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Says Pate:
Their depth and mystery comes from the way that these dolls are used, how… they
are magically transformed from inert assemblages to living beings filled with
emotion and power…. Such is their extraordinary sense of vivacity on stage that to
see them… inert after a performance it is difficult to believe that they are actually
inanimate. 56
Part of this powerful transformation stems from the profoundly emotional
stories that the ningyō bring to life. Said to have been the backbone behind
kabuki performance “with its fantastic costuming, outrageous plots and
magical stage effects…. The stories that these [bunraku] dolls tell, the heroes
and heroines, villains and evildoers, so vividly portrayed by these stunning
figures, are [also] woven into the warp and weft of Japanese society”. 57
It is bunraku, or ningyō jōruri, that has laid a foundation for Japanese
tragic theatre and literature as well as a particular understanding of
*
archetypal tragedy for the people of Japan.
* As Ian Buruma (1985) has stated, “the clearest case of life and theatre overlapping is the greatest
doll-woman of all time… the geisha” (p. 72). Also referred to as a “living doll” the geisha is an
important factor in regard to Japanese relationships with dolls. Furthermore, in relation to “littlegirl”
culture and theatre, there is the Takarazuka Young Girls’ Opera Company, established in 1914,
whereby young girls are cloistered, protected from the outside world and raised to perform in an
all-girls’ theatre. In a similar fashion to geisha, Takarazuka members are taught etiquette and
traditional accomplishments such as flower arrangement, tea ceremony ritual, singing, dancing and
playing of musical instruments. However, I have chosen not to elaborate on these two subjects as
they become topics in themselves and this would break the thread of the discussion, especially as
they deviate from the themes of this section, namely superstition, tragedy, pathos, memory, loss,
trauma and bereavement.
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