What is Puppet Acting? Ningyōburi in Kabuki

[@rachels9035]

This is honestly my favorite video on this subject! Thanks for such an in-depth explanation of all the components. So beautiful, this living art form!

[@kristenrosales2919]

This one of the hardest styles to choreograph in Kabuki. The actor and the stage assistant have to coordinate together, not to make believable, but to express the character's state of mind. I am very impressed nonetheless.

[@berserk1437]

I like how it's used with Yaegaki-hime, you really sense that she's become possesed by the fox spirit, watching her be manipulated as though she were a doll. The movements are so realistic as to believe she really is a doll!

[@karloantoniogalaydavid6397]

People don't like it because it's too artificial? That is exactly why this is art! The Aesthetes of Europe (Baudelaire, Wilde, etc.) have only really scratched the surface of the art in artifice, but Kabuki has refined it to such an advanced degree already. The great aesthetic of Kabuki is spectacle, and spectacle often manifests itself as artifice - realism is too plain, too dull, what is fabulous will never be realistic. Kabuki's artifice - the paper flowers, the butterflies on sticks, the old men playing little girls - reaches its pinnacle in Ningyoburi, where the fourth wall has long been forgotten and the point is to marvel at the sheer skill that goes into the actor's mimicry of the puppet. It is also a full circle moment for representation - Bunraku was created to mimic human beings, but here human beings are deliberately mimicking Bunraku (a middle finger at Plato). While the West is still debating if life mimics art or art mimics life, the Kabuki people have been doing art that mimics art for centuries already. When UNESCO named Kabuki a masterpiece of Intangible Cultural Heritage, it was flattering itself by associating itself with this great tradition.

[@Latoyas_got_your_soul]

I agree 100%

[@arisha_bitk]

One Russian ballet dancer, Nikolay Tsiskaridze told everything artificial looks more beautiful than real on the stage.

[@MejganZia]

It's an extraordinary achievement in storytelling by such degree of refinement and precision.

[@brittnar]

I had to watch this twice, i kept missing the captions because the performances were so captivating. thank you!

[@johnnie543]

I like to think of _ningyo-buri_ in Kabuki is what mad scenes or coloratura singing are in opera. They are both examples where the characters express their most extreme feelings in a way that regular speech or recitative singing cannot. Another excellent analysis KID!! 👍🏾

[@richelleg225]

This was an amazing video! Puppet acting is a great way for the actors to show off how controlled their movements are! It is also very clever how ningyoburi is used to give separation between normal behavior and abnormal behavior!

[@Ayaki6166]

I'm from L.A. My ancestor is upper class samurai and part of daimyo's family. I love Edo period culture. Bunraku , mysics , foods.

[@4_4_4..]

أحب الفنون الشعبية الأصيلة، أرجو أن يستمر هذا الفن وأن يحفظ الأحفاد تراث أجدادهم. كل المحبة من 💚🍉

[@dalesnow1707]

l've always find this style extremely fascinating! thank you for covering this!

[@LinRuiEn]

I can't imagine the physical strength and control it must take to move as if a puppet. Amazing!

[@mariellouise1]

I found this style of acting, absolutely fascinating. I can’t imagine not blinking, I tried, I couldn’t. It was helpful that you edited the puppet scenes and the acting scenes together. I hope the tradition will continue. It would be a shame to abandon this traditional style.

[@Janka007]

I like it too! Looks amazing and I'm sure it's quite a big challenge for the actors too. I hope they will keep it alive. :)

[@utkuhuseyinkaya8920]

Very authentic to say the least. Whoever conceptualize this, must have been very visionary.

[@kayplease210]

so glad i found this channel

[@chookaschookas444]

So clever. Such artistry. This style is a Kabuki version of Coppelia in a way.

[@成田大知-b8y]

玉三郎は本当に何をやるせてもうまいよなあ

[@JokerMxyzptlk]

I love this so much. Bunraku performances are already cool, but the evolution from that into kabuki but then re-inserting the puppet acting element is genius. It's like a cultural skeuomorph

[@davegrrr6m824]

Absolutely stunning! ♥

[@MejganZia]

Actually, after watching several different videos, I found this style had me paying more attention. There's a lot to learn from this style of movement. It must require much harder training for the dancers.

[@raemundvp1153]

Kabuki is the most refined and stylised form of acting. It requires a lot of discipline to perform it. That is why it is listed on the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Brilliant work.

[@midnightsnow5655]

Thank you for this video! It didn’t make sense to me until now why only certain parts were acted out like this. I really love it when they break the fourth wall in kabuki. I think this style would be so much fun to watch live (especially with Bando Tamasaburo!).

[@Vamplolita1]

Super amazing and unique kind of acting!!! ❤❤❤❤

[@vrixphillips]

oh wow, that's incredible! I think the artificiality is part what makes it beautiful, tbh.

[@nuritdavid3348]

Just discovered the channel. Wonderful!

[@용석권-g6y]

To my eyes, it’s more like one of the precursors of modern-day “robot dance” choreography-wise. Anyways I just love it!!❤❤❤

[@petergiljum]

Great art ❤

[@sapphirejade5029]

This is my first time seeing this and looks oddly fascinating. I find it to be interesting, in a way. It's a bit strange if not ever seeing it, but after a good explanation, I start to like it. This is beautiful in its own way along with noh and kabuki.

[@enlilw-l2]

Absolutely amazing, first time i watch this

[@fabiss23]

tell me if i understand this clearly. first they had puppet acts and they liked it so much that they decided the puppets need more realism and instead of creating more realistic acting they replaced the puppets with humans but kept EVERYTHING else, even how they move. its like a new game where only the graphics are upgraded and nothing more, because that game already had perfect gameplay. kinda like all mario games after the first one, in a way.

[@roseofsharon11]

This is wonderful, thank you so much…

[@maviojordangomesrosa2467]

Excellent video brother. First, I'm sorry for the delay in commenting on the six videos (with this extremely tense atmosphere that is here in Brazil due to the political situation, I didn't watch and comment on your videos, I'm sorry). Second, it is always interesting to see the puppet acting style in Kabuki theater (seeing the characters acting and behaving like puppets). Regarding the video, I have some doubts: 1. Is it just me or does Iwanaga Saemon (Akoya's main antagonist) not appear to be human? It's just that watching your video and the video of the play Akoya, I saw that he behaves like a puppet (his movements mostly for the Kurokos) and speaks like a puppet (as you said, his voice is not the voice of the actor but of the narrator). Based on this, is it true that Iwanaga Saemon is not a human character? If he's not human, what kind of entity is Saemon? 2. Outside Iwanaga Saemon, are there any famous tachiyaku characters where this puppet acting style is prevalent? 3. I didn't understand this criticism of certain top onnagata actors with this kind of acting. Watching the video, I can see that the puppet performance gives a more mystical air to Kabuki plays throughout Japan. It's what makes Kabuki what it is (a cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO). So answer me: what's so wrong with puppet acting for certain top onnagata actors to call it "artificial"? As far as I know, top onnagata actors like Bando Tamasaburo V and Nakamura Fukusuke IX use this feature quite often. So what's wrong?

[@KabukiInDepth]

I think that, to some extent, your 1st question answers the 3rd! Iwanaga is a regular person, played as an evil villain (in particular, an akattsura or red-faced villain, common in historical plays), in addition to the ningyoburi, which makes the result quite unique. But he is just another member of the Heike forces. 2. I think the ones I show on this video are all the examples in the current repertoire. But I might be missing a few rare examples. 3. Well, the most influential criticism comes from Nakamura Utaemon V, Fukusuke IX's great-grandfather, although perhaps criticism is too strong a word. He used ningyoburi during his youth, but at some point he changed his opinion and, arguing that it was too artificial for his taste, he began to play roles such as Yukihime and Yaegakihime without puppet acting. Kikugoro VI also preferred the more realist style. Their acting for these roles was also extremely beautiful, so as long as other onnagata still use ningyoburi, nothing is lost.

[@IngridSaybe]

Thank you. I sure enjoyed it.

[@prettypurple7175]

WOW////HOW AMAZING! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@gabrielzeratul]

03:33

[@adrienkristyak9503]

❤Amazing.😊

[@bonniekimble4749]

Impressive!

[@quickchris10]

Puppeteer at 3:40 not wearing any head covering; 'guess he is such a good puppeteer, he can tell director, ``not wearing that.''

[@YuliSayuri]

I wonder which was first, nut crackers or Ningyoburi? Or other cultures also have similar dance like a doll???

[@SiKedek]

Take a look at Central Javanese dance, especially the fight-duet called "Bambangan Cakil", which pits a young warrior hero against the agitated Cakil, a slight demon with a pronounced underbite. I'd really suggest the version performed by Garasi Benowo - that's a classical interpretation, and I think it's the most captivating version out there on YT. The dancer portraying Cakil, dances like a two-dimensional wayang shadow puppet.

[@YuliSayuri]

@@SiKedek interesting! Will check it out. Thanks

[@SiKedek]

@@YuliSayuri Oh, I forgot to add: in the Central Javanese court culture of Yogyakarta, there is a style called Beksan Golek Menak where dancers imitate the stiff movements of wayang golek, which are 3D rod puppets - and this is obvious from their flexed hands (imitating the stylized carved hands of golek puppets) and even their stylized "labored" breathing (which again is taken from the conventions of wayang golek performance). You can find it here if you search for "Beksan Menak Kakung Umarmaya Umarmadi". That actually might be closest thing to Japanese ningyoburi.

[@SKathleen615]

She’s beautiful 😍 but these Men do great job 👏 protraying Japanese women roles in Kabuki 😉

[@mpgabriel819]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@斎藤まさる]

八重垣姫の奥庭がすごい！

[@kath5201]

Keep the Old Ways alive.

[@angedenpeacelove_411-00]

too artificial?! they missed the whole point of the dance, that it's immersive. It's suppose to be puppets come to life, that does not take away from the story. Hell I barely noticed the guys in back because the acting was so piercing.

[@hideko8965]

ま

[@devilpen6565]

人偶歌舞伎

[@snoopenny]

How can you see the visuals when you’re busy reading? The visuals also go by so quickly! Narrate!

[@mrt8944]

Its really sad that the qluniqur culture around the world is disappearing thanis to americanization.

[@lotusmojo]

Spectacular!