National Bunraku Theater

The National Theatre makes its triumphant arrival in Los Angeles, bringing authentic bunraku theater from Japan to LA for the first time in nearly two decades! Witness a stunning production of traditional Japanese puppet theater, featuring two quintessential climaxes from bunraku repertoire: Date Musume Koi no Higanoko (Oshichi, the Greengrocer’s Daughter), depicting a woman’s desperate act to save her lover’s life, and Sonezaki Shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), a dramatic tale written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, regarded as Japan’s Shakespeare. Aligned with kabuki and noh theater, bunraku originated a globally influential three-person puppet manipulation technique in the 18th century, earning an Intangible Cultural Heritage designation by UNESCO.

Featuring scenography by Kazuo Oga, art director of the Studio Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke, this performance offers Americans a rare opportunity to glimpse the rich culture of bunraku.

Performed in Japanese with English subtitles.

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