Sannin-zukai 2015

Bringing Sannin-zukai into Europe

by Matt Jackson

January 5 – 9, 2015
Ostade Theatre, Amsterdam
Five-day Japanese puppetry masterclass hosted by The Ulrike Quade Company

At the start of this year professional bunraku puppeteer Kanroku, and his company Mokugusha, visited Amsterdam with a special mission: to spread his art to the western world. From Osaka, he arrived with Kyoko (also his wife), Mayuko, the baby Fusa, and special guest Ko Suzuki who acted as live interpreter and 'professor' of Japanese ideologies.

The Ulrike Quade Company had hand-picked a selection of Dutch performers to participate in a five-day workshop with Kanroku-san. The performers consisted of teachers, actors, directors, circus artists, and a few with actual puppetry experience. Arriving to simply learn a specific technique of doll-manipulation, they were in for another treat. Kanroku insisted that alongside the practical training he would also teach the soul and spirit of the puppet. Something, he said, he had been unable to do with his previous foreign students.

Bunraku is a Japanese tradition of puppetry that dates back 300 years in its recognised form, however, its origins trace back even to the 1100's. In 1734 they introduced the unique technique of three puppeteers manipulating one puppet, a skill that requires much training, focus, and communication. It is called 'san-nin-zukai' (three-person-manipulation).

It is often stated that it takes 10 years to learn the feet, 10 years to learn just the left hand, and only then can you move up to the head and right hand. In 1972, with a decreasing number of young participants, the theatre created a training centre open to the public in an effort to broaden its reach. However, there are still no female puppeteers or foreigners amongst the professional troupe. This, I am demonstrating, is why it was such a remarkable opportunity for these privileged few here in Amsterdam. I had fabricated five contemporary puppets for them to use alongside their traditional puppets, and then attended the sessions in observation. This is a heavily edited blog from those days.

DAY 1: “Let's be Divine”

We began the day in the cafe of the Ostade theatre.
An anxious and prepared Ko Suzuki presiding over the routine, with Kanroku-san patiently waiting. They greet the group of professional theatre makers with a round of 'Ohayo', the Japanese greeting for 'Hello'. In Japan, 'ohayo' is mostly used in the morning, however, within the theatre community it can be used all day. We joke that it is because while working in theatre, sometimes there's confusion over when the days and nights begin...

KANROKU (KK): interpreted live by Ko

"I am from the traditional bunraku world, where only men perform. Although, I left the company to find my own way. Over the years I have had many great experiences within theatre, but I have not been able to teach what I wanted. Soul and spirit. Now I can teach you the soul of the art...

"Most important thing as a player is I want to make the world better with my expressions. Maybe through you, I'll do my best.'

The early days' proceedings consisted of demonstrating the various parts of the puppet, and then how the three puppeteers can work together in a continuous flow. The head puppeteer, omozukai,

the left-arm puppeteer, hidarizukai, and the feet puppeteer, ashizukai. The way they can communicate as one entity, operating one puppet, is by using a series of 'secret' signs. In order to practice these signs, the students are taught the fundamentals of walking, sitting, and standing.

The three Mokugusha members give a small performance of theirs as an example. It was originally a ritual to 'cleanse the stage' during harvest time. One student can be immediately seen with his jaw wide open, eyes dazed, watching in amazement...

After lunch, Ko leads a reading from an article called "Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity". The students learn that Shinto is the only religion truly native to Japan, and that the Japanese believe that 'god' is in everything: people, puppets, objects...

“So, let's be divine!”, rallies Ko.

”In Japan, puppeteers have a kind of shaman aspect.” Kanroku-san instructs.

“They receive power from heaven into their being, then transmit to puppet. Puppeteer must have same emotions as puppet, but they look at puppet's back, they are also 'observer'. If you can approach this with your basic training and commitment, I will be glad"

Questions from the group such as “Why is the puppet bent forward?” and, “Why do you use it with your left hand?”: are answered with reasons such as "aesthetics" and, "not to block the main puppeteer from being seen from the audience...” A pleasant reminder that this art rooted in their ancient religion is not just about 'ritual' but also theatrics.

DAY 2: "Giver and Receiver"

Kanroku-san arrives in the morning carrying two six packs of Heineken. Ko follows behind with an empty bottle of wine. This immediately proves that today will be interesting.

In the slow, sunken fashion of the Noh theatre, Kanroku-san demonstrates walking, but with a can of Heineken balanced upon his head. It is smooth, and flawless. He invites everyone to try.

While the baby Fusa sleeps, the Japanese trio to deliver a performance that was made in response to the Fukushima disaster. It is titled “Born on this Planet”.

The stage is set with a small empty table in the centre, and a stand with a tiny un-lit candle waiting

in it. The puppets I've made stand staring into the space, statue like. Puppeteers enter stage right with a small puppet in blue clothes holding a baby. He places the baby onto the empty table, lights the candle, and after a display of sadness, he exits. Soon after, a much larger, stronger puppet enters. Warrior-like, God-like. He is noticeably angry. Not at the immediate situation, but in general. He sees the baby, and is surprised. He eventually leaves with this baby.

One can falls.

They turn left and right, slowly and steadily. Eventually they attempt to increase and decrease their speed.

Another can falls.

KK:“If you just manipulate the puppet, it can not transmit a message to the audience. That show was not just signs between us that worked, but we received an atmosphere of us being with you. We were receiving something special of being in a room with you. We have this way of thinking. We play three people with the emotions of three people, but we can receive something from above. Maybe, we are 'helped' by something else...”

"This spectacle only happened today." Ko reminds us.

After a break, they practice creating emotions with the puppets. Five puppeteers in a line each with one puppet. Kanroku-san orders them to create a series of emotions: Warmth, very cold, sadness, anger, and wind with direction.

I am witnessing the slow progression from practical techniques to characters, and the ability to project a sensation on stage with an object. It is remarkable the speed in which they are progressing. They have travelled from learning the basic vocabulary; to practicing each role individually; to working as three to complete simple tasks; and finally to recreating scenes from a Charlie Chaplin film. It shows great promise for the days to come.

DAY 3: "Traditional Way and Contemporary Way"

The group returns to their Heineken Training, also with the upside down wine bottle mimicking the neck and head of a puppet. Ko plays the guitar I have brought him quietly off the side of the stage. It is a lovely way to slide into the morning.

This is the third day of the intensive masterclass, and the students are becoming more and more comfortable, while the group is changing like a live organism. One more person is missing today, but a new one has arrived.

They criss-cross in slow motion on the stage to the sound of the gently plucking guitar, and occasional thud of a weighted beer can. They are more confident, jogging from side to side.

A can falls, and spits on a puppet.

During todays training, Kanroku-san takes turns with the students performing as his left arm or feet puppeteer. One after another the students laugh heartily at their new obvious lack of experience in comparison to him. His face takes on a comical grimace of displeasure amid frequent pushing and pulling of people into place, yelling, "Too late!".

The Japanese trio give a demonstration of their 'signs', and then they begin again with the first student. They stop immediately with a slap from Kanroku-san. Today, Kanroku-san is more direct, more in contact, more physical. One can sense that now this is for real as the atmosphere changes when he starts to actually play with you. There is a difference between Kanroku-san the teacher, and Kanroku, the lead puppeteer.

One student freezes. He knows what he wants to do and his brain is busy processing all he's been taught, but he is not remembering. "I... I want to go left!" The feeling is mutual between cultures. Mayuko (the foot-puppeteer) stops in confusion. You can tell she has only the experience with Japanese puppeteers making a Japanese walk, and though she can sense when something is wrong while playing with the European students, she can't quite articulate what it is.

Kanroku-san, Kyoko, and Mayuko then present several of their Japanese puppets. The differences are striking in comparison to my bare, abstract versions. Their finely carved heads and hands are much smaller in proportion and are polished smooth and white. They are also draped in beautifully crafted fabric

costumes. However, when the students try these puppets, they are quite surprised by the weight in which the costumes add. They also bring to stage their version of a contemporary puppet, and that is a character dressed in the likeness of Edith Piaf. She wears a blue European style dress, not a kimono, and underneath we are shown her dangling, skinny legs The Japanese three perform their Edith Piaf piece, and you can see immediately in Kanroku-san's eyes the sentiment of Edith . He is really trying to sing through the puppet. He does not however try to mime the singing, he doesn't shake the head in time with the words, but recreates the emotions with the puppets' hands...

There is an informative conversation between everyone about the differences in European women and Japanese women, which should be evident in the performance of the female puppets. Kanroku-san asks for demonstrations from the female students on what sort of hand gestures a European singer would make. It is agreed that they are a little less elegant than the Japanese geisha.

DAY 4: “Dance and Violence”

I arrive early and share a coffee with Ko. We speak about the book I am reading at the time, "Spring Snow", by Yukio Mishima. Ko tells me he is a very important writer in Japan, writing mostly love stories. He was a strange man, very theatrical. He committed suicide in the ritual manner of seppuku in 1970, and had hand-picked someone who was with him to sever his head. This assistant failed and committed seppuku as well, therefore a third was left the task of beheading both. Ko states Mishima tried to keep the 'essence' of Japan in his writings, but his personality and his thoughts are sometimes difficult even for the Japanese to understand. He sounds like though a personification of Japan: this constant mix of ritual and theatrics.

Ko reads from "Discover Japan": the anthology of essays about Japan written by foreigners living or having lived there. "Yoin"- "Literally it means reverberation, resonance- the sound a bell makes after being struck. Figuratively, implies that something experienced stimulates the imagination and causes a positive memory to linger in the mind" W. Kleinedler

Heineken Training resumes, and Ulrike joins in. Less cans fall today. All is calm, focused, and intent... Ruben (a Belgian circus student) is confident and dances with a can on his head. There is much laughing throughout.

Kanroku-san appears wearing the hygienic paper face-masks seen commonly in Japan. Yesterday was a long cold day for him, and it is taking its toll upon his 60-yr. old body.

The group discusses the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. Kanroku-san, a sensitive man, is visibly affected by this. Everyone then watches a video he had made in Japan. The students laugh for there are mistakes made in the video by the ashi-zukai, and Kanroku-san is reprimanding her. I think they appreciate the humility of showing his company's misgivings.

We then watch videos of dances the students made the day before. There is much laughing in amusing embarrassment. They are projected on the wall, almost life-size, with the baby Fusa staring up at them, smiling. She hears her own voice in the video, and speaks back to it.

Group then watches a small clip from the Ulrike Quade Company's performance 'Antigone'. This segment shows a struggle against Antigone herself, shoving the puppet to the ground, pushing her into the floor, pulling arms, strangling, etc.

Ulrike: "For us it's important to get technique as pure as possible. I'm Interested to know how the ways of thinking is different. How can we translate this essence and use it for our theatre?"

Ruben: "Bunraku was only a word two weeks ago, before I had no experience with puppets. The things we do now with puppets make me more aware of what is going on in my body."

Student: "You say you only use it with its approval. Only for violence? How do you know the boundaries? Is there a set of rules?"

KK: "In battles, puppet against puppet, OK. But puppet and human.... No!"

UQ: "What is the difference of violence and dancing on stage? They're both kinds of relationships."

KK: "Simply speaking, I can't violate the puppet. Cause it is very important. It was god. We can't violate god. We won't. We won't. But we can dance with god."

KO: "Maybe it is too simple for us to describe."

Day 5 “Working Together"

Over early coffees, the group discusses how a street magician was beheaded in Syria for performing simple magic tricks in a plaza. I find it very pertinent for we are all exercising a profession that is often spoken in terms next to the word 'magic'. And however revered this art may be in Japan, we are reminded that it can also be seen as blasphemous to another culture. These are the boundaries to cross.

Ko reads from the afterword (written by Soshitsu Sen XV) of "The Book of Tea", by Kakuzo Okakura. He explains it was written in English 100 years ago as a way of introducing Japanese culture to a western audience. In contrast, Ko explains that another similar book described the way of the samurai: "BUSHIDO", by Inazo Nitobe.

One described the way of life, the other, the way of killing. Balance.

The group resumes their Heineken Training. Today it is fast and fluid.

Kanroku-san then instructs them to make a scene with all of the techniques they have learned in five days. He is very anxious to share with the Japanese people what Dutch artists can do in such a short time. One of the most beautiful images for me is watching the groups of three slowly moving in rhythmical silence with each other, dancing almost, without even holding a puppet.

The Japanese trio perform a demonstration of a brief running sequence, where the puppet then crouches in the floating air, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Really breathing heavily, it's chest plate heaving up and down. This is the most alive I have seen a puppet since the workshop began. They have saved this till the last.

KK: "First task of the puppeteer is 'imitating'. And after gaining experience and ability to add more, to change, but first is imitating.”

I am reminded of one of my own favourite passages from reading 'The Book of Tea'.

"The practice of chanoyou (tea ceremony), however, {...} is to live with a refined attention to detail - the flowers of the season, the sound of water poured onto stone, the time at which evening turns to dusk- not because these things will enlarge the self, but because they bring our lives into harmony with that which transcends the self."

This attention to detail, this empathy with nature, is what I have always felt as essential to the

imitation Kanroku-san proposes as the first task of the puppeteer. In order to project feeling with an object, you must be able to actually 'feel' with your own body.

Kanroku-san prepares the group for their final demonstration. One student lays down a puppet alone on the bench and immediately another student picks it up, cradling it in his own lap. These objects are alive now to them. They are discovering the soul in which Kanroku had hoped for.

By 3pm on the last day, the groups are already autonomous. Alone they practice, they dance, they direct, they rehearse. The sequence they are devising is not perfect, obviously, but it can happen. That is what is remarkable. It is possible. With the puppet, they walk, they run, they sit, they search, they stomp, they think, they try, they reinvent. Most of them had vey little experience with puppets before this, some had none, and especially not the concept of working as a three-person unit. Now they no longer stress over the specifics of the technique, but how to make their intention clear. One puppet proposes to another, and they succeed. Marriage.

After the presentation, Kanroku-san says that he is surprised that they could actually perform as the three. He was surprised they already started reinventing the form, independently using the Left arm before the right arm. Kyoko is very emotional at the outcome and fights back tears. She was impressed at the quick transgression from just learning together to working together. And Mayuko is a little shocked they learnt her profession so quickly, and jokingly asks them to please give her back her many years of training!

Gifts and "thank you's" are then passed back and forth in many directions as the baby Fusa stomps around in her new Dutch clog slippers.

Ko sums it up completely:

“And thank you all as well. Now, let's drink!"

Some time after the workshop I am asked about what I saw from the outside. Could I observe what made the group come together so well during that short time?

I supposed that it had a lot to do with the nature of this specific form, bunraku. The fact that they weren't learning how to act 'solo' with a puppet next to them, but that learning bunraku required cooperating with two other people fluidly to bring to life that one puppet. They were in constant communication with each others body, mind, and emotions which of course creates this special bond: three human heads connected in succession, funnelling into one hand-made inanimate head, all sharing in the same intention.

In fact, it is this continuous bonding that Kanroku-san states allows them, as puppeteers, to really open themselves up as a sort of channel, receiving something 'divine' that mixes into their connection with the puppet. Whereas that kind of phenomenon is not easy to see from the outside, the students ability to work together was, and I'm very anxious to see how these relationships may continue grow. I wonder what the reverberation will be after this classes figurative bell was struck?

What was its yoin?