"Bunraku × Animation"
Bunraku Performances in March at Yurakucho Yomiuri Hall
Performance Dates
March 23 (Sat.) - March 29 (Fri.), 2024
Performance Times
16:00 - 17:00 （except March 23）
18:30 - 19:30 
Venue : Yurakucho Yomiuri Hall
An intense theatrical space where Bunraku and images are fused
A New Challenge of the National Theatre
Bunraku is a traditional Japanese performing art in which the puppeteer plays puppets, together with the ｔayu (narrator) and the shamisen player - three important elements of Bunraku- to express the world of the stories.
In this performance, you will see " The Forest by the Tenjin Shrine Scene" from Bunraku's best masterpiece " The Love Suicides at Sonezaki", with a special edition of animated background art worked by a famous Japanese animator.
Kazuo Oga, the creator of the animation of this stage, has worked on many animation masterpieces of Japan, such as "Neighbor Totoro", "Princess Mononoke", and "In a corner of this world". The stage has also been supervised by a Living National Treasure, Kiritake Kanjūro, making the stage a great and inspiring one.
You will experience a new stage where Bunraku's famous scenes are fused by the tradition of Bunraku and the modern technology of video art.
Japanese traditional performing arts such as Bunraku have been famous for the difficulty and length of the performance, sometimes making people tired. Therefore, this stage has been set at 60 minutes, just long enough to maintain people's interest and attention, understanding and familiarizing themselves with Bunraku. Thus, ideal as an introductory performance for the audience who are not familiar with Bunraku performance.
As cherry blossoms paint the world with their bloom in Tokyo, a tale of love begins, we would like to invite you to the world of Bunraku, "Bunraku 1st Session", an introductory Bunraku performance.
BUNRAKU 1st SESSION
BUNRAKU 101
Navigators :
ITŌ Seikō [March23 and 24 and 26 and 29]
MIZUTANI Akihiro [March 25 and 27 and 28]
CHIKAMATSU Monzaemon's
Bunraku The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
The Forest by the Tenjin Shrine Scene
Scripts and Compositions : NOZAWA Matsunosuke
Choreography : SAWAMURA Ryūnosuke
Supervision of the Images : KIRITAKE Kanjūrō
Art Director : OGA Kazuo
Production of the Images : YAMADA Shinpei
Co-Production of the Images : Dehogallery, Inc.
TOYOTAKE Tōdayū
TOYOTAKE Yasutayū
TOYOTAKE Sakijudayū
TSURUZAWA Seishirō
TSURUZAWA Kantarō
TSURUZAWA Seiin
YOSHIDA Tamasuke
YOSHIDA Minoshirō
YOSHIDA Tamashō
YOSHIDA Tamayo
KIRITAKE Kansuke
YOSHIDA Tamatoshi
YOSHIDA Tamanobu
YOSHIDA Tamayuki
TOYOMATSU Seinosuke
- ◆ Trailer
Ticket Prices (tax included)
Adults: 1st Grade ¥4,500 2nd Grade ¥3,800
Students: 1st Grade ¥3,200 2nd Grade ¥2,700
Seating plan
*English audio guides are available for rent.
*English synopsis is available.
Booking Opens
February 14 (Wed.), 10:00AM
*Tickets for students and persons with disabilities for this performance are available online.
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Box Office (by phone)
0570-07-9900 (From overseas: +81-3-3230-3000) in Japanese and English
(10:00AM - 6:00PM)
Online Booking : https://ticket.ntj.jac.go.jp/top_e.htm
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in Japanese