• Six days in the historic cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara and five days in Tokushima on the Island of Shikoku.
  
• Two months of training in traditional Bunraku puppet theater in the city of Iida in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan under the tutelage of members the Imada Puppet Troupe, which traces its history back more than 300 years.
• Opportunity to train in vocals or playing the samisen in the puppet theater.
  
• Five-week (or longer) homestay with a Japanese family
• Three-day stay in a traditional Edo Period mountain village.
  
• Opportunities to perform on stage in Japan.
• Access to metropolitan and cultural centers of Nagoya, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka
• Many opportunities for outdoor activities nearby in the mountains, rivers, and lakes (hiking, climbing, biking, swimming, fishing, kayaking)
• Opportunities to participate in other traditional Japanese arts (taiko drumming, lion dance, etc) and in martial arts training.
  
• Attendance at and participation in performances and local festivals
• Opportunity to participate in many community activities in a friendly, welcoming environment in Japan
• An average of at least three free days a week explore locally or travel independently to other parts of Japan
• No previous knowledge of Japanese language or of theater is required

June 2 ~ August 10, 2010

The program will begin in Kyoto, where participants will stay at the newly-remodeled Utano Youth Hostel. During the first 12 days of the program students will visit historic sights in Kyoto and Nara and see performances of traditional theater in Osaka, on the island of Awajian din Tokushima on the island of Shikoku. From there the program will move to Iida, where students will live in homestays with Japanese families for next five weeks month of the program, then three days in an Edo Period village in the mountains near Iida, followed by two weeks in a Japanese-style hot springs inn, and finally one weeks at a hotel in teh middle of the festivities in central Iida during the Iida Puppetry Festival and the Ringon Festival. 

Training in traditional Bunraku puppetry will be conducted two or three days per week at the theater of the Imada Puppet Theater, with more frequent rehearsals in the week or two leading up to the final performance at the Iida Puppetry Festival, which runs August 5~8. Outside scheduled rehearsal and performance times and other scheduled program activities,students will be free to explore on their own or in groups.

This program is designed for students who have the self-confidence to take responsibility for themselves and actively explore the opportunities they are given. Students will be expected to attend all scheduled rehearsals and program activities.

The Japanese members of the traditional puppet troupes are experts in their art. Some of them can trace their lineage in puppetry back to ancestors who were working as puppeteers in the 1700s. Through their training with these masters of traditional puppetry, students can begin to learn an art with a long and venerable history. By working shoulder to shoulder learning from the puppeteers of Imada, students also can also come to understand the importance of community and trust in Japanese culture.

Students with a background in stringed instruments may also choose to receive training in playing the samisen, which is the instrument used in the music of the puppet theater.

Students may also participate in taiko drumming lessons and martial arts. Traditional archery (kyudo) has proven popular with many students on the summer program. 

Video of Previous Program Students on YouTube:

The Ringon Festival is held on the last Saturday of the program, and the students always participate in the street dancing:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swfZZvqf0og&NR=1

Karaoke at Metropolis was a popular activity:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2jp3iWFrwY

Life After Summer 2010

Alumni of the Bunraku puppetry training program in Japan are eligible to audition to perform with Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe after they return to the US. Previous alumni from puppetry training programs in Japan have performed as members of Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Hood Museum at Darmouth College, Austin College in Texas, the Orlando Puppet Festival, Morikami Museum and Gardens and at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Florida, the University of Chicago, Brigham Young University, Willamette University in Oregon, Penn State University, Knox College in Illinois, the University of Southern Indiana, Giant Magnet Theater Festival in Seattle, the Greater Kansas City Japan Festival, the St. Louis Japanese Festival, the Japan Society in New York City, and many other venues.

For more information on Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, visit the Troupe website at the following URL: www.bunraku.org/

Of course, students who participate in the summer 2010 program are under no obligation after the summer ends. But those who are interested may have the opportunity to continue to perform Japanese puppet theater with Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, the only traditional Japanese puppet troupe active in North America.

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Program Costs

Information on program costs are available at the MU International Center website:

http://international.missouri.edu/studyabroad/programs/summer/japan-iida/

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For More Information

please contact the program director:

Martin Holman
Coordinator, Japanese Studies Program
443 Strickland Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri 65211
Email: holmanma@missouri.edu  Tel. (573) 882-3368

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To Apply for the Summer 2010 Program

 Puppetry training will take place in the home theater of the Imada Puppet Troupe.

Imada Puppetry Hall

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2008 Students with the Mayor of Iida (left) and with the Mayor of Iida and Governor of Nagano Prefecture (right)

 

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Mizzou Students Received Instruction in Kyudo (Traditional Japanese Archery)
at the Iida Municipal Martial Arts Center

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Students will spend three days in Edo-Period houses in Odairajuku,
an old village in the mountains just west of Iida.

Can you find the monkey (Japanese Macaque, Macaca fuscata)
in the photo on the left below?

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Hiking the mountains and hills around Iida is a popular summer pasttime.

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Photographs of rehearsals, performances, and other activities from previous programs

 



 

in Japan's "Southern Alps"
in Nagano Prefecture, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics
Home of the Imada Puppet Troupe and Kuroda Puppet Troupe

 

Carrying a shrine float in the Ringon Festival in Iida.

This page last updated May 24, 2010.