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Damascus International Fair - Syria

A Syrian puppeteer entertains children at the Damascus International Fair by imitating the role of the “Hakawati,” a traditional storyteller, while using hand puppets. The performance reflects Syria’s cultural heritage and was part of activities organized for young visitors. September 3, 2025. Photo by Mohammad Daher/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Damascus International Fair - Syria

A Syrian puppeteer entertains children at the Damascus International Fair by imitating the role of the “Hakawati,” a traditional storyteller, while using hand puppets. The performance reflects Syria’s cultural heritage and was part of activities organized for young visitors. September 3, 2025. Photo by Mohammad Daher/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Damascus International Fair - Syria

A Syrian puppeteer entertains children at the Damascus International Fair by imitating the role of the “Hakawati,” a traditional storyteller, while using hand puppets. The performance reflects Syria’s cultural heritage and was part of activities organized for young visitors. September 3, 2025. Photo by Mohammad Daher/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Turkish traditional shadow play has bonds with Silk Road

STORY: Turkish traditional shadow play has bonds with Silk Road SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 28, 2024 DATELINE: March 2, 2024 LENGTH: 00:03:07 LOCATION: Ankara CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of shadow play 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): BERKANT DEMIR, Puppeteer 3. various of shadow play 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): BERKANT DEMIR, Puppeteer 5.various of shadow play 6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): BERKANT DEMIR, Puppeteer 7. various of audience 8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): BERKANT DEMIR, Puppeteer STORYLINE: "When we think of the Silk Road, the first thing that pops into people's minds is trade. However, trade isn't limited to goods; it encompasses culture," said Berkant Demir, a young puppeteer at the Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum in the Turkish capital Ankara. Demir, a puppeteer of Türkiye's traditional shadow play Karagoz, highlighted how the cultural exchange along the Silk Road over the centuries had forged strong connections between peoples and nations, notably between the Chinese and the Turks. SOUNDBITE 1 (Tur

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XINHUA PHOTOS OF THE DAY

(231213) -- BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Iranian puppeteer Fahimeh Barotchi (R) reacts as Chen Daigong, puppeteer and inheritor of a local Chinese puppet performing art, demonstrates at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Iranian puppeteer Fahimeh Barotchi (R) gives instructions as Chen Daigong, puppeteer and inheritor of a local Chinese puppet performing art, learns to play at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Iranian puppeteer Fahimeh Barotchi (R) reacts as Chen Daigong, puppeteer and inheritor of a local Chinese puppet performing art, demonstrates at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Chen Daigong (1st L), puppeteer and inheritor of a local Chinese puppet performing art, looks on as an Iranian puppeteer talks in a session at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Chen Daigong (4th R), puppeteer and inheritor of a local Chinese puppet performing art, talks with Iranian puppeteers at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Iranian puppeteer Fahimeh Barotchi (1st L) tries a traditional Chinese puppet art at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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CHINA-FUJIAN-QUANZHOU-PUPPET ARTISTS (CN)

(231212) -- QUANZHOU, Dec. 12, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Iranian puppeteer Fahimeh Barotchi gives a performance at a puppet art preservation center in Jinjiang of Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 11, 2023. Puppet artists from 12 countries are invited to Quanzhou, a city widely believed to be the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, to give puppet performances and communicate with local puppet artists. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

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'Bunraku' puppet theater to be performed across Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Yohei Sasakawa (R), chairman of the Nippon Foundation, and noted puppeteer Kanjyuro Kiritake (2nd from R) strike a pose with others in Tokyo on Aug. 27, 2014. Sasakawa launched a "Japan Bunraku" project on the same day to promote the traditional Japanese puppet theater through performances across Japan on a ready-to-assemble temporary stage, funded by the foundation, starting with performances at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills next March.

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Bunraku enlivens ride on train to Nara

NARA, Japan - Bunraku puppeteer Kanjuro Kiritake (C) brings a puppet of the traditional Japanese art form to life aboard a special train heading to Nara Station in Nara Prefecture from Nada Station in Osaka Prefecture on the Kintesu Railways on March 27, 2010. Some 200 passengers enjoyed the performance as part of an event commemorating the 1,300th anniversary of the transfer of the national capital to Heijo, an ancient capital city located in current Nara City.

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- A member of Qixin puppet troupe packs puppets in Qitian Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on Aug. 10, 2022 shows a truck of Qixin puppet troupe on its way for a performance in Qitian Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Villagers watch a performace of Qixin puppet troupe in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Villagers watch a performace of Qixin puppet troupe in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Members of Qixin puppet troupe perform in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Xie Bangyin (R), head of Qixin puppet troupe, performs with troupe members in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Members of Qixin puppet troupe have dinner by the stage in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Xie Bangyin, head of Qixin puppet troupe, assembles a puppet in Dazhu Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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CHINA-JIANGXI-PUPPET TROUPE (CN)

(220817) -- NANCHANG, Aug. 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Xie Bangyin (R), head of Qixin puppet troupe, practices puppetry with a troupe member in Qitian Village of Tangfang Township in Guangchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Aug. 10, 2022. Tangfang puppetry is an opera in which artists perform stories with puppets. The puppetry was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2013. In 1997, Xie Bangyin, a folk puppeteer from Tangfang, founded Qixin Puppet Troupe with fellow puppeteers. During festivals and important events, local villages would invite the troupe to perform puppetry. Over the past 25 years, the troupe has given more than 3,500 performances. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

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Mobile puppet theater brings joy, change to West Bank children

STORY: Mobile puppet theater brings joy, change to West Bank children DATELINE: June 1, 2022 LENGTH: 00:05:21 LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the puppet show 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic) DIANA AL-SUWAITI, Palestinian artist 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic) DIANA AL-SUWAITI, Palestinian artist 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic) SALMA AL-JABARI, Local mother STORYLINE: It is hard to stay uninfected by the passion of Diana al-Suwaiti, a Palestinian artist, whenever she leads a five-member troupe to stage free puppet shows from one neighborhood to another in the West Bank, fascinating children and parents alike. Their caravan, converted from a minibus and meticulously decorated, always attracts eyeballs when it rumbles past. Once the venue was decided, they would put up a "refrigerator theatre," a mobile stage made of wood that could be quickly dissembled and put in the back of the vehicle. The Hebron-based puppeteer told Xinhua she came up with the tour idea in 2019 after seeing many local neigh

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Land Of The Dead (2005)

George A. Romero Characters: Puppeteer (voice) (uncredited) Film: Land Of The Dead (USA/CAN/FR 2005) Director: George A. Romero 18 June 2005 Date: 18 June 2005

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Land Of The Dead (2005)

George A. Romero & Asia Argento Characters: Puppeteer (voice) (uncredited) & Slack Film: Land Of The Dead (USA/CAN/FR 2005) Director: George A. Romero 18 June 2005 Date: 18 June 2005

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Land Of The Dead (2005)

George A. Romero Characters: Puppeteer (voice) (uncredited) Film: Land Of The Dead (USA/CAN/FR 2005) Director: George A. Romero 18 June 2005 Date: 18 June 2005

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Boy performing with small puppets

Undated coloured illustration of a boy performing with small puppets watched by a gentleman with two ladies, entitled Les petites Marionettes. HPG/8/2/1 (xxxi) Date: circa 1820

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JIRI TRNKA

JIRI TRNKA Czech animator and puppeteer JIRI TRNKA

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Custom-made hand puppet shop popular in Tokyo's Yanaka area

Harumi Ikeda beams with joy as she receives a custom-made hand puppet of herself from puppeteer Mitsuaki Tsuyuki at his studio in Tokyo's Yanaka area on Sept. 17, 2015. Tsuyuki takes orders to make puppets based on photos provided by the customer and is so popular that the waiting list was at one point as long as six years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Custom-made hand puppet shop popular in Tokyo's Yanaka area

Puppeteer Mitsuaki Tsuyuki shows off a collection of hand puppets he created at his studio in Tokyo's Yanaka area on Sept. 3, 2015. Tsuyuki also takes orders for custom-made puppets and said he hopes to perform overseas in the future. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Custom-made hand puppet shop popular in Tokyo's Yanaka area

A scene from hand puppet play "Winter Sonata after 50 years" created and performed by puppeteer Mitsuaki Tsuyuki at his studio in Tokyo's Yanaka area on Sept. 17, 2015. Tsuyuki takes orders for custom-made puppets and is so popular that the waiting list was at one point as long as six years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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"Nippon Bunraku" performance to be held in October

Kiritake Kanjuro (L), a Bunraku puppeteer, poses in Osaka, western Japan, on July 8, 2015, when the Nippon Foundation announced it will hold a performance in Osaka, western Japan, in October, as part of its "Nippon Bunraku" project promoting the traditional Japanese performing art. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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'Bunraku' puppeteer to assume master's name of Yoshida Tamao

"Bunraku" puppet handler Yoshida Tamame performs on March 18, 2015, before assuming his master's name of Yoshida Tamao in April. Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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New robot mimics movements of traditional 'bunraku' puppets

Renowned Japanese "bunraku" puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro (back) and his kimono-clad puppet pose with a prototype robot designed to mimic bunraku puppets' bodily movements at a press conference in Osaka, western Japan, on March 16, 2015. Kiritake helped a research team, led by Osaka University of Arts professor Shinobu Nakagawa, in their eight-year project to develop the humanoid. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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New robot imitates movements of traditional 'bunraku' puppets

A prototype robot designed to imitate the bodily movements of Japanese "bunraku" puppets in expressing emotions demonstrates its moves to the press in Osaka, western Japan, on March 16, 2015. A team of researchers led by Osaka University of Arts professor Shinobu Nakagawa spent eight years developing the humanoid, with the help of renowned bunraku puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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New robot mimics movements of traditional 'bunraku' puppets

A prototype robot designed to mimic the bodily movements of Japanese "bunraku" puppets in expressing emotions makes a courteous bow during a demonstration in Osaka, western Japan, on March 16, 2015. A research team led by Osaka University of Arts professor Shinobu Nakagawa spent eight years developing the humanoid, with the help of renowned bunraku puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Young 'Bunraku' puppeteer practices to lure youth audience

Kosuke Yoshida (R), a puppeteer for the traditional Japanese puppet play called Bunraku, practices at the Knowledge Theater in Osaka, western Japan, ahead of a show set to be played by young performers. The show was organized by five local TV broadcasters to promote the performing art among young generations. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Puppeteer reunites with old buddy in Tokyo

Veteran puppeteer Ikue Namba poses for photos at a cafe in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2015, with a puppet of "Torahige," a character from the children's puppet show "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" aired on the public network NHK TV in the 1960s. Namba, 80, manipulated the puppet on the program. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Puppeteer delights fans with live performance in Tokyo

Veteran puppeteer Ikue Namba (L) operates a puppet of "Torahige," a character from the children's puppet show "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" aired on the public network NHK TV in the 1960s, at a cafe in the Harajuku district of Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2015. Namba, 80, manipulated the puppet on the program. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Bunraku enlivens ride on train to Nara

NARA, Japan - Bunraku puppeteer Kazuo Yoshida (C) brings a puppet of the traditional Japanese art form to life aboard a special train heading to Nara Station in Nara Prefecture from Nada Station in Osaka Prefecture on the Kintesu Railways on March 27, 2010. Some 200 passengers enjoyed the performance as part of an event commemorating the 1,300th anniversary of the transfer of the national capital to Heijo, an ancient capital city located in current Nara City. (Kyodo)

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Bunraku enlivens ride on train to Nara

NARA, Japan - Bunraku puppeteer Kanjuro Kiritake (C) brings a puppet of the traditional Japanese art form to life aboard a special train heading to Nara Station in Nara Prefecture from Nada Station in Osaka Prefecture on the Kintesu Railways on March 27, 2010. Some 200 passengers enjoyed the performance as part of an event commemorating the 1,300th anniversary of the transfer of the national capital to Heijo, an ancient capital city located in current Nara City. (Kyodo)

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'Bunraku' puppet theater to be performed across Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Yohei Sasakawa (R), chairman of the Nippon Foundation, and noted puppeteer Kanjyuro Kiritake (2nd from R) strike a pose with others in Tokyo on Aug. 27, 2014. Sasakawa launched a "Japan Bunraku" project on the same day to promote the traditional Japanese puppet theater through performances across Japan on a ready-to-assemble temporary stage, funded by the foundation, starting with performances at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills next March. (Kyodo)