Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe

The Japanese Studies Program at MU offers students the unique opportunity to participate in one of Japan's most intriguing and enduring arts forms, the traditional Japanese puppet theater known as ningyo joruri or Bunraku. The Japanese Studies Program at the University of Missouri sponsors the only traditional Japanese puppet troupe active outside Japan, the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe. The Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, which is directed by Professor Martin Holman, coordinator of the Japanese Studies Program at MU, has had the honor performing in Japan and across the US, including venues in Florida, Virginia, New York, as well as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

During the 2007-2008 academic year, Bunraku Bay performed at the University of Chicago and Knox College in Illinois, at Penn State University, in Indianapolis, and around Missouri, in addition to their annual appearance at the Iida Puppetry Festival in Nagano, Japan.

In the coming year, Bunraku Bay is scheduled to return to Japan and also to perform in Maine, Ohio, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Idaho, Utah, and other locations.

Any student at MU may choose to participate in Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe. Contact Professor Holman for details or consult the Troupe website.