Bungo Yoshida
Encyclopedia
Bungo Yoshida was a Japan
ese puppeteer
, who built a whole new audience for the traditional puppetering form of bunraku
by combining it with rock music
.
Born as Teruo Takahashi in 1934, Yoshida was initiated into the Bunraku theatre as a disciple of Tamagoro Yoshida II in 1951, changing his name to Kotama Yoshida. For twenty years, he performed mostly female roles, until switching to male roles in the 1970s. Concerned by falling audience numbers and a lack of young people taking up bunraku, Yoshida combined the ancient art form with his love of rock music, which he combined for a 1980 adaptation of The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
(Sonezaki Shinjū) with the music written and performed by Japanese rock musician Ryudo Uzaki, and occasionally with a live orchestra
.
He was formerly married to the American
television personality and essayist Edith Hanson
. Yoshida died at his home in Osaka
on January 16, 2008 after suffering from liver cancer
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
, who built a whole new audience for the traditional puppetering form of bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
by combining it with rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
Born as Teruo Takahashi in 1934, Yoshida was initiated into the Bunraku theatre as a disciple of Tamagoro Yoshida II in 1951, changing his name to Kotama Yoshida. For twenty years, he performed mostly female roles, until switching to male roles in the 1970s. Concerned by falling audience numbers and a lack of young people taking up bunraku, Yoshida combined the ancient art form with his love of rock music, which he combined for a 1980 adaptation of The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a love-suicide play by Chikamatsu. While not his first one nor his most popular , it is probably the most popular of his "domestic tragedies" or "domestic plays" as Donald Keene characterizes the...
(Sonezaki Shinjū) with the music written and performed by Japanese rock musician Ryudo Uzaki, and occasionally with a live orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
.
He was formerly married to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television personality and essayist Edith Hanson
Edith Hanson
Edith Hanson is an American television personality and essayist, living in Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan. Younger sister of World War II flying ace Robert M. Hanson....
. Yoshida died at his home in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
on January 16, 2008 after suffering from liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
.
External links
- Yoshida Bungo, Global Performing Arts Database