Bunraku Lobby

Bunraku Lobby

The sounds before show in the lobby of a Bunraku theatre.

The bunraku theatre is a long practiced art of story telling with the use of large, detailed puppets. The story telling is extremely expressive as the male puppets are able to make facial expressions, the female puppets have more control over hand movements for expression, and the narrator who voices the lines is very expressive acting is acentuated by the live playing of the shamisen. As this is a more traditional form of theatre, the attendees that appeared to be under the age of 30 seemed to have been all of the college students from our travel group. There was at one point, after the two people who can be heard greeting eachother in the recording are done speaking and are ready to leave, they continue to bow to eachother at least three times before they break away and go to finish preparing for the production. 

Tatum Pond

Knox College Abolition Labs

November 24, 2024

Knox College, Tatum Pond

mp3 audio recording

Japanese, English

mp4 audio file

02:36

There is the sounds of people off talking in the distances. There is the faint sound of classical shamisen playing (a three string instrument that makes a higher pitched noise) with the sound of a faint drum being followe with it. People closer to the recorder meet up and greet eachother before the over head announcement changes to be a recorded announcement about what play will begin and when. You can hear the high pitched beeps from a vending machine, and then a heavy think as the item has been purchased.