Bunraku Puppet
- Date:
- 20th century
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Dimensions:
- 21 × 30.5 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
The Bunraku puppet — a genre of Japanese theater in which large, half-life-size dolls are operated by three puppeteers visible to the audience — here becomes a subject for Sekino's graphic analysis. The puppet's face, with its fixed expression calibrated for legibility at stage distance, acquires a different quality in the stillness of a woodblock print: the stylized features read simultaneously as mask, face, and sculpture.
More Prints by Jun'ichiro Sekino
More Kabuki Prints
Kabuki Theater
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
Onoe Shoroku II as the tattooed villain Danshichi
1955
Woodblock print
View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph
Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bunraku Puppet was created by Jun'ichiro Sekino (関野準一郎) in 20th century.
Bunraku Puppet uses Moku-hanga, Nishiki-e, and Sumi, on color woodblock print.
Bunraku Puppet depicts kabuki.
Bunraku Puppet measures 21 × 30.5 cm.