Shadow puppet theater finds appreciative audience in Japan

Shadow puppet theater finds appreciative audience in Japan

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Kartika Bagus C.
Contributor
Surakarta, Central Java
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In Javanese culture, the shadow puppet show depicts life in
this world, where there is a dichotomy of black and white, good
and evil, sorrow and happiness. It is this depiction of life that
makes the shadow puppet show really appeal to those well versed
in this traditional art.

Through some of the witty characters like Semar, Gareng,
Petruk and Bagong, all known as punakawan, a shadow puppet show
does not only convey the noble qualities of life but also conveys
moral messages valuable for our daily lives. It is this aspect of
the show that makes shadow puppet lovers glued to the show the
whole night through.

One of the shadow puppet masters actively engaged in
conserving this traditional Javanese art is Ki Mantep Sudharsono.
Hailing from Surakarta in Central Java, he is well known as one
of the pioneers of the art form.

Between Nov. 8 and Nov. 13, Ki Mantep Sudharsono, seven
gamelan players and a traditional Javanese singer will perform
shadow puppet shows in Japan for the opening and closing of the
Japanese Arts Festival 2001, held in the city of Gunma. Ki Mantep
will perform Dewa Ruci, a story taken from the Mahabarata epic.

The puppet master said the shows would last for only for two
and half hours, a compact form of the normal show. "For the
closing of the festival, we are going to perform Sumantri Ngenger
(Sumantri Takes a Master), a story from the Ramayana," he said.

Apart from performing at the festival, Ki Mantep will also
perform his shadow puppet shows at a number of hotels in Tokyo,
in a program arranged by the association of shadow leather puppet
show lovers in Japan, Nihon Wayang Kyokai, headed by Matsumoto, a
lecturer and researcher of leather puppets.

Ki Mantep said there are quite a lot of fans of Indonesian
leather puppet shows in Japan. "Leather puppet shows held in
Japan - in Tokyo and some other cities - are always packed and
the tickets are often sold out even before the shows are staged,"
he said, obviously very pleased with this situation.

His performances for the Japan Arts Festival are unique in
that he got assistance from eight female members of Nihon Wayang
Kyokai, who will perform as gamelan players and also from Hiromi,
a Japanese student at the Surakarta-based Indonesia Arts
Institute. Hiromi will be the singer of traditional Javanese
songs.

"The gamelan players from Nihon Wayang Kyokai rehearsed at my
house in August. They are already skillful at playing the
Javanese gamelan," Ki Mantep said, adding that he was sure the
collaboration between Indonesian and Japanese gamelan players
would prove a great success.

The gamelan being used for these shows was also special as it
was a set of Slendro gamelan provided by Nihon Wayang Kyokai. He
said that a set of leather puppets had also been made available
by this association and added that only a few puppets for certain
characters were brought from Indonesia.

Unsurprisingly, Ki Mantep and his troupe were very
enthusiastic about their shows in Japan. He said that it was an
honor for him to be invited to Japan for the third time. He had
performed in Japan in 1997 and 2000.

"The Japanese are known to be very busy and have a high
standard of living. However, they also accept and appreciate the
culture of other nations, particularly the leather puppet show
from Java."