Machi no Hi — a brand-new bunraku adaptation of Charlie Chaplin’s classic City Lights. My first words after the show: “An absolute masterpiece.” A production far too good to keep just for bunraku fans. It was truly wonderful.
What Is the Bunraku Summer Festival?
The Bunraku Summer Festival was an evening program held at the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, running alongside the Summer Vacation Special Bunraku Performances. The lineup was a double bill: Kotobuki Hashiradate Manzai, followed by Machi no Hi, a new bunraku play based on Chaplin’s City Lights, receiving its world premiere. The script and direction were by Hiroyuki Ono, a leading Chaplin scholar, with puppet supervision by Kanjuro Kiritake.
One surprise: the program booklet was handed out for free instead of being sold. How generous is that?
You Don’t Need to Know the Original
Confession: I’ve never actually seen the film City Lights — I only knew the outline. And it didn’t matter one bit. The story is clear and approachable, yet still packed with everything that makes bunraku bunraku. Pure entertainment, and I was buzzing with excitement for the full two hours. It flew by. Wait, it’s over already? I wanted to keep watching — and honestly, I could have watched forever.
How were the famous scenes adapted? No idea — I don’t know the famous scenes (lol). And that’s perfectly fine.
Kurogo and Dezukai: Two Views in One Evening
One striking piece of staging: in the first half, all the puppeteers performed in kurogo — black robes and hoods that hide their faces — while in the second half, the lead puppeteers appeared dezukai, with their faces visible.
Thanks to the kurogo, I could focus completely on the puppets. Though, to be honest, I’d wanted to watch Kanjuro’s expressions and glances as he worked. So when the second half turned out to be dezukai, I went “yay!” — and quietly felt relieved (lol).
But really, the kurogo let me concentrate purely on the puppets. What brilliant staging.
The biggest laugh of the night was the sumo scene. The puppets wear no kimono there, so the puppeteers’ hands are in plain sight — such a strange, fascinating view. I got to stare at Kanjuro’s hands at work. An absolute feast for the eyes.
What a Different Seat Taught Me
This time, wanting to focus on the puppets, I took a front seat on the left side of the house (as you face the stage). I usually sit on the right — my self-proclaimed “tayu-and-shamisen bliss seat” — so this was refreshingly new. Sitting farther from the musicians’ platform, I noticed how beautifully the puppets, the tayu, and the shamisen blend together… Could this be how it’s actually meant to be experienced…? (lol)
Kanjuro, of All People
The theater was collecting donations for the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake relief fund, and I’d heard performers would join the collection only before each show. When I donated before Part 2, I got to exchange a few words with Kansuke Kiritake — my spirits were already soaring. He said something to me that made me laugh, which put me right at ease.
Surely, I thought, Kanjuro himself wouldn’t be out there.
Before Part 3, I went to rent an earphone guide and… there he was 😭 I could not handle it. I hovered at a distance for a while, looking so suspicious I started to dislike myself. “You’ll regret this!” I thought — and fled to the restroom first. Then the five-minute bell rang! When the crowd thinned, I walked back to the donation box and, heart pounding, spoke to him. “I’m a huge fan — I’m always rooting for you.” And about the relief fund: “Thank you so much for doing this 🙏” Quietly floating on air, I somehow got the words out. He was so wonderful I nearly died.
Final Thoughts
An absolute masterpiece. The best. All of it, the best.
This should be performed in many more places! I can only see it winning bunraku a whole new crowd of fans. I want a Tokyo run, a revival, a streaming release — and greedy as it is, I want to see it one more time!
My only regret is that I came during the final week, so there’s no going back for more. That aside — as always, today was the absolute best!
