Spend summer 2009 receiving training
in the
traditional art of Japanese Bunraku puppetry under the tutelage of
members of puppet troupes over 300 years old in a unique study program
in cental Japan.
This is the Summer 2009 Page.
For information on the University of Missouri Summer 2010 Program in Japan,
please go to the following URL:
http://asianinterstage.com/summer2010japan/
If you are interested in
theater
or
in the culture of
Japan--or both--this program may be for you.
2009
University of Missouri
Japanese Culture Summer Program
with an emphasis on
Traditional Japanese Bunraku Puppetry
based in
Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, JAPAN
with visits to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Awaji
Two
Months, June 7 or 8 (start date is tentative)~August 11 (end date
is
fixed)
Non-Missouri
Students are Welcome to Apply
No knowledge of Japanese or background in
theatre is required.
Based
in Iida,
JAPAN in
Nagano Prefecture, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics
Program Features
- Five or six days in historic cities of Kyoto, Osaka,
and Nara and travel to Awaji Island.
- Two months training
in traditional Bunraku puppet theater under the tutelage of members the
Imada Puppet Troupe, which traces its
history back more than 300 years.
- Opportunity to train in vocals or playing
the samisen in the puppet theater.
- One-month homestay with a Japanese family
- Three-day stay in a traditional Edo Period mountain
village.
- Opportunities to perform on stage in Japan.
- Access to metropolitan and cultural centers of Nagoya,
Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka
- Many opportunities for outdoor activities nearby in the
mountains, rivers, and lakes (hiking, climbing, biking, swimming,
fishing, kayaking)
- Opportunities to participate in other traditional
Japanese arts (taiko drumming, lion dance, etc) and in martial arts
training.
- Attendance at and participation in performances and
local festivals
- Opportunity to participate in many community activities
in a friendly, welcoming environment in Japan
- An average of at least three free days a week explore
locally or travel independently to other parts of Japan
- No previous knowledge of Japanese language or of
theater is required
Program Overview
June 7/8 ~ August
11,
2009
The program
will begin in Kyoto, where participants will stay at the newly-remodeled
Utano Youth Hostel. During the first five days of the program students
will visit historic sights in Kyoto and Nara and see performances of
traditional theater in Osaka and on the island of Awaji. From Kyoto the
program will move to Iida, where students
will live
in homestays
with Japanese families for the first month of the program, followed by
two weeks in a Japanese-style hot springs inn, then three days in an
Edo Period village in the mountains near Iida, and finally two weeks at
a
hotel in central Iida.
Training in
traditional Bunraku puppetry will be conducted two or three days per
week at the theater of
the Imada Puppet Troupe, with more frequent
rehearsals in the week or two leading up to the final performance at
the
Iida Puppetry Festival, which runs August 6~9. Outside scheduled
rehearsal and
performance times and other scheduled program activities,students will
be free to explore on their own or in groups.
This
program is
designed for students who have the self-confidence to take
responsibility for themselves and actively explore the opportunities
they are given. Students will be expected to attend all scheduled
rehearsals and program activities.
The
Japanese members
of the traditional puppet troupes are experts in their art. Some of
them
can trace their lineage in puppetry back to ancestors who were working
as
puppeteers in the 1700s. Through their training with these masters of
traditional
puppetry, students can begin to learn an art with a long and venerable
history.
By working shoulder to shoulder learning from the puppeteers of Imada,
students also can also come to understand the importance of
community
and trust in Japanese culture.
Students
with a background in stringed instruments may also choose to receive
training in playing the samisen, which is the instrument used in the
music of the puppet theater.
Plans are
also in the works for students to participate in training in the
traditional lion dance, which is particularly popular in the Iida area,
and in
taiko drumming lessons.
Video of
Previous Program Students on YouTube:
The
Ringon Festival is held on the last Saturday of the program, and the
students always participate in the street dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swfZZvqf0og&NR=1
Karaoke
at Metropolis was a popular activity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2jp3iWFrwY
Life
After Summer 2009
Alumni of the Bunraku puppetry training program in Japan are eligible
to audition to perform with Bunraku
Bay Puppet Troupe after they return to the US. Previous alumni from
puppetry training programs in Japan have performed as members of Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe at the
Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington DC, the Hood Museum at Darmouth
College, Austin College in Texas, the Orlando Puppet Festival, Morikami
Museum and Gardens and at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in
Florida, the University of Chicago, Brigham Young
University, the University of
Richmond in
Virginia, Penn State University, Knox College in Illinois, the
University of Southern Indiana, the Greater Kansas City
Japan Festival, the Japan Society in New York City, and many other
venues.
For more
information on Bunraku Bay
Puppet Troupe, visit the Troupe website at the following URL: www.bunraku.org/
Of course,
students who participate in the summer 2009 program are under no
obligation after the summer ends. But those who are interested may have
the opportunity to continue to perform Japanese puppet theater with Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, the only
traditional Japanese puppet troupe active in North America.
Program
Costs
The
final figures are not yet available.
Details on costs are forthcoming.
Students
are asked to fill out a preliminary application to gauge their interest
In
and suitability for the program. After evaluation of this preliminary
application, students will be asked to complete the offiicial forms
that are required by the International Center.
Complete the preliminary application by downloading it below, filling
it out, and returning it to Martin Holman 443 Strickland at
MU.
Download 2009
Preliminary Application Form
NOTE on PASSPORTS:
If you do NOT already have a PASSPORT, you should apply for your
passport NOW. You can apply for a passport at most post offices
(including the main post office in Columbia). If you do not yet have a
passport, please go ahead and submit your summer program application
without your passport number. You can supply that to us later. Do not
delay your summer program application waiting on your passport.
US
citizens will NOT need to get a Japanese visa in order to participate
in the summer program.
Please enjoy the photographs
from previous programs below.
Puppetry training will take place in the home
theater of the Imada Puppet Troupe.
Imada Puppetry Hall
2008 Students with the Mayor of
Iida (left) and with the Mayor of Iida and Governor of Nagano
Prefecture (right)
Mizzou Students
Received Instruction in Kyudo (Traditional Japanese Archery)
at the Iida Municipal Martial Arts Center
Students will spend
three days in Edo-Period houses in Odairajuku,
an old village in the mountains just west of Iida.
Can you find the monkey (Japanese Macaque, Macaca fuscata)
in the photo on the left below?
Hiking the mountains and hills around Iida is a popular summer pasttime.
Photographs of rehearsals, performances, and other activities from
previous programs
in Japan's "Southern Alps"
in Nagano Prefecture, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics
Home of the Imada Puppet Troupe and Kuroda Puppet Troupe
More Photographs
Carrying a shrine float in the Ringon Festival in Iida.
For More Information
please contact the
program director:
Martin
Holman
Coordinator,
Japanese Studies Program
443 Strickland Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri 65211
Email: holmanma@missouri.edu
Tel. (573) 882-3368
Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe
This page last
updated February 9, 2009.
To Apply for the Summer 2009 Program
