Artist aims to raise puppets' profile -- no strings attached

The puppeteers of Hachioji city on the outskirts of Tokyo dress in black and sit behind the dolls on small carts with wheels

In this story: A new repertoire Reaching for a new generation RELATED STORIES, SITES

HACHIOJI, Japan (Reuters) -- The Kuruma Ningyo, or "cart dolls," of this Tokyo-area community were invented in the 1800s to help spread Buddhist teachings to people living in isolated villages.

Now a Japanese man is trying to raise the unique puppets' profile, and he's adding fresh touches aimed at reaching new audiences.

In Japanese puppet theater, dolls wearing colorful silk kimonos act out scenes from classical Japanese literature or folklore and dance to traditional tunes.

But unlike marionette puppeteers who manipulate the dolls from above by using strings, the puppeteers of Hachioji city dress in black and sit behind the dolls on small carts with wheels.

Operators hold the limbs of the dolls in their own hands and bring them to life, moving about freely on the stage.

When the dolls first were invented, puppeteers went around villages with their dolls to enact plays with Buddhist themes at shrine and temple festivals.

Then, about a century ago, music and dance steps were added to the religious puppet theater, making it more lively.

Hoping to increase awareness of the tradition, Koryu Nishikawa, a fifth-generation puppet master, has also added new acts to the repertoire of his meter-high (3.2-foot) puppets.

Some of them now wear ruffled dresses instead of silk kimonos, and sway and twirl in time with lively Spanish guitar music rather than traditional Japanese music.

"We do curtain calls using Japanese songs, but while on tour in South America, in Mexico, we thought it would be nice to do something with a tune that everyone knows," he said. "Flamenco was a hit amongst the foreign audience and I thought that if I made some other dance numbers like it, it would appeal to young Japanese people."

A century or so ago, a class of craftsmen specialized in carving the heads of the puppets, complete with eyebrows and eyes that moved.

A child from the audience is introduced to puppeteering. His hands and feet bring the limbs of the doll to life

But now Nishikawa and his father make everything from the wooden heads to the hands and feet, which are made to move by a complicated network of whale whiskers attached to the limbs and fingers of the puppet.

Not only are puppet craftsmen hard to find; young people willing to act as puppeteers are scarce, too.

Nishikawa, together with the city Hachioji, hold workshops to introduce the art to people with hopes that young children especially will take interest.

"It looks easy, but when I tried it the dolls were very heavy," said 12-year-old Takatsugu Hatano. "But I think it is very interesting."

"Today I was able to see how the dolls move, and it was a lot of fun," added Tsume Hoshi.

Nishikawa -- who currently has eight adults in his puppet troupe -- also holds workshops and performances abroad.

"In Europe, puppet theater has become something for children and is not seen as an art," he said.

"In order to make something that appeals to adults and is more sophisticated, the puppets need to be bigger, and I have been teaching people how to use the carts."

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