Puppet culture rooted in the country town

The puppet troupe was formed in the early Meiji period as a healthy entertainment alternative by village youths alarmed by the proliferation of gambling. Since then it has served the community with sung narrative lifting spirits, shamisen with rhythm accompaniment cleansing souls, and puppet performances nourishing subtlety and the foundation of humanity. They started out performing to the Entsuji-originated music style ganriki-bushi, later adding gidayu-bushi to their repertoire.