I Was in a Puppet Show!

   I performed in my first Ningyo Joruri puppet show! And then because I am bad at blogging, I performed in three more and am just writing about it now.  
   So far, I’ve been in two scenes from the play Keisei Awa no Naruto. Ningyo Joruri performances often consist of a single scene- called a “dan.” It’s unclear whether the two performances from Awa no Naruto are separate or two consecutive parts of the same dan, but they tell the story of two parents, Jurobe and Oyumi, who are reunited with their daughter, Otsuru. In the first scene Otsuru happens upon her mother’s house while on a pilgrimage. Though Oyumi recognizes her, she decides to keep her identity a secret. This twenty-minute scene is performed daily at the Awa Jurobe Yashiki puppet theatre and museum. For my debut, I was the lead puppeteer for Otsuru, proving once again that I will always play a child and/or that my troupe recognized that I don’t have the arm strength to operate an adult puppet. I will be performing this scene again several times, culminating in a showcase at the end of August.

Posing with troupe members, Maria, and my neighbor after my debut performance.

Naruto-Za before my debut.

   The second scene takes place directly after the interaction between Oyumi and Otsuru. Oyumi changes her mind and decides to go after her daughter and tell her the truth. In the meantime, Oyumi's husband Jurobe runs into Otsuru and brings her back to the house. Desperate for money, Jurobe unknowingly kills his own daughter. His wife discovers the tragedy, but they have little time to mourn as they are immediately surrounded by brigands. I operated one of the one-man brigand puppets at the Summer Puppet Festival in Tokushima, which took place last weekend.

​Operating a one-person puppet (the brigand on the right) in Keisei Awa no Naruto

   Also at the Summer Festival, I had the opportunity to announce the title of the scene for a performance of Hidakagawa Iriai Zakura, a story in which a young woman turns into a snake in pursuit of the man she loves. The announcer, known as the kojo, is usually masked, but the troupe decided to leave my face uncovered, and I ended up on national television. Sadly, I forgot my gloves and my glaring white arms ALSO ended up on national television from backstage.

​Doing the kojo for Hidakagawa Iriai Zakura

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