The main task of the group is to present and preserve the elegant and sophisticated 17th century marionettes. Edo Marionette group consist of a single person, Mitsuru Kamijo, who performs with traditional Japanese marionettes. Matsuru Kamijo’s performance is poetry in motion, combining unbelievable virtuosity of handling the marionette with the relationship between man and marionette from which the scenery draws its strength and energy.
The programme features four separate etudes:
Kappore - Male Dance
When the samurai (Japanese military nobility) ruled Japan and Tokyo was still referred to as Edo, the use of marionettes in street performance became increasingly popular. This particular street performance was very popular during the shift from Edo to Tokyo. The theme of the dance often re-enacted the most burning issues of a certain period.
Yoidore – The Drunkard
In Edo festivals, people used to engage in funny dances to the merry music of flutes and drums. A man on his way home from a festival is stumbling along the street over a bottle of sake. Upon finishing the bottle, he falls asleep. He is suddenly awoken by a burst of loud music and starts dancing again.
Kurokami − Black Hair
This is a female dance. The scenery is equipped with a shadow screen (Makurabyobu), an object usually set in the corner of the bedroom to ensure privacy. A woman makes her bed by laying out a mattress and bed linen on the tatami floor. She keeps a lover who is supposed to visit her for the last time tonight. She is afraid that he won’t be able to make it. Outside, snowflakes commence to fall, further increasing her anxiety …
Shishimai − Lion Dance
Perhaps the most famous dance of all, Shishi-mai (Lion Dance), is a performance etude with a very complicated marionette, which the animator handles using both hands (and occasionally even his teeth). The story is simple – it depicts a lion that dances around boastingly, beholds itself vainly, gestures to the audience, calms down, then becomes infuriated by a butterfly, but ends up catching its own tail instead of the butterfly. In Japanese culture, the lion represents a benevolent being that brings health and success. After the performance, the handler carries the lion among the audience, who may touch for good luck.