Takeda Ningyo Theater Doll, Graceful Noble Man

The era of Ningyo Joruri (puppet play) began in 1684 when Takemoto Gidayu, a narrator, opened Takemoto theater in Dotonbori. Dotonbori has been the "Broadway of Japan" located in the distinctive trading city of Osaka where traders and merchants gather together. Gidayu was joined by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the genius playwright who was often called "the Shakespeare of Japan." Many of the audience were merchants. They were economically stronger but yet their social ranking was at the bottom under the strict Tokugawa government. Chikamatsu grabbed their hearts with stories filled with emotion; tears, the duty and royalty over their true feeling, unfilled love because of the family or society and so on.

In 1704, there was a double suicide in Sonezaki, Osaka. It was a hopeless love between a prostitute and a poor worker which ended in tragedy. Chikamatsu quickly wrote a script called Sonezaki Shinju (double suicide) based on the incident; it was played on the stage exactly one month after the suicide. We may easily picture a scene with a beautiful doll sobbing behind her kimono sleeve while a Gidayu narrated with a Shamisen (guitar like instrument) plays in the background. The play was a huge success and the theater was able to continue after some slow years.

They were joined by the Takeda brothers, Omi and Izumo (some say they were father and a son or others). They had background in the Karakuri (mechanical doll) theater. Takeda Omi was a former watch maker (it is said) which helped to bring exciting technical stage effects to the theater. Chikamatsu came from Kabuki and continued to collaborate with Kabuki. The golden age of the puppet theater came two rival theaters, Takemoto-za and Toyotake-za competing from 1730 to 1750 after the death of Chikamatsu and Gidayu. The popularity quickly declined after experiencing a fire and the death of Takeda Izumo, a producer and screen writer. The Takemoto theater closed its doors in 1767, Toyotake-za (1703-1765). Takeda dolls are said to be modeled after the theater play from this era. There is a strong possibility that the dolls were made by the Joruri doll makers after business started to decline. Nobody knows for sure who, when and where the Takeda dolls were made. The quality of the dolls tells us that they were made in the Kyoto area where the best dolls and silk textiles had been made. You find some rare quality textiles in their clothes. Many dolls look as if they are posing for an applause from the audience. You might even distinguish each character of the dolls from the Joruri script.

The theater troupe must have traveled everywhere as even today it goes from the Broadway to other towns. The dolls were discovered everywhere in Japan (though the numbers were very limited). There was a recent discovery in the small town; the people had been puzzled for years why there were so many impressive looking dolls in their town, until someone discovered the public documents indicating that their town had invited the theater troupe from Osaka twice during the Edo Period. Today, Takeda dolls are displayed in museums, the community centers and other public places while very few good dolls are coming out to market today.

I found a very similar doll to this one at the website of one museum (Homma Museum) in Japan. The photo will be attached in the last enlargement here. They named their doll (they guessed) as Taira no Koremori from the Heian Period. All from the Taira family were defeated by the Minamoto family or took their own life which ended the Heian Period. He is in the famous play, Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura supposedly written by Takeda Izumo. He was so handsome (even among the beautiful Taira family) that people thought that he was the rebirth of Hikaru Genji (The tale of Genji).

Total 16 inches tall on a 3 3/4 inches original base.