Bunraku

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of traditional Japanese puppet theater in which large figures are manipulated by multiple hidden operators while narrators chant the dialogue and musicians provide accompaniment
2. A Japanese theatrical art form featuring life-sized puppets operated by concealed performers beneath elaborate costumes while chanters narrate and musicians accompany the action
3. Traditional puppet performance originating in Japan where multiple handlers control oversized figures from below while narrators vocalize dialogue and instrumental musicians provide sonic support

Etymology: Bunraku takes its name from a person, not from an ancient term. The puppet theatre is named after Uemura Bunrakuken, a puppeteer-impresario who ran a puppet theatre in Osaka in the late eighteenth century, and the word 文楽 (bunraku) is the name that stuck to the form after his theatre became famous. The first character, 文, is "bun" and the second, 楽, is "raku," meaning enjoyment or pleasure, so the name reads roughly as "the pleasure of letters" or "cultured entertainment." English borrowed the word directly from Japanese, so it is a loanword rather than a translation of anything. Its sense is narrow: it refers specifically to the form in which large puppets, often operated by three visible performers in black, act out chanted narration and shamisen music. Each puppet's head, hands and costume are handled by a separate puppeteer, and the chanter (tayu) voices every character, which is why the form is valued as a combination of puppetry, music and drama.