The Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Puppet Theater will come to Wellesley College’s Jewett Auditorium on March 5. This rare opportunity to experience a full-scale production of kuruma ningyo puppetry with chanting and live shamisen music will be brought to the College in partnership with the Japan Society of Boston. In the show, Nishikawa Koryu V, the fifth grand master of the Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Puppet Theater, will perform three female-centered stories from classic Japanese literature.
Kuruma ningyo is a unique style of puppetry in which artists perform while sitting on a wooden box with wheels (or, rokuro kuruma). Unlike the more widely known style of Japanese puppetry known asbunraku, which requires three puppeteers to manipulate a single puppet, the use of the rokuro kurumaallows a single puppeteer to manage one puppet. This innovation allows for more dynamic performances, as the performer can move flexibly with the puppet.
LOCATION: Jewett Auditorium, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
REGISTRATION
The North American tour of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Puppet Theater is produced and organized by Japan Society, Inc. Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Puppet Theater is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal year 2018, The JEC Fund, and The Jim Henson Foundation.
