Japanese puppeteers make Hanford stop

Area residents will have the opportunity to see a rare form of Japanese puppetry presented by The Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Hanford Fox Theatre.

The Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo puppetry troupe will perform to the narration of Japan's living national treasure Tsuruga Wakasanojo XI, a premier singer of Shinnai, a form of narrative song that dates back to the 18th century.

Wakasanojo was designated a living national treasure by the Japanese government in 2001, an honor given to fewer than 70 performing artists in Japan, said Maiko Behr, coordinator of the Shinnai and Kuruma Ningyo USA tour 2007.

"It really is a very rare opportunity to be able to see a live performance by a Japanese living national treasure outside of Japan," said Behr. "Even in Japan it's quite a special experience. This particular type of puppetry is also something that is not widely accessible in Japan because basically it's this one family of puppeteers who do this particular style."

The Kuruma Ningyo troupe, led by master puppeteer Nishikawa Koryu V, will perform "Yaji Kita," a story of the misadventures of two popular characters in classic Japanese literature.

In the Kuruma Ningyo style of puppetry, the puppeteer sits on a small wooden seat with wheels and operates a puppet. The use of the wooden cart was an innovation that enabled a puppeteer to manage a puppet alone, in contrast to the older form of puppetry called Bunraku, in which three people are needed to operate one puppet.

"This art form is basically a storytelling art form so you have a narrator who sings and tells the story and performs all the roles of the characters," Behr said.

The performance will be in Japanese with English-projected subtitles. Due to the length of the performance and the written translations, parental discretion is recommended for children under 12.

Admission is $12 for Clark Center members and students and $18 for non-members. Purchase general admission tickets by calling the Clark Center at 582-4915 or through tickets.com.

The reporter can be reached at 582-0471, ext. 3052

(Oct. 13, 2007)