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Ningyô Jôruri 1999 Ôishi Shrine

FREE! Ningyô Jôruri Puppet Performance: August 28, 1999 The sixth annual free performance of Ningyô Jôruri by members of the Osaka National Bunraku Theater will be held August 28, 1999 at the Ôishi Shrine, in the Shinobara district of Fujino Township. The main mover behind these performances of the traditional art is Yoshida Kanroku, a member of the Osaka Bunraku Theater who moved to Fujino several years ago after discovering the Ôishi Shrine and its rotating stage. Since then, Kanroku has brought volunteers from the Osaka Bunraku Theater to work closely with numerous volunteers from Shinobara and other parts of Fujino to put on these marvelous performances of Japan's traditional puppet art. Don't look in your major papers for ads about this performance, since Kanroku has attempted to keep advertising low-key and mouth-to-mouth only. As it is, nearly one-thousand people have managed to gather in a site meant only for a few hundred; many come from all over Japan to witness this very unusual performance. I have personally attended the last four performances and have been overwhelmed each time. Held outdoors by torchlight, with occasional musasabi (Japanese flying squirrels) gliding overhead, the performances create a visually mystical environment impossible to recreate in an indoor venue. The performance starts at 6:30 pm, but people begin arriving much earlier in the day to reserve spaces. Food and beer are sold at the site, or you can bring your own lunch box. If it looks like rain that day, some preparations (raincoat, etc.) are advisable, since most of the space has been without cover, and the performance goes on rain or shine. I'm trying to get the people concerned to make English-language synopses of the plays available this year. For more information phone the Fujino Town Offices at 0426-87-2111, and ask (Japanese only) for the Kikaku-ka (planning department). You might also take a look at Kato's Shinobara site for a few photos and descriptions of the performance in Japanese. Access: From Fujino station area: take Highway 20 to the Hizure Iriguchi intersection, cross the Sagami River and head south on Highway 76 for about three minutes. Just two-hundred meters before you reach the Workshop for Art, a small road leads off to the left for Shinobara; it should be marked on this day. Take this road about ten minutes until it comes out onto the main Shinobara road; turn left onto the main road, drive one kilometer to the large intersection; turn right into Shinobara and follow the signs to the Ôishi Shrine. To return to your previous location, use your browser's "BACK" button, or click your heels together three times while saying, "there's no place like home" . . .

Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
by Norman Havens nhavens@gol.com
Updated: April 20, 2002

URL: http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens/htmlfile/joru-e.html