ONE PIECE×SEIWA BUNRAKU Cho-Narika Funade Fuyuzakura

Kumamoto Reconstruction Project "Cho-Narika Funade Fuyu-Zakura" now on stage

Eight years have passed since the Kumamoto earthquake. The affected areas have not stopped the progress of reconstruction. Eiichiro Oda, the author of the extremely popular manga "ONE PIECE," has also developed the "ONE PIECE Kumamoto Reconstruction Project" for his hometown, which was affected by the disaster. One of the projects is a collaboration with Seiwa Bunraku, a traditional rural bunraku performance company, to remake a special performance in November 2022, which will be performed on a regular basis starting this spring. The name of the piece is "Chooba Afunade Fuyuuzakura" (Winter Cherry Blossoms in the Land of the Rising Deer). Regular summer performances began on July 20.

Kyushu's Only Theater Dedicated to Joruri Learn about Bunraku at the Seiwa Bunraku Kan

The Seiwa Bunraku Kan, located next to the Seiwa Bunraku Yuu roadside station in Kumamoto Prefecture, is Kyushu's only theater dedicated to ningyo joruri (puppet theater). Rural bunraku is a traditional art form in which farmers performed and watched ningyo joruri (puppet drama) as entertainment in rural areas. In the past, ningyo joruri was performed not only in Kumamoto Prefecture but also in many other places during the off-season. It is said that Seiwa Bunraku began at the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), when the farmers were attracted to a bunraku troupe from Awaji Island, bought puppets, and learned how to play the puppets.
However, the theater eventually faded away due to the lack of young successors and other factors, as the playhouses disappeared in various areas. In 1992, the Seiwa Bunraku Kan was completed, and while the village performs more than 170 regular performances a year, it also focuses on training young performers and encourages them to study on Awaji Island, the home of Bunraku. In addition to the theater, the museum is also equipped with a museum, which conveys the history and culture of Seiwa Bunraku.

The Trinity of Puppet, Shamisen, and Tayu A trinity of three people manipulating a single puppet

Bunraku is a puppet show in which the shamisen player, the tayu's gidayubushi, and the puppeteer work in unison. When the curtain opens, the shamisen sounds, the tayu's gidayubushi echoes loudly, and the puppets begin to move as if they were breathing. The puppets are manipulated by three puppeteers: the main puppeteer, who is in charge of the head and right hand; the left puppeteer, who is in charge of the left hand and props; and the foot puppeteer, who is in charge of the legs. It takes a high level of skill to make the puppets move emotionally like real people, and it is said, "It takes 10 years for the legs, 15 years for the left side, and a lifetime of training for the kashira.
In plays such as "Tsubosaka Reigenki," which depicts the love of a married couple, the gidayu narrates the emotions of the couple, while the shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese instrument) plays softly, sometimes sadly, and sometimes violently. The puppeteers then perform the joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure of the couple's lives in meticulous detail, giving their gestures and facial expressions with the same breath as each other. The audience is at once drawn into the world of the story.

The world of ONE PIECE is brought to life in Bunraku by a group of top-notch producers the world of ONE PIECE to Bunraku

Now, the highlight of the regular summer performances will be "Cho-fureru Shika Funade Fuyusakura" (Winter Cherry Blossoms). Although the Seiwa Bunraku Kan was not damaged by the Kumamoto earthquake, the decline in attendance due to harmful rumors, the subsequent impact of Corona, and the heavy flooding in the Hitoyoshi Kuma region had no small impact. In the midst of all this, a new production based on Eiichiro Oda's "ONE PIECE" was promoted as a work aimed at reconstruction.
Under the supervision of Shueisha, playwright/director Kensuke Yokouchi, whose credits include "Super Kabuki II ONE PIECE" by Ennosuke IV, will write and direct the play. Music is by shakuhachi player Fujiwara Dozan, known as the "Noble Prince of the Japanese Instrument," puppet supervision by Awaji Puppet Association Awaji Puppet Theater, and puppet costume supervision and choreography by Fumioki Yoshida, also of Awaji Puppet Association Awaji Puppet Theater. The puppets of Luffy, Hirruku, and Kureha were created by Yoichiro Amari, puppeteer and president of the Awa Mokugyo Artists Association.

Traditional crafts of Kumamoto are also utilized. The Going Merry is made of Yamaga lanterns, a traditional craft of Yamaga City. It was created by Mr. Junya Nakamura, a Yamaga lantern maker. Other cutting-edge creators in the fields of fine arts and 3D art were also assembled.
The story is the "Drum Kingdom (Winter Island) Arc. While the Straw Hat crew is on a voyage to the Alabaster Kingdom, Nami comes down with a high fever. In order to find a doctor, they land in the Drum Kingdom and head for Dr. Kureha, who lives on top of a snowy mountain. They overcome various obstacles along the way, and it is his apprentice, the blue-nosed reindeer Chopper, who saves Luffy and his friends when they run out of strength. Luffy tries to recruit Chopper, a doctor and Hitohito no Mi, into his group, but the shadow of the villainous King Wa-pol looms over them...
Chopper, who has been treated as a blue-nosed reindeer and a monster, takes over the will of his benefactor Hirruku and plays a major role together with Luffy. By the way, if you write "reindeer" in Chinese characters, it is "familiar deer. The title is a perfect representation of the super reindeer Chopper. Please come to Seiwa Bunraku Kan to see the rest of the story. For more information, including performance dates, please visit the special website, and for ticket reservations, please visit Live Pocket.

Fee: High school students and older: 3,500 yen, elementary and junior high school students: 2,500 yen

Seiwa Bunraku Kan's new puppet show in collaboration with ONE PIECE. Please come and see it at the Seiwa Bunraku Kan.