Bunraku, didn't sleep as much as I expected

So yesterday we went to see a Bunraku play. Bunraku, by the way, is the very intricate art of puppet theater. After my group gave a presentation in class we all left for Osaka and successfully arrived (after one incident) at the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka.

Allow me now to describe the experience. We were the only young people there. There were not more than 10 people other than us who were under 50. Everyone seemed to be in their 70’s or 80’s. This gave the building an interesting smell. In fact, it was a very similar smell to the one that you get in hospitals and on cruise ships. I don’t know what it is, but senior citizens do have a distinct smell. Maybe it is some sort of medical product. It isn’t a bad smell, just unique. We were seated and all tuned into the English explanation of Bunraku and the plot of the play via a wireless broadcast system. Bunraku is a very refined art form, and requires years of training to maneuver the puppets. Then the play began. I must say, I was actually a little disappointed in the puppets. I can’t help but feel that I have seen Bunraku before, and done better, but I don’t know where or how that is possible. However, I was impressed with the plot. It is one of the only things I have ever seen where there is a love story and the love story is both the feature of the work and almost tangential to the plot. It was interesting how it was more about the implications of an affair than the affair itself, which gets almost no time. It was very interesting, but it was a long time to be sitting. I can’t say I would go back though, it just wasn’t my style.

So for the rest of the night I helped Mary hobble around on her slightly sprained ankle. Then we went back to Seta and I learned about 15 Japanese words from Maiyumi.

By the way, I am greatly impressed with how my confidence has grown. Today we took the bus, and I saw a girl that I have seen around campus on several occasions. I went over and introduced myself, something that I would have never done 2 years ago. I have grown a lot, I think.