On my first visit to Tokyo, my friend took me to a very special place named "Jusaburo-kan Museum." It is a museum and studio of master puppet maker, Tsujimura Jusaburo. In the past, his puppet show on TV was quite famous. Tsjimura was not only an actor, but also the master who made all those puppets.
From the entrance, I liked the place so much! There was a large display, which showcased wonderful dolls that I had never seen before. The museum-studio had two floors. Both floors had working places where one could watch the process of making dolls and puppets. There were some unfinished dolls. As I make dolls myself, I was amazed by the stock of fabrics (I used to have less), and looking at the dolls of Tsjimura, I understood why he had so much. The dolls were dressed in multi-layer kimono, each doll was unique. The details of the dolls – faces, fingers, even veins, were fascinating to see. I spent some time on the ground floor and then went up to the upper floor.
On the upper floor, I found the display “ Moulin Rouge” with half-naked elegant dancers and a lot of glitter. By that time some more visitors had arrived and Tsujimura demonstrated some of the puppets to us. It was a miracle to watch how they became alive in the hands of a master! As I understood, there were performances time after time in the studio as I noticed a small theater screen. In that room there was the display of puppets, and one group of them were ex-stars of the TV show. Mostly the puppets were “cane” type that we also use in a puppet theater. The puppets by Tsujimura were made with great details, too. I was told that he made all of the accessories and the jewelry himself.
All of the puppets had different outfits and expressive faces. I could examine all the details for a long time. My friend had told me that the dolls made by Tsujimura were very expensive, but I could see how much work he put into every piece. It must have taken him months to make one doll with every detail that he made himself. I had seen thousands of artist dolls before, but couldn’t remember one with such quality. I don’t exaggerate at all – the dolls and puppets by Tsujimura Jusaburo are really outstanding!
In the next room there was the display of ‘”sculpture” dolls and framed masks. Once again, I admired the artistry and the great skill of master Tsujimura. One of the pieces had a photo of a brother and sister that survived after the bombing of Hiroshima. I remembered that I had seen a photo of that composition before. Then I realized I saw it in the book "Dolls in 2000" of the United Federation of Doll Clubs where my friend and I published the chapters. My chapter was about Russian dolls and her was about Japanese dolls.
Since I was a special guest at Jusaburo-kan Museum, I was kindly allowed to take photos. One can also buy beautiful cards and DVD's with the puppet shows. The visit was unforgettable as I was really impressed. I'd like to visit that studio again some day.
