A culture so rich & enriching

In its culture can be found the many treasures of Japan. From its classical art forms of dance, music and drama can be gleaned a gentle gentry that engenders a past that is both rich and enriching.

Take for instance the country’s bunraku, a traditional Japanese puppet theater that was first performed during the Edo period (1603 to 1868).

Last Monday, in celebration of the 40th year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, began a festival that commenced with the performance of the Naoshima Onna Bunraku, an all-female puppet theater troupe from the island of Naoshima in the Kagawa Prefecture.

In the past, bunraku was traditionally and generally performed by black-clad male puppeteers, chanters and musicians playing the shamisen, a Japanese string instrument. According to some members of the Naoshima Onna Bunraku, the training to become a puppeteer in the past required 10 years to perfect the movements of the puppet’s left hand, 10 years for the puppet’s right hand and another 10 years to perfect the movement of the puppet’s head. Through time, bunraku was almost forgotten until Japanese housewives revived the dying art form after World War II. The all-female group of puppeteers has since then become known as the Naoshima Onna Bunraku. The Kagawa Prefecture has recognized the women’s accomplishments and designated the troupe as a “tangible and intangible heritage of the prefecture.”

The Japanese women puppeteers showed an excerpt of a bunraku theater at the Bulong Pulungan forum at Sofitel. A longer version was shown again that night at the Maestranza Park in Intramuros, Manila, where the Japanese women puppeteers performed Keisei Awa no Naruto, a bunraku that talks about the story of love between Oyumi and her 10-year-old daughter Otsuru. The plot is simple to follow: Otsuru’s parents left her to the care of her grandmother when she was three. Since then, they never saw each other again. When she turned 10, she went on a pilgrimage around Japan. Hungry and tired, Otsuru knocked at someone’s home, which turned out to be the house of her mother Oyumi. The situation paved the way for mother and daughter to be together again as both displayed a tale of love, forgiveness and the tenacity of the human spirit.

In this puppet theater, the puppeteers also act as they are seen onstage. The emotions of the women — the players’ ages range from 50 to 76 — are intrinsic in the total impact of the show. One wooden puppet, by the way, is manipulated by three puppeteers.

The simplicity of the narrative betrays the complexity of the human emotions attached to the bunraku theater and the rigorous trainings the puppeteers have undergone to produce a show.

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 At the event that night, Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe welcomed Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. among other special guests. He explained to the guests the importance of the 40th anniversary of the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

“In 1973, Japan was the first non-member country to hold a summit with ASEAN leaders. In 1977, here in Manila, then Prime Minister Fukuda announced the Fukuda Doctrine. (The doctrine states that)  Japan will never become a military power, cooperate with ASEAN as an equal partner, and build “heart-to-heart” relationship with the people of Southeast Asia. The event today shows you that Japan has adhered to this doctrine for 40 years up to the present day,” said Urabe.

The event in Intramuros, said Shinsuke Shimizu, the political affairs minister of the Japanese Embassy, is a case in point where the deepening of cultural relationship between Japan and the Philippines is seen.

“This (bunraku) show is a collaboration between a Japanese puppet troupe and the University of the Philippines-Center for International Studies (UP-CIS),” said Shimizu at the Bulong Pulungan.

“The project started about one year ago when UP Prof. Gina Umali made a research trip to Japan and was fascinated by the all-women puppet group from a small island in Setouchi. She convinced the troupe, which includes quite a few aged ladies, to visit the Philippines as their first overseas performance,” Shimizu added.

A joint performance among the members of the Naoshima Onna Bunraku and the students and teachers of the UP-CIS Bunraku Ensemble was also shown Monday night at the Maestranza Park. An excerpt from Ang Paglalakbay ni Sisa: Isang Noh sa Laguna was also performed by the all-female puppeteers group. A noh is a classical Japanese musical drama where the performers move very slowly on stage and are mostly wearing masks.

“The venue today, Intramuros, is also symbolic,” added Urabe. “Intramuros is a witness of history. Built by the Spaniards, it has suffered the occupation of Japanese forces and destruction during the war. Indeed, with our historical responsibility in mind, the Japanese government has supported the reconstruction of this Maestranza Curtain Wall.”

The Japanese government has reportedly donated P250 million for the completion of the restoration of the Maestranza Park.

And if the venue that night — that was transformed into an improvised theater with a stage set against a newly-restored Curtain Wall decorated with real bamboos and cherry blossoms — is any indication, the relationship between Japan and the Philippines is indeed going to great heights.

Here’s to a friendship that lasts!

(For the 2013 calendar of activities of the 40th year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, please call 551-5710 loc. 2314 or log on to

www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp.)

(E-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday.)