Behind the Scenes: Bunraku Backstage
Bunraku Backstage, one of two new Japan Society exhibitions opening to the public on October 4, is a riff on the concept that bunraku—a Japanese word used to refer to Japanese traditional puppet theater—is also visual art. And it certainly is.
On joining Japan Society, Senior Gallery Director Dr. Michele Bambling honed in on the collaborative opportunities within Japan Society that might inspire the future direction of the Gallery. Last spring, the stars aligned and she and Artistic Director Yoko Shioya were able to attend a performance by the National Bunraku Theatre in Japan, paving the way for the genesis of the exhibition, opening alongside performances by the National Bunraku Theatre at Japan Society this fall and marking their first return to New York in 32 years.
Going behind the scenes to explore the collaborative nature of bunraku in a unique curatorial vision, the exhibition unveils the craftmanship and artistry involved in bringing the puppet plays to life through actual working puppets, props, and instruments on loan from the National Bunraku Theatre, Osaka. Also featured are archival photographs from the Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection at Columbia University and excerpts from interviews recorded by researcher Barbara Adachi (1924-2004), who documented the National Bunraku Theatre Troupe for 40 years. A stage model of the theater, also on view, was specially commissioned by the Society for the exhibition. Additionally, multimedia installations and works by contemporary artists Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yuichiro Tamura, and Basil Twist revitalize and reinterpret the artistic language of bunraku. “I would like many of the exhibitions that I bring to Japan Society to offer a way for people to understand traditions, but also to consider the impact of traditions on contemporary art,” noted Dr. Bambling. Hiroshi Sugimoto, who will make a special appearance at Japan Society on November 12, collaborated with Living National Treasure and esteemed puppet master Kiritake Kanjūrō and the French design house Hermès to give his version of the puppet Ohatsu (2012) and her costume an original, contemporary flair. In the multimedia installation Invisible Hands (2022), Yuichiro Tamura uses bunraku as an aesthetic language to explore the impact of the 1985 Plaza Accord on Japan’s export ceramic industry. Finally, the exhibition features the working stage set of Dogugaeshi, designed and operated by New York-based puppet artist Basil Twist. Twist first performed Dogugaeshi at Japan Society in 2004, with the show returning in 2007 and 2013, and again this September.
“The most challenging part of getting the show off the ground was to convince the troupe that this could be an art exhibition. That really took a lot of persuasion—partially because they don’t have puppets or artifacts to show, so I asked to borrow their working puppets and props. And because the troupe was doing a North American tour organized by the Society we had to work out our loan requests around when various puppets could leave the stage. I had just begun working at Japan Society—it was all very fast, but it was also fascinating, fun, and challenging.”
As visitors to the Gallery will find, Bunraku Backstage is on view concurrently with Acky Bright: Studio Infinity, an exhibition presenting the dynamic illustrator and designer’s fusion of traditional art with contemporary practice, highlighting his influence on current pop culture. “These two exhibitions are not only about the content, but the future direction of the Gallery itself. The Gallery exhibitions will be highly collaborative and experimental. We’re introducing a summer season. We’ll be using the space for concurrent exhibitions that underscore the process of making and reveal intersections of art disciplines. In essence, the impact of tradition upon contemporary interests and practices are of deep interest to me and will be the throughline, so to speak, of many of these exhibitions, both current and future.”
Bunraku Backstage is not only Dr. Bambling’s first exhibition, but a homecoming. “Years ago, after I graduated from college, I received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to pursue a project in Japan, which was to meet Japanese Living National Treasures and ask them about what I couldn’t read in art history or technique publications, which is the spirit or “kokoro” behind their work, an intangible idea engaging the heart and mind. I decided to speak with performing artists as well as artisans, interviewing nearly 40 Living National Treasures over the course of a year. Remarkably, some of the quotes from bunraku puppeteers featured in the Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection are by Living National Treasures whom I interviewed decades ago. I still have tape recordings of their voices. All of these various elements have come together in a way that would not have been possible if I hadn’t joined Japan Society. So for me, this is a very special first exhibition.”
