bunraku means A traditional form of Japanese puppet theatre. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “bunraku” is a great word
BUNRAKU — [Noun] A traditional form of Japanese puppet theatre performed to chanted narration and the accompaniment of a shamisen. From Japanese 文楽 (bunraku), from the name of the Bunraku-za theatre (established 1789–1801 in Osaka), itself from Middle Chinese elements meaning 'literature' and 'enjoyment'. Unlike *kabuki*, a stylized, actor-driven drama of bold spectacle, or a *marionette*, a stringed figure of European tradition controlled from above, bunraku centers on large, intricate puppets each animated in full view by a team of three black-clad manipulators. It is the silent glide of the puppeteers moving as one, the shamisen’s plucked string quivering beneath a narrator’s guttural cry, and the uncanny focus that falls upon a carved face until it seems to breathe—a ceremony where artifice and spirit become indistinguishable, and the absence of a living actor makes the sorrow more profound.
noun
- A traditional form of Japanese puppet theatre.