Hello one and all!
Today I will be discussing a fascinating medium of entertainment: Japanese shadow puppetry. I happened upon this while I was researching for another article, and so I thought I'd share it here. Hope you enjoy.
Japanese Shadow Puppets
Before the advent of cinema in Japan, people sat in the dark and watched strange, insubstantial figures flit about. No, this isn't some horror story but a form of entertainment.
The magic lantern was introduced to Japan in the 18th century by the Dutch and it was used to project still and moving images. These lanterns were usually made of paulownia wood and each one projected a single shadow puppet.
The first recorded lantern show took place in the Tokyo area in 1803, in which paper screens were used for rear projection and hand-held lanterns were moved by operators. A number of the slides that were used had multiple images and it created a form of animation.
These utsushi-e shows remained the dominant form of image projection in Japan until the start of the 20th century. The puppet shows were multimedia forms of entertainment, with narration, music and images all rolled into one experience. Well-known comic episodes and tales were interpreted and told in the shadow puppet theater.
In the West there were magic lantern shows in approximately the same time period but the utsushi-e differed in some key aspects. Firstly, the Japanese lanterns were mostly of wood and as a result early lanterns are exceedingly rare. Secondly, the Japanese shows used rear-screen projection and featured multiple hand-held lanterns that were moved about by showmen.
Around the time of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) large numbers of small magic lanterns were even manufactured for use in homes and to entertain children. With the advent of cinema the lantern's preeminent role in entertainment came to an end, but it continued to live on long after that as the commonly known slide projector.
Thank you for reading!
Sources:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/adv/wol/dy/opinion/culture_150615.html
Today I will be discussing a fascinating medium of entertainment: Japanese shadow puppetry. I happened upon this while I was researching for another article, and so I thought I'd share it here. Hope you enjoy.
Japanese Shadow Puppets
Before the advent of cinema in Japan, people sat in the dark and watched strange, insubstantial figures flit about. No, this isn't some horror story but a form of entertainment.
The magic lantern was introduced to Japan in the 18th century by the Dutch and it was used to project still and moving images. These lanterns were usually made of paulownia wood and each one projected a single shadow puppet.
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| An exact replica of a nineteenth century Japanese lantern by Fumio Yamagata. |
The first recorded lantern show took place in the Tokyo area in 1803, in which paper screens were used for rear projection and hand-held lanterns were moved by operators. A number of the slides that were used had multiple images and it created a form of animation.
 |
| Projection in an utsushi-e show. |
These utsushi-e shows remained the dominant form of image projection in Japan until the start of the 20th century. The puppet shows were multimedia forms of entertainment, with narration, music and images all rolled into one experience. Well-known comic episodes and tales were interpreted and told in the shadow puppet theater.
 |
| Difference between utsushi-e and magic lanterns. |
Around the time of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) large numbers of small magic lanterns were even manufactured for use in homes and to entertain children. With the advent of cinema the lantern's preeminent role in entertainment came to an end, but it continued to live on long after that as the commonly known slide projector.
Thank you for reading!
Sources:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/adv/wol/dy/opinion/culture_150615.html
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