“Picturing Three-Man Puppets”: Lecture and Tour with Dr. Henry Smith

In conjunction with the exhibition Bunraku Backstage, join us for coffee and a lecture by Dr. Henry Smith, Professor Emeritus of Japanese History at Columbia University. The three-man puppet system (sannin-zukai, “three-person handling”) that has been carefully preserved in the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka since its opening in 1984 seems timeless, but a close look at its history from its 18th-century origins reveals considerable diversity and change. This talk looks at the pictorial evidence in printed handbills and other publications that illustrate actual performances, revealing that the standard assertion of the “invention” of three-man puppets in 1734 by the master puppeteer Yoshida Bunzaburō is misleading.  Innovation in puppetry had been continuous since the Genroku period (1688-1704), while one-man puppets continued as a vital and active tradition on to the end of the Edo period. The talk will be followed by a tour of Bunraku Backstage.

Speaker
Henry D. Smith II is professor emeritus of Japanese history at Columbia University, and has a special interest in the cultural history of the city of Edo-Tokyo, particularly in the many ways in which it was represented in pictures and maps. His books include Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (George Braziller, 1986), Hokusai, One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji (George Braziller, 1988), Kiyochika: Artist of Meiji Japan (Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1988), and Ukiyo-e ni miru Edo meisho (“The Famous Places of Edo in Ukiyo-e,” in Japanese, Iwanami Shoten, 1993). He has also written widely on the story of the Forty-Seven Samurai, and is currently editing a new translation of Kanadehon Chūshingura for Hackett Publishing. His longer term project is an exploration of the changing technology, colorants, and meanings of color in Japanese woodblock prints from mid-Meiji into Taisho.

Continue your exploration of Japanese puppet theater by attending a live performance in the Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry series. Japan Society is showcasing a full series of puppet-themed events, from dramatic traditional arts to enchanting world premieres, and revivals to historical “spin-offs”—all drawn from the creative well of Japan’s rich puppetry culture. Check out more details here.

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Top image: The earliest known depiction of a three-man puppet, from the ukiyozōshi novel Tōsei shibai katagi of 1777, depicting a scene from the jōruri puppet play Ranjatai nitta keizu by Chikamatsu Hanji, first performed at Osaka Takemoto-za in 1765.

Bunraku Backstage is generously supported by Takenaka Corporation.

Product support for Bunraku Backstage is generously provided by Sony Corporation of America.

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Exhibitions and Arts & Culture Lecture Programs are made possible, in part, by Sompo Holdings, Inc.; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund; the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; The Masako Mera and Koichi Mera, PhD Fund for Education and the Arts; Peggy and Dick Danziger; Jun Makihara and Megumi Oka; Barbara Bertozzi Castelli; and Gallery Circle members. Support for Arts & Culture Lecture Programs is provided, in part, by the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund.

Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor for Japan Society gallery exhibitions.