Bunraku: puppet theatre of Japan

Traditional performances at the Bunraku-za Theatre, Osaka, show the style of this unusual 18th century form, still popular in Japan. The Bunraku dolls, half life-size, create a make-believe world peculiar to Japan, and are so delicate that they cannot be imitated by live actors.

Content notification

Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.

Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

production company

Nichiei Kagaku Eiga Productions

Sakura Motion Pictures

Duration

00:28:00:00

Production places

Japan

Production dates

1969

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

001567

Language

English

Subject categories

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Japan

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Japan - Social life and customs

Music & Performing Arts → Puppet theater

Places → Japan

Short films

Short films → Short films - Japan

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/65675--bunraku-puppet-theatre-of-japan/ |title=Bunraku: puppet theatre of Japan |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=24 April 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

Japan, 1969

Please note