Japanology Plus

In the traditional performing
art ningyo joruri,

puppets convey even subtle emotions.

By the 18th century,

this type of puppet theater was
a popular form of entertainment in Japan.

“Bunraku,” from Osaka,
is a well-known example,

but this form is from Tokushima:
Awa ningyo joruri.

Martin Holman, from the US,
is an expert and an experienced performer.

For years, his dream was to practice
ningyo joruri in the country of its birth,

and in 2019, Holman moved to Tokushima.

He established
an Awa ningyo joruri troupe,

and is working hard to pass this local
art form on to the next generation.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19,

he developed novel approaches
to performance,

and brought new life to the tradition.

Let's follow COVID-19 regulations!

Today, Martin Holman
tells us about his efforts

to conserve and develop ningyo joruri.

Hello and welcome to Japanology Plus,
I'm Peter Barakan.

Today we present one
of our Japanophile profiles.

Down below me,
you'll see the city of Tokushima,

which is on the island of Shikoku.

It's just over an hour
by plane west of Tokyo.

Flowing through the city
is the Yoshino River,

which for hundreds of years
now has deposited soil

that's ideal for the farming
of the indigo plant.

Indigo has been a major industry
in this area for a long time now,

and one of the
beneficiaries of that wealth

has been a local form of puppet theater.

Today, I'll be talking to Martin Holman,

who now lives in Tokushima
and is involved in that puppet theater,

which is called ningyo joruri.

Ningyo joruri has
around 400 years of history.

A storyteller presents the story
and each character's lines.

A shamisen player provides the music.

And the puppeteers
bring the story to life.

In Tokushima, wealthy indigo merchants
supported the growth of Awa ningyo joruri

and it eventually became a popular form
of entertainment throughout the region.

In farming villages, stages like this
were erected in shrine precincts,

and performances were
dedicated to the deities.

This was once the home
of a prominent local figure.

Now, it is a puppet theater and museum.

Martin.

Peter.

- Nice to meet you.
- Welcome. It's good to meet you.

Yeah, lovely place, too.

Well, we like it here.

- Let's go on over to the exhibit room.
- Okay.

Oh, yes, yes.

The display introduces the history
of the Awa puppet tradition,

and showcases a
number of actual puppets.

- Oh, so these are the puppets?
- Yes.

And here's a collection
of a lot of different characters.

Right.

Ebisu-san the...over here
on the far right...he's happy.

Uh-huh.

Some of these other heads
don't look quite so happy.

Right. Yeah, I guess...

some almost kind of Exorcist-level stuff
going on here, by the looks of it.

So, as you can see,
this is a lovely young woman.

Uh-huh.

And...

Oh!

I think we've all experienced
this at some time.

Well, this is what happens
when a woman is possessed by jealousy.

Okay.

And so as I pull down
on this lever here...

Oh...

This theater hosts performances nearly
every day, with 12 troupes taking turns.

Each puppet is operated by three people.

One moves the head and right arm.

A second moves the left arm.

And a third moves the feet.

All of the action is smoothly coordinated.

The trio work in unison
to generate lifelike movements

and express convincing emotions.

So would you like to try
handling the puppet yourself?

I'd love to have a go. Yes.

Well we have members
of the Awa Kogeiza here,

who have brought us a puppet.

Let's start with the head and right arm.

And so you have your right hand
in the puppet's right hand.

Uh huh.

And your left hand operating the head.

So the head is really just
basically right in front of you.

So it's a very natural kind of movement.

If you reach inside with your left hand,
and there's a lever there.

Yes. Uh-huh.

And you pull that lever
down to raise the head.

Right.

This is the right hand.

Uh huh.

And you put here your...
your index finger and middle finger.

And then insert that into the sleeve.

Okay.

And then the left hand can come
in and join you. And the feet.

And the person with the left hand
operates it with his or her right hand.

So this is a very unnatural
position over here.

And then let's try something fun here.

Go like this.

And she can put her hands together,
like gassho.

Oh. Okay.

And then look down at the hands.

Uh huh.

And then put them back on the lap again.

Very good.

You're hired.

It's just really fun.

Is it? And then for the feet now.

We can...you can take
over the foot operation.

Oh. Okay.

And this...

if you'll move it kind of like
you're pedaling a bicycle with your hands.

Make sure to push the feet forward.

That's great. That's great.

How are they?

The head and the right hand,
you feel it very directly.

This is...you feel the legs.

It's hard to see...
because you're behind her,

you can't see how she's walking
or how she's sitting.

Right right.

That's one of the problems.

And it becomes even more of a problem
when you're wearing a hood.

Yes.

Yes. Here's what it looks like
from the camera's point of view.

Uh huh.

Do you always have the same three people
working together as a team?

No, it's often different.

Interesting.

So it's important to practice
with different people.

Over time, since we all practice together,
on the same stage...

...we naturally start to sync up.

Martin Holman was born in 1957,
in the US state of Kentucky.

Even as a boy, he loved puppets.

When he was four years old,

he asked Santa to bring him
a marionette for Christmas.

Later, when he was studying
biology at university,

he saw a film about puppet theater
in different countries.

The deft and sophisticated movements
of ningyo joruri

left a lasting impression,

and sparked a lifelong interest in Japan.

He made his first visit to Japan
while he was still at university.

Soon after returning, he switched
his major to Japanese literature,

and started reading about ningyo joruri.

After graduating, Holman began
to teach Japanese literature.

And at the age of 36,
he found a job in Japan.

He moved with his family
to Shiga Prefecture.

There, he visited the local puppet troupe,
and applied to become an apprentice.

How easy was it for you to get in?

Well, I knew about a puppet troupe
in Nagahama in Shiga Prefecture.

And I had never visited them before

but I happened to take a job

at the Japan Center
for Michigan University,

as I was the director in Hikone,
next to Nagahama.

So one day I just arrived at the theater
when they were rehearsing.

And they were quite surprised to see me...

that I even found the theater because it
was out in the middle of a rice field.

It was beautiful new theater.

And I watched them rehearse,

and they showed me
the puppet collection and all.

And afterwards we were talking

and they said, “Well, is there
anything else we can do for you?”

And I thought, this is my chance.

I said,
“I want to be trained as a puppeteer.”

“Will you train me?”

And I thought they might laugh
or they might shoo me away.

And they said, “Okay, well,
we rehearse again tomorrow at seven.”

So I started training with them.

Abe-sensei is the head of the troupe.

And he was the one who invited me
to join the troupe and start training.

And he taught me quite thoroughly.

He was so encouraging,

and he was so thorough in everything
about the movements,

about getting the precise movement down

to go with the narration
and vocals and story.

And he was a real stickler for getting
each movement exactly right.

Synchronized.

Right.

Synchronized and also
emotionally synchronized.

And I really appreciate his thoroughness.

And he was very kind as he would teach,
but he was very thorough.

And so Abe-sensei is really my onshi.

My, you know, my, my teacher.

And I'm so glad I trained with him

because somebody else
could have let things slide.

Uh huh.

And...“Oh, well, that's...that's okay.
Of course he'll get it wrong.”

Right.

After starting his training,

Holman arranged for international
students to perform with the troupe.

We'll do our best.

He and his students drew media attention
as the first people from outside Japan

to perform ningyo joruri
on a Japanese stage.

In 2004, he set up the first
ningyo joruri troupe in the US.

They performed around 200 times
in 34 states.

Holman retired from
university work in 2017.

Two years later,

he moved to Tokushima to pursue
his dream of practicing puppetry in Japan.

What made you decide to make
your base here in Tokushima

as opposed to anywhere else in Japan?

Right. Well there's more puppet
theater in Tokushima than...

by far than any other prefecture in Japan.

Right.

There are more than 20 troupes here.

There are more than 12 troupes that
perform at least several times a month.

Huh.

And so I knew the infrastructure was here,

the theater was here,
the general interest in puppet theater.

People in Tokushima even if they
weren't in...weren't interested,

would say, “Oh, that seems normal.”

Uh huh.

It's a normal sort of thing to
be involved in the puppet theater here.

And Sato-san who is the director
of the prefectural theater,

encouraged me, actually, to come here.

Hello.

Hello. Great to see you!

This is Sato Kenji.

The director of the prefectural
theater and museum.

He helped Holman settle down in Tokushima

and develop a local network
in Japanese puppetry.

Sato has played a key role
in enabling Holman to realize his dream.

He said he wanted to spend the rest
of his life pursuing puppetry here,

so I knew I had to help.

Holman has provided English
translations for exhibits,

and English subtitles for performances.

Since the pandemic abated,
we've had more visitors from abroad.

The translations are helpful,

and the onstage subtitles
really are crucial.

Well, yes, that's true.

The world of traditional performing
arts tends to be somewhat insular.

But he is helping us
break through that wall.

From the start,
I believed that Martin Holman

could enable Tokushima's ningyo joruri
to spread further.

This isn't a major performing art.

If we don't take a global approach,
it will never grow.

He's the ideal person to help with that.

Once in Tokushima,
Holman set up his own puppet troupe.

They rehearse in a
disused golf practice range.

Among the 15 members
are several people from outside Japan.

They are all Tokushima residents—

from countries such as Mexico,
Nepal, Vietnam, and China.

Holman's goal is to share the joy of live
ningyo joruri across national borders.

It's just like, learning
about Japanese culture

makes me feel more part
of Japan and Tokushima.

But really Martin always is like...

I like him because he is always
cheering people,

giving so much energy for everyone.

New ideas. Let's do this, let's do that.

So I am still enjoying so much.

And I'm really thankful that he invite me
and stayed up here with all the people.

It involves a lot of communication,
which is fun.

Three people operate one puppet,

so it's important to match up your timing.

I've been doing it for two years now.

I didn't realize Tokushima
was quite so international.

Well, there are a few.

Yeah. So it's important that you created
your own troupe from the start

rather than joining somebody else.

Yes. Yes. Because I don't want
to push other people around, you know.

And especially if I came in,
um... I, I joined a troupe,

you know, initially and was a, you know,
part of a, part of a traditional troupe.

And I was happy to be trained and learn

and do very,
very traditional pieces and all.

I could have done that again.

It would have satisfied
a different part of me.

But I don't want to enter some...
as a member of someone else's troupe,

and then try to make them
do what I wanted done.

And, I mean, I could have done that.

But I really wanted to try to expand
my part of traditional Japan in some way.

And bring part of who I am
and my ideas into a Japanese milieu.

So that it's still Japan,
still a Japanese story,

but I'd like to be...you know,
I would like to be involved at that level.

Right.

Have there been any major challenges
in running your own troupe?

Shortly after I started
the troupe here in Tokushima,

we had five invitations to
do performances out and about.

And I thought, well, we're really...
it's going to happen.

We're going to have an...audiences.

And then COVID came and…

Ah

It wasn't just me, everyone else,

everything fell apart
for everyone else as well.

But it happened to me within
three months of starting the troupe.

And I thought, this is it.

And that was hard.

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic
started to subside,

Holman got an infection in his knee.

He was hospitalized for three months,

and at one point doctors thought
he might lose his leg.

Because of COVID regulations,
he could receive no visitors.

But he stayed positive and pulled through.

Just one month after being discharged,
he was back at rehearsals.

These days, one of the youngest
members is Suto Kansuke.

He's 11 years old and joined in 2022.

Being a bit shorter than adult members,

he usually operates a puppet's feet.

I visited the theater on a school trip,
and got a chance to see some puppets.

I thought it was really interesting.

My mother heard about this troupe
on social media and brought me along.

And what did you think?

It's super fun.

I like the mechanisms.
The way it works is cool.

I really enjoy it.

Holman is working on a new piece

in which for the first time
Kansuke will operate the head.

Kasa Jizo is a well-known folk tale
about an elderly man and woman

who are rewarded for their generosity.

Holman has adapted it
for the puppet theater.

Kansuke will operate the head
of a young character in the story.

I'd like you to control the head
and right arm. You're ready.

Yay!

Putting together a new show
can be very expensive.

A single puppet's head costs
at least 200,000 yen to make.

Sometimes they can be bought second-hand,

or existing puppets can be modified.

But there are occasions
when that just won't do.

The main characters are an elderly couple.

In order to create these puppets,
Holman seeks expert advice.

- Hello!
- Hello there!

- Hi.
- It's been a while.

This is Yoshida Naoyuki, a puppet maker.

Holman needs a head
for the elderly woman puppet.

For reference, he's brought
a candidate head for the elderly man.

I think the old man should have
this sort of look.

Let me see.

His face looks quite young,

but if we give him a head of gray hair,

I think his appearance will change.

He'll look a lot older.

So if this is the old man,

we'll need an old woman of a similar size.

Holman decides to make do
with the existing head for the man.

And he'll think about ordering
a new head for the woman.

He makes the costumes and props himself.

Well, this is going to be a haori.

And I might use it
for the old man in Kasa Jizo.

I generally, if I can do it myself,
I do it myself.

It doesn't look as good on the inside.

Because real costume makers...

they're so careful with the inside
and the seams and everything.

But the puppets don't complain.

Creating a new show is an exhausting,
time-consuming process.

But Holman believes
that having fun as a troupe

is crucial for producing good work.

So you're adding new repertoire.

We are adding new-ish repertoire.

Because I'm not trying to
bring in Star Wars

in traditional Japanese puppet theater.

But I want people to recognize

that the puppet theater offers
a wide range of different kinds of pieces.

And I'd like for some
new pieces to come in

so that we can have, at least
for my troupe, that we can have pieces

that will appeal to families, children,
the...all ages, like Kasa Jizo.

And as well, when I was
in the hospital this past year,

I was trying to think of
what am I going to do

Oh right.

if I can't stand; I can't walk.

So I started thinking about
doing the kyogen play Kaminari,

because the play is
about the god of thunder,

who falls from the cloud...
trips and falls from the cloud.

And he can't stand up.

And the puppet...the character has to
sit the whole...through the entire piece.

And I thought, “Hmm, once I'm in place,

I don't have to move to the...
off to the left or off to the right.”

Ah.

And I thought,
“OK, I'll do that if I have to.”

- It's amazing ideas where come from.
- Right.

- Well, from experience, of course, but...
- Exactly. Exactly.

The potential variety is only subject
to the limitations of your imagination.

Of my imagination
and how much longer I live.

You've still got a while to go.

Well, the last question
on these Japanophile programs

is always the same one.

What is Japan to you?

What is Japan to me?

Japan is a beautiful country.

And I think one of the things
that I appreciate most about Japan

is the appreciation of small things.

The recognition
that something can be small,

and yet it can be greatly significant,

even if not that many people
are paying attention.

Even if it's not the splashy,
biggest thing ever, it can matter.

And I'm afraid in the United States
it's either big or it's nothing.

And in Japan, I appreciate that

small things can be beautiful
and can be valued.

I'll drink to that.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I've really enjoyed today.

I've had...it's been wonderful
having you here,

and it's been wonderful being able
to talk about my small world here

in Tokushima, in the puppet theater.

No, it's great.

You know, puppets themselves...
they're smaller than human beings.

There you go.

Yet they matter to me anyway.

Hello.

Thank you.