Preserving and Making Accesible the Barbara C. Adachi Collection of Bunraku, Japanese Theater

FAIN: PA-51387-05

Columbia University (New York, NY 10027-7922)
Amy Vladeck Heinrich (Project Director: July 2004 to September 2007)

The arrangement, description, rehousing, and cataloging of a multimedia collection that documents the history of Japanese puppet theater from 1960 through the 1990s. An Internet-accessible finding aid would be created in English and Japanese.

Columbia University Libraries proposes a 2-year project to organize, preserve, and make accessible the Barbara C. Adachi Bunraku (Japanese Puppet Theater) Collection. This collection is one the most extensive in the world documenting the rich performance tradition of bunraku, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a "masterpiece" of humanity. Bunraku dates back to the 17th century; this collection documents its revival in the second half of the 20th century, through more than 12,500 slides and nearly 7,000 black-and-white photographs of rehearsals and performances, as well as textual and audio materials. The collection's significance for research and teaching spans a number of fields: literature, drama, history, cultural studies, and more.

Associated Products

The Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection (Web Resource)
Title: The Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection
Author: C. V. Starr East Asian Library staff et al.
Abstract: Bunraku, Japanese puppet theater, is an unusually complex dramatic form, a collaborative effort among puppeteers, narrators, and musicians. Columbia University Libraries' Bunraku collection is one the most extensive in the world, documenting its rich performance tradition, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a "masterpiece" of humanity. The Bunraku gallery is divided into plays, productions, authors, backstage subjects, kashira, and characters. It documents the form's revival in the second half of the 20th century, through more than 12,500 slides and nearly 7,000 black-and-white photographs of rehearsals and performances.
Year: 2005
Primary URL: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/eastasian/bunraku/
Primary URL Description: Access to the full database
Secondary URL: https://ldpd.lamp.columbia.edu/bunraku/pages/playprod
Secondary URL Description: Bunraku dates back to the 17th century; this collection documents its revival in the second half of the 20th century, through more than 12,500 slides and nearly 7,000 black-and-white photographs of rehearsals and performances, as well as textual and audio materials. The collection's significance for research and teaching spans a number of fields: literature, drama, history, cultural studies, and more.

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