My wife and I drove just south of Tokushima city today to enjoy some traditional Japanese culture. First of all, we drove to Inugai Farm Village, on the grounds of the Go-oh Shrine. Here you will find a traditional outdoor stage which is used for puppet theatre. The current stage was built in 1873 and is a cultural treasure. In past times, local citizens would gather to enjoy some theatre after the harvests were finished in the fall.The puppet theatre involves having individuals dressed from head to toe in black, move the puppets to tell stories. At one side of the stage, a shamisen player performs while another individual tells the story.After several plays from the puppet theatre, the final show was a display of a multitude of background sliding screen changes.

There were many changes to the sliding screens, with the impression that the theatre was opening from the back going further and further back from the audience giving the perception of depth.

Above we can see some of the various layers of screens used for the theatre. The floor, shaped like a ship's bottom is where various preparations are made.This is one of only a few such outdoor theatres existing now in Japan, and the show of the screen changes is even rarer than the puppet theatre.We enjoyed the shows and are thankful for being enriched with culture on this special day.