi’s House and the Mountain.”

Osato, Sawaichi’s wife, tends to her husband’s garments.

Photos courtesy of Bunraku Kyokai

A local youth holds up a bunraku puppet during a presentation at the Asian Art Museum.

Photo by Deb Clearwaters

Shamisen player Takezawa Danshichi spoke at the reception.

Hokubei Mainichi photo

by JAMES WOODARD, Hokubei Mainichi

BERKELEY — Zellerbach Hall played host to a unique Japanese cultural experience when the Bunraku National Puppet Theater of Japan came to the UC Berkeley campus last week for the second-to-last stop of its 2007 U.S. tour.

It had been nearly two decades since their last visit, and the hall was packed on Oct. 13 and 14 with folks eager to see one of Japan’s cultural treasures.

The musicians accompanying the play were seated on a raised platform to the side of the stage, where a tayu (chanter) read the parts of the characters to the accompaniment of musicians who played the shamisen. A narrow screen gave English translations for the audience, which were also printed in the programs.

The first story, “Datemusume Koi no Higanoko-Hinomi Yagura no Dan” (Oshichi’s Burning Love-The Fire Watch Tower), tells the tale of a duty-bound heroine who sacrifices her own life to save her lover from shame and death.

In the play, Oshichi must get an heirloom sword to her lover, Kichisabauro, immediately, or he will face death and disgrace. To get the sword, which her friends have in their possession, Oshichi rings the fire warning bell, which will open the gates after curfew, knowing full well that it will will result in her death by fire as punishment.

Toyotake Rosetayu recited the part of Oshichi, which was operated by Yoshida Seizaburo.

For those unfamiliar with bunraku, there were workshops that explained the significance of certain aspects of the performances, such as how certain voices and sounds made by the shamisen musicians and tayu conveyed certain moods and characters.

But if you missed the workshops, there was a 45-minute lecture between the performances that reiterated the same information.

Each puppet is operated by a chief puppeteer — who remains visible to the audience — controlling the head and right arm of the puppet while two black-clad assistants operate the feet and opposing arms.

The heads of the puppets, which are hewn from Japanese cypress, have moving facial features that are controlled by the master puppeteer. The puppets move and gesture much in the way that humans would, with a few notable exceptions.

When there is more than one puppet on stage, a crew of at least six people is required. If the viewer concentrates on the puppets, the puppeteers are more easily ignored. That, however, can be a lot to ask of audience members who are not familiar with this type of theater.

After the lecture, the second play, “Tsubosaka Kannon Reigenki-Sawaichi Uchi Yori Yama no Dan” (Miracle at Tsubosaka Kannon Temple-Sawaichi’s House and the Mountain), told the story of a married couple.

Sawaichi, who is blind as a result of a horrible pox, becomes suspicious of his young wife, who slips out of the house every morning before dawn. When he accuses her of having an affair, she reveals that she wakes every morning and treks to Kannon Temple to pray for her husband’s sight to be restored.

Hearing this, Sawaichi is terribly moved, and agrees to go to the temple with his wife to engage in intense prayer and meditation. Osato helps her husband up the mountain and returns to the house to gather things for their prolonged stay.

Once she has left, Sawaichi, ashamed of the burden he has placed on his wife, jumps off the mountain to free her of responsibility. Osato, sensing something has happened, hurries back to where she left her husband. Finding only his walking stick and zori, she searches for Sawaichi, only to find his lifeless body at the bottom of a ravine.

Distraught, she throws herself after him to join him in the next world. Kannon, the goddess of mercy, is greatly moved by their passion, and not only brings them back to life, but gives Sawaichi his sight. With the husband able to see his wife for the first time, the pair rejoice and dance.

Yoshida Kazuo operated the puppet for Osato, while Yoshida Tamame did Sawaichi’s. Takezawa Danshichi and Takezawa Dango accompanied on shamisen and Takemoto Tsukomadayu was the tayu. Percussion accompaniment was provided by the Mochizuki Tamenari Ensemble.

This play was much longer than the first piece, but after the explanation of the different components, the viewer could focus on the different aspects of the performance and enjoy the show. Besides the visible musicians and puppeteers, there is a large crew that handles the set changes and assists in the manipulation of the puppets. Twenty-six members of the troupe were on the tour.

The performances were well received, and at a reception on Oct. 15 at the home of Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine, members of the troupe were toasted by Nagamine and members of the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Association, including Executive Director Misako Sack, who also interpreted for the performers, and Steve Matsuura, vice chair of the association.

Nagamine and his wife, Ayako, warmly greeted everyone who attended.

“This evening we are very much delighted to have with us the distinguished performers and members of the National Puppet Theater of Japan from Osaka, as well as those distinguished people who originally planned and then materialized the bunraku performances in the United States, this time in the Bay Area in particular,” Nagamine said. “I personally attended the demonstration on Friday that was also well-attended, and the response was also very, very strong.”

The demonstration, held at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, was geared towards children. Matsuura said that even though the performances are for adult audiences, the children were mesmerized by the puppetry.

“We are pleased to see so many smart schoolchildren who appreciated the bunraku performances,” Matsuura said, mentioning that they showed great interest and asked difficult questions. “It was really a huge success.”

Sack introduced, and translated for, shamisen player Takezawa Danshichi, who gave a few brief remarks, recounting how his last visit was during the Nixon presidency 40 years ago.

“Forty years ago happened to be when I was the most handsome man in the whole world,” Takezawa said to the chuckling crowd. “Just look at me. You can tell, right?”

The troupe presented the Nagamines with some artwork, including a framed photograph of one of the puppets in action and a woodblock print featuring bunraku motifs.

Peter Grilli, president of the Japan Society of Boston and translator for the troupe while on stage and on tour, offered a toast to the troupe, the consul general, and the city of San Francisco.

Grilli, who grew up in Japan, fell in love with the traditional Japanese performing arts at an early age, but he holds a special place in his heart for bunraku.

“There are so many reasons why I love bunraku, but the chief reason is that it communicates from stage to audience in so many ways,” he said. “Even though you might not be aware of it, there is an extraordinary amount of dialogue that is going on between the audience and the stage. Nothing communicates as well as the performing arts.”

For more information on bunraku, visit www.bunraku.or.jp.

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