The Origin of Puppetry in Japan

Ningyo Joruri is traditional Japanese puppet theater, accompanied by dramatic storytelling and samisen music. It was perfected in the early Edo era(1603 - 1868) and has been performed for more than three hundred years. Ningyo literally means 'puppet' and joruri is 'an art of storytelling'. The puppet theater and joruri narration were two different art forms, which developed in separate processes and later were combined in the 16th century.

Puppet plays are usually considered to be a part of children’s theater that depicts a world of fantasies and fairy tales. However, Ningyo Joruri, is for an adult audience only.  Most of the original dramas of Ningyo Joruri usually consist of many acts and scene. Ningyo Joruri portray serious and complex realities of human problems and ethics in feudal society. Therefore, the stories may seem very complicated and illogical, emotional rather than rational for the modern audience.Certainly some scenes are cruel and intense.

The Origin of Puppetry in Japan

 Puppets in ancient times were mainly used for religious purposes. They were simple dolls which represented gods, who descended to earth through spiritualistic mediums to rid it of evils or dangers. In the 7th century, groups of puppeteers from the Asian continent immigrated to Japan and were called kugutsushi. They toured around the country from door to door presenting the dance of glove puppets asking for alms.

 In the 13th century, these immigrant puppeteers, kugutsushi, settled down around shrines and temples. In particular, Nishinomiya in Hyogo prefecture and Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea became the two main places of their residence. One of the most famous troupes of  kugutsushi was led by Hyakudayu who settled near Ebisu Shrine in Nishinomiya. They were called ebisukaki and traveled all over the country propagating beliefs in Ebisu, the guardian god who is venerated throughout Japan as the tutelary deity of one's occupation.  Their carried puppets in a box and showed the dance for sacred occasions. Their performances, however, gradually became secularized and finally developed into a form of puppet theater for entertainment.

The Origin of Joruri Narration

The joururi narration dates back to the tenth century, when blind itinerant monks called biwa hoshi told of the origin of temples and shrines, and related Buddhist tales to the accompaniment of a four-stringed Japanese lute called biwa. In the 12th century, after the termination of the war between the Heike and Genji clans, those minstrel-like monks started to chant various war tales from Heike Mongatsri (Tke Tale of the Heike), which depicts tragic vicissitudes of the Heike clan. This style of storytelling was called ‘heikyoku’ taking its name from Heike Monogatari.  

However, the heikyoku narration, a medieval style of storytelling, became manneristic and old-fashioned. In the early 16th century, biwa hoshi began to tell more romantic and happy stories, of which Jorurihime monogatari (The tales of Princess Joruri) became the most popular. It is a love story between Minamoto Yoshitsune, a young Genji general, and Princess Joruri, who was born as a reincarnation of Yakushi Nyorai, a Buddhist deity with strong healing powers. The emphasis of the story was put on the miraculous efficacy of Princess Joruri, who brought Yoshitsune back to life. The new style of chanting adopted for the story became so popular that any storytelling of this kind started to be called ‘joruri’.  

Moreover, in the late 16th century, a three-stringed musical instmment was brought to the mainland of Japan from China via Okinawa and was improved to the samisen. Compared with the grave and low tone of biwa, a four-stringed Japanese lute, samisen was brighter in sound, thereby making joruri more lively and appealing to the audience.  

By the early 17th century, the combination of the art of joruri narration, samisen music and the puppetry of kugutsushi gave birth to the original form of Ningyo Joruri that we see today.