Georgetown University hosted Seiwa Bunraku, a traditional Japanese puppet theater troupe, for a performance and lecture centered on the art of bunraku in Lohrfink Auditorium on March 21.
Japan Foundation, a Japanese governmental organization that promotes intercultural exchange between the United States and Japan; the Japan Information & Culture Center (JICC), an arm of the Embassy of Japan dedicated to intercultural exchange; and Georgetown’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures cohosted the event. Bunraku, a unique type of puppet theater in which three puppeteers control intricate figures, earned the UNESCO recognition of Intangible Cultural Heritage, identifying the tradition as an important aspect of Japanese culture.
Tomoko Nakamura, first secretary of public affairs at the Embassy of Japan and one of the event’s organizers, said the show was arranged to expose college students to this art form.
“Both the embassy and the Japan Foundation have great partnerships with Georgetown University, and so we asked the Japanese professors if they can collaborate with us so their students can also enjoy the performance,” Nakamura told The Hoya. “And then, also that the whole Georgetown community could enjoy that.”
The Japan Foundation invited Seiwa Bunraku to Washington, D.C., to perform at the opening ceremony for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which will run from March 20 to April 13. The Georgetown performance marked the troupe’s first show in the United States, according to Nakamura.
Hiroyuki Kojima, the director general of the New York chapter of the Japan Foundation, said he was excited the event introduced more people to lesser-known aspects of Japanese culture rather than more popular traditional Japanese performing art forms, such as kabuki, kyogen and noh.
“Kabuki, kyogen and noh are very famous traditional theater, but there is less opportunity for the U.S. public to see bunraku puppet theater with their own eyes,” Kojima told The Hoya. “I am very pleased we are able to provide this precious opportunity to get familiarized.”
“Nowadays, we’d like to introduce various aspects of Japan, not only anime or J-Pop, but we have a lot to offer,” Kojima added.
The show featured a short lecture about the history and techniques of bunraku, followed by a short dance and a scene from the traditional performance Hidakagawa Iriaizakura. In this scene, a lady named Kiyohime attempts to cross a river to reach a lover who abandoned her, only to be repeatedly rebuffed by an obstinate boatman. Ultimately, her anger becomes so great that the puppet’s jaw unhinges like a snake, and a menacing dragon replaces her on stage.
Knox Graham (SFS ’27), a Japanese language student who attended the performance, said the event was impressive because of the work that went into it.
“I was really enthusiastic that the Japanese program and the department of East Asian languages pushed this so much and recommended we attend,” Graham told The Hoya.
Graham added he enjoyed seeing the differences between bunraku and U.S. theater.
“I spent most of the time, because of the Japanese course, trying to keep up with the actual language that was on the screen, so I could keep up with the translation,” Graham said. “I did my best. But especially during the more exciting action-packed parts of it, I watched and enjoyed the puppetry. I thought it was definitely very different from the United States’ theater traditions, such that I understand them, and so I got a lot out of it.”
Yuji Katayama, a performer who has worked in bunraku for 20 years, said he was pleased with the audience’s reactions.
“Once I’m done, hearing the audience’s reaction to the action is good,” Katayama told The Hoya in Japanese. “Today was pretty good; today was exceptionally many people.”
Graham said the opportunity to attend this show was unique to his experience at Georgetown.
“When it comes to an opportunity to see something that’s outside of your cultural range or what you would experience otherwise, one of the reasons Georgetown is such a great university is because you have so many experiences like this, because it is located in a place where you have so many different countries exhibiting their cultural facets, so you have a lot of access to go see things like this,” Graham said.
“I would recommend everybody go see bunraku, but also if you have the chance to go see cultural performances from a wide variety of countries, I think it’s an incredibly valuable thing you get from going to a school like Georgetown in the D.C. area,” Graham added.