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Subject: Dead Media Working Note 03.6
Dead medium: Karakuri; the Japanese puppet theater of
Chikamatsu
Source: AUTOMATA AND MECHANICAL TOYS, an illustrated
history by Mary Hillier. Bloomsbury Books, London 1976,
1988. ISBN 1 870630 27 0.
page 36
"In the book *Karakuri Zui* published in 1797 (kindly
translated for me by Suzume Matsudaira) an historical
account is given of the founding of a famous mechanical
theatre and the family who carried it on for over 100
years. Early in the 17th century, a man called Yasui
Doton created a favorite pleasure spot in Osaka by joining
two branches of the Yohori River with a canal. (...) On
25th May 1662, a little theatre for the performance of
karakuri was opened here by Takeda Omi. The performances
may be judged to have been a clever combination of working
devices, conjuring and showmanship. (...) During the next
100 years there were at least five generations who adopted
the name of Takeda Omi or Takeda Izumo (...)
"The founder, Takeda Omi I, was born in Awa and seems
originally to have made his name as a clockmaker. (...)
Originally he made 'sand clocks' (((sand pouring from a
hopper to drive a series of gears and wheels.))) A famous
clock he presented to the Emperor of Japan worked by lead
weights suspended from a key-wound cylinder. This was his
piece de resistance; he took eight years to construct it
(...) The 'Eternal Clock' not only struck the time of day
but showed the seasons, the months and the days (...) It
brought Takeda great fame and more especially permission
from the Emperor to open a theatre for the mechanical toys
which (...) Takeda had exhibited publicly to earn a
living.
"After establishing the little theatre by the waterside
and running it for some twelve years, Takeda left the
operation of it to his young brother Kiyotaka (Takeda Omi
II). The repertoire (...) is pictured in a lively manner
in a little three-volume book published in 1730, *Karakuri
Kimmo Kagamigusa* ('Instruction in Kamakuri') with woodcut
illustrations by the well-known Ukiyo-e artist Kawaeda
Toyonobu. (...) The show was obviously intended mainly for
adults although a few children are also watching the
curious mixture of wizardry, trickery and mechanical
expertise. (...)
"Among 28 separate items pictured in *Karakuri Kimmo
Kagamigusa* some seem to have been worked by actual
clockwork (always with wooden cogs and gear wheels) others
by purely physical power, driven by running sand or water
movement or even on a system of levers and pulleys. (...)
"One of the acts is a fortune-telling doll pointing in
turn to portraits of different gods. From the snatch of
conversation it is clear that this also involved a sort of
lottery. (...) One of the cleverest inventions was a
little tumbling man: 'An acrobatic doll that turned head
over heels down three steps.' This (...) seems to have
inspired later European toymakers who were producing a
miniature version based on the same idea by the end of the
eighteenth century.
"The fame of the theatre and these makers of automata
spread, and through the first half of the eighteenth
century there is reference to them in various books.
*Kagami Choja Kagami* 1714 described a very rich man's
house and how it contained an artificial tiger made by
Takeda Omi I. It blew wind from its mouth into the guest
room when the weather was hot like a sort of automatic
fan.
"The Karakuri performances enjoyed such a vogue that
competitors also opened up other theatres. A young man
called Yasagoro was spoken of as an unrivalled master of
the art in 1705 and especially good at 'Water Magic:' the
close proximity of the river meant that wheels and
machinery could be worked by water power.
"With the second generation of Takeda Omi the
mechanical devices were put to a more serious purpose.
The great Japanese playwright Chikamatsu, who devised
dramas in the classical tradition of the Kabuki stage, was
no more than a child of eight when the Takeda theatre
opened in 1662. (...) By 1705 when he was already famous,
we find Chikamatsu settling down as the playwright of
another prosperous Osaka theatre, Takemoto, run by yet
another member of the Takeda family (Takeda Izumo, himself
a playwright). Instructions which accompany some of his
plays include such comments as 'Grand karakuri in which
Princess Jamateru changes into a mermaid,' or 'Princess
Ikoma's spirit runs after Izuta along the pine tree
branch. Grand karakuri will be shown in this scene.'
(((Takeda Omi III had his greatest triumph in Edo (now
Tokyo) in 1741.))) "This was the greatest performance in
his lifetime and created such a furore that the crowd
rushed his theatre and the doors were closed at opening
time for three consecutive days. (...) Apart from their
skill in performance, the dolls must have been most
beautifully constructed and attractive in appearance since
they appealed to so many contemporary artists. But
perhaps the public taste became more sophisticated (...)
It is possible also that the standard of performance had
deteriorated (...) We are told that by 1758 the theatre
performed 27 programmes a day, starting at 8 in the
morning and ending at 4 in the afternoon. (...) By 1772
the last of the theatres had closed down and a tradition
which had flourished for over 100 years died.
"(...) In modern times enthusiasts have skillfully
reconstructed some of the toys after Takeda's originals,
and using the same materials, Professor Tatsukawa built a
model of the tea-serving doll which worked so successfully
it was given a programme on television."
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Media | 0.01-02.0 | 02.1-04.0
| 04.1-06.0 | 06.1-08.0 |
08.1-10.0 | 10.1-12.0 |