Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe
Encyclopedia
, founded in the 1830s, is one of the most active groups performing traditional ningyō jōruri or Bunraku
puppetry in Japan
, and has been officially designated an Intangible Cultural Treasure.
Based in the northern part of the city of Nagahama on the shore of Lake Biwa
, in Shiga Prefecture
, northeast of Kyoto
, the Tonda Puppets have made international performance tours to Australia
, New Zealand
, and four times to the United States
. The Troupe performs regularly at their own theater in Nagahama and on tour within Japan. The Tonda Puppet Troupe also instructs middle and high school students in bunraku
puppetry and hosts training sessions for local citizens interested pursuing the art of the traditional puppet theater. The Tonda Troupe has also been active in training American college and university students in traditional Japanese puppetry in academic programs sponsored by such institutions as Berea College
in Kentucky and the University of Massachusetts Amherst
, as well as the Japan Center for Michigan Universities
, which is located in the nearby city of Hikone.
or to draw a paying audience because of the snow, the members of the troupe fell further and further into debt to the villagers for food and shelter. When the weather broke, the unfortunate troupe left their puppets behind as collateral for a loan for the boat fare necessary to travel to the southwestern end of Lake Biwa and beyond. When years passed and the itinerant troupe never returned to pay the debt and reclaim the puppets, the villagers finally formed their own puppet troupe, and by the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Tonda Puppet Troupe had itself become a semi-professional troupe that gave performances locally and on the road. Today, the Tonda Puppet Troupe still uses in performance many of the same puppet heads abandoned by the original snowbound troupe. Some of these puppet heads are over 200 years old, though the bodies and costumes, which wear more quickly, have been remade over the years.
For generations, membership in the Tonda Troupe was restricted to men from the four families who had been traditionally associated with the theater, but in the 1970s the troupe began to welcome both men and women from outside those families, and in 1993, the Tonda Puppets became the first traditional puppet troupe in Japan to admit a non-Japanese member. A theater, the Tonda Puppet Hall (pictured above right), containing a full stage, as well as rehearsal and meeting spaces, was built for the Troupe in 1991 by the government of Shiga Prefecture. The Tonda Troupe is currently headed by Hidehiko Abe, who traces his ancestry back seven generations to one of the founding members of the troupe.
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
puppetry in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and has been officially designated an Intangible Cultural Treasure.
Based in the northern part of the city of Nagahama on the shore of Lake Biwa
Lake Biwa
is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located in Shiga Prefecture , northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles.-...
, in Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...
, northeast of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, the Tonda Puppets have made international performance tours to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and four times to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Troupe performs regularly at their own theater in Nagahama and on tour within Japan. The Tonda Puppet Troupe also instructs middle and high school students in bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
puppetry and hosts training sessions for local citizens interested pursuing the art of the traditional puppet theater. The Tonda Troupe has also been active in training American college and university students in traditional Japanese puppetry in academic programs sponsored by such institutions as Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
in Kentucky and the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
, as well as the Japan Center for Michigan Universities
Japan Center for Michigan Universities
The , a study center operated by a consortium of the fifteen public universities in the State of Michigan and the government of Shiga Prefecture in Japan, is located on the shore of Lake Biwa, in the city of Hikone...
, which is located in the nearby city of Hikone.
History
The Tonda Troupe traces it origins to the 1830s, when an itinerant puppet troupe that had been traveling from the north was snowbound in the village of Tonda, where they had intended to offer a performance. Unable to continue their journey home to TokushimaTokushima, Tokushima
is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 263,372, with 114,325 households, and a population density of 1,377.25 persons per km². Its total area is 191.23 km²....
or to draw a paying audience because of the snow, the members of the troupe fell further and further into debt to the villagers for food and shelter. When the weather broke, the unfortunate troupe left their puppets behind as collateral for a loan for the boat fare necessary to travel to the southwestern end of Lake Biwa and beyond. When years passed and the itinerant troupe never returned to pay the debt and reclaim the puppets, the villagers finally formed their own puppet troupe, and by the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Tonda Puppet Troupe had itself become a semi-professional troupe that gave performances locally and on the road. Today, the Tonda Puppet Troupe still uses in performance many of the same puppet heads abandoned by the original snowbound troupe. Some of these puppet heads are over 200 years old, though the bodies and costumes, which wear more quickly, have been remade over the years.
For generations, membership in the Tonda Troupe was restricted to men from the four families who had been traditionally associated with the theater, but in the 1970s the troupe began to welcome both men and women from outside those families, and in 1993, the Tonda Puppets became the first traditional puppet troupe in Japan to admit a non-Japanese member. A theater, the Tonda Puppet Hall (pictured above right), containing a full stage, as well as rehearsal and meeting spaces, was built for the Troupe in 1991 by the government of Shiga Prefecture. The Tonda Troupe is currently headed by Hidehiko Abe, who traces his ancestry back seven generations to one of the founding members of the troupe.