Shadow puppet theater finds audience in Japan

Kartika Bagus C., Contributor, Surakarta, Central Java

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."