Every spring, Tokushima's historic ningyo joruri puppet theatre tradition takes centre stage at the Awa Ningyō Joruri Festival held on the castle park grounds. Master puppeteers from the region's official preservation troupes perform classic Edo-period plays using the distinctive Awa style, renowned for its expressive three-person puppeteering technique. Craft workshops allow visitors to handle replica puppet heads and try manipulating the mechanisms under guidance from practitioners. The festival is an important platform for transmitting this UNESCO-adjacent intangible cultural heritage to new generations.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Culture
- Season
- Spring
- Month
- April
- Region
- Shikoku
- Prefecture
- Tokushima
- City
- Tokushima
Highlights
- ◆Open-air ningyo joruri puppet performances
- ◆Three-person Awa puppeteering technique demonstrations
- ◆Hands-on puppet manipulation workshops
- ◆400-year-old living cultural tradition
- ◆Regional preservation troupes performing