Chichibu dolls

Japanese: 秩父人形 - ちちぶにんぎょう

There are seven known puppet theaters in the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture, and there are many different types, including three-person puppets, two-person skewer puppets, and one-person finger puppets. Among them, the puppets from Yokose in Yokose Village are called Chichibu puppets. They are also called Yokose fukusa puppets. This puppet theater was founded by Satsuma Satodayu, a sekkyobushi performer from the same village, just before the Meiji Restoration. The finger puppets are about 60 cm long, with their right hand inserted behind their back and their heads held between their index and middle fingers. The left hand is used to handle the hem of their costume like a fukusa. The stage is luxurious, with a rotating mechanism, and there are over 10 plays, including Oguri Hangan Jitsudouki.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

埼玉県秩父地方には7ヵ所の人形芝居が知られ，三人遣い，二人遣い串人形，一人遣い指人形と形式も多い。そのうちの横瀬村横瀬の人形を〈秩父人形〉と称した。〈横瀬袱紗（ふくさ）人形〉ともいう。この人形芝居は明治維新直前ごろ同村出身の説経節，薩摩佐登太夫が創始した。右手を背中から差し込み，人差指と中指でかしらを挟む指人形で，全長は60cmほど。左手で衣装の裾を袱紗のようにさばく。舞台は回り機構をもつ豪華なもので，《小栗判官実道記（おぐりはんがんじつどうき）》など10数曲ある。

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