Ningyo Johruri Bunraku Puppet Theatre

　　Today, the pre-eminent venue is the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, but its renowned troupe also performs in Tokyo and regional theatres. Approximately 160 works out of the 700 plays written during the Edo period have remained in today's repertoire. Performances, once lasting the entire day, have been shortened from the original six to two or three acts. In 1955, the Japanese government designated Ningyo Johruri Bunraku an Important Intangible Cultural Property, and it faces no serious threat nowadays. This popular stage art attracts numerous young performers, and the plays' aesthetic qualities and dramatic content continue to appeal to modern audiences.

　　To promote better understanding of Ningyo Johruri Bunraku among a wider public, the number of public performances will be increased, and the live performances will be video-recorded. The action plan also calls for official recognition of accomplished practitioners as "bearers of an important intangible cultural property" and for the training of new generations of performers in the techniques of this traditional theatre.