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"Bunraku: The National Puppet Theater of Japan" Kicks Off US Tour in Boston, October 2-3

One of Japan's most celebrated traditional art forms, Bunraku traces its origins to the 18th century and developed alongside Kabuki in early-modern Japan. US tour includes Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

Boston, MA (Billboard Publicity Wire) September 13, 2007 -- The Japan Society of Boston announced today that Bunraku, the classic traditional puppet theater of Japan, will return to Boston for the first time in twenty years on October 2-3 as part of a national tour of the United States. The Society will present two performances of Bunraku at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on Tuesday, October 2 and Wednesday, October 3, and will also offer an educational workshop about Bunraku for Boston schoolchildren on the afternoon of October 3.

The performances will be by a troupe of 32 top artists from the internationally acclaimed National Bunraku Theater of Japan based in Osaka, Japan. This tour, which will also travel to Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, is the first major presentation of Bunraku in the US since 1992, and the first appearance of Bunraku in Boston since 1984. The tour is supported in part by the Cultural Agency of Japan (Bunka-cho), the Japan Foundation, the US-Japan Foundation, Toyota Motors North America, and a group of major Osaka-based corporations. The Boston performances are made possible by the Freeman Foundation.

One of Japan's most celebrated traditional art forms, Bunraku traces its origins to the 18th century and developed alongside Kabuki in the vigorous urban culture of early-modern Japan. It features large puppets that are three-quarters life size, each manipulated by three onstage puppeteers and each moving in extraordinarily lifelike actions. The Bunraku puppets are accompanied by an onstage narrator who recites all the dialogue and takes on the personality of each character in the drama; seated next to the narrator at stage left are musicians performing on the banjo-like three-stringed shamisen. The three elements of puppets, narration, and music are flawlessly integrated in a multi-dimensioned performance that has evoked wonder and deep emotion in audiences all over the world.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 2, and Wednesday, October 3, and will be in Japanese with English supertitles. The program will present two celebrated classic Japanese plays: the dramatic "tower-climbing" scene from the play "Date Musume Koi no Higanoko (Oschichi's Burning Love)" and the moving domestic drama "Tsubosaka Kannon Reigenki (Miracle at the Tsubosaku Kannon Temple)," a simple story of a blind man, his devoted wife and their salvation through the intercession of Kannon, the goddess of mercy and compassion. Between the two plays will be a brief interlude during which the audience will be introduced to the intricate workings of Bunraku puppets and the narrators and musicians will also demonstrate the essential features of their separate arts.

Tickets are available at the Cutler Majestic Theatre box office at 219 Tremont Street, in Boston's theater district, and by phone and online at Telecharge, 800-233-3123 or www.telecharge.com. Ticket prices are $65, $55, $35 and a special student price of $20. Opening-night sponsor seats are also available through the Japan Society of Boston, 617-451-0726.

"Bunraku: The National Puppet Theater of Japan," has been officially declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and has also been designated an Intangible Cultural Asset by the government of Japan. It is a world-class theatrical spectacle that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

"We are delighted to be able to bring Bunraku back to Boston after so many years," commented Peter Grilli, President of the Japan Society of Boston. "This is a national tour that is long overdue and eagerly awaited. Bunraku demonstrates an extraordinary choreography among the three puppeteers working each puppet, and the performance as a whole reveals an integration of words, movement and music in a form of theater unlike anything else in the world. The puppets take on an incredible life of their own and you quickly forget about the puppeteers as you are drawn into the action. Viewing Bunraku is a theatrical experience that one will never forget."

The Japan Society of Boston is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote cultural and economic ties and active interchange between Japanese people and Americans for mutual understanding. Founded in 1904, it is the oldest of more than forty Japan-America societies currently active in the US. It cooperates frequently with many other leading cultural and educational institutions throughout New England and celebrated its Centennial in Boston in 2004 with a number of major public programs including an historic presentation in Boston of Japan's renowned Kabuki theater.

For more information on "Bunraku: The National Puppet Theater of Japan," contact Dawn Singh at 505-771-0417 or 857-544-0739.

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