Bunraku, Kabuki & the Traditional Performing Arts of Osaka

Bunraku (文楽 — the traditional Japanese puppet theatre of Osaka, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003 — the most sophisticated puppet theatre tradition in the world): bunraku puppets (each approximately 1.2-1.5 metres tall, operated by three puppeteers (the omozukai (main operator), hidarizukai (left hand operator), and ashizukai (foot operator)) working in full view of the audience, dressed in black) perform dramatic plays (the texts written for bunraku — including the masterpieces of the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) — 'the Shakespeare of Japan') with a joruri chanter (tayū) and shamisen player providing the music and narration. Osaka is the historical home of bunraku.