Japanese culture: Karakuri dolls actually play koto: beautiful melody
-Osaka puppeteer completed over 7 years-
Susumu Higashino (71):
Karakuri puppeteer in Neyagawa City, Osaka Prefecture.
He completed a puppet playing a koto in about seven years.
According to Mr. Higashino, he used to “pretend” to play the shamisen in time with the sound.
However, there is no example of a doll that actually plays a sound.
Dolls playing sounds:
It will be unveiled at the Edo-Tokyo Museum (Sumida-ku, Tokyo) in July 2021.
A female doll in a kimono sitting in front of a small koto.
Pluck the strings with her right hand while moving her body back and forth.
Beautiful melody:
The beautiful melody of the Japanese folk song “Sakura Sakura” echoed.
It is powered by the mainspring inside the doll’s pedestal.
You can also play “Arajo no Tsuki”.
Mr. Higashino repeated “subtle adjustment of each movement” tens of thousands of times.
He recalls that it was a tremendous task.
Kyodo news