Bunraku Puppet Play Performer Yoshida Dies at 91

Jiji Press

12:16 JST, November 11, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Yoshida Minosuke III, a performer of bunraku traditional Japanese puppet plays and a living national treasure, died at a hospital in the western city of Osaka on Thursday. He was 91.

Yoshida, whose real name was Katsuyoshi Hirao, often accompanied his father, also a bunraku puppeteer, to dressing rooms of bunraku performers from a very young age.

After becoming an apprentice of Yoshida Bungoro III at age 6 in 1940, Minosuke sought tutelage under Kiritake Monjuro II in 1948. In 1961, he assumed the name of Yoshida Minosuke III.

He was best known for his portrayal of female roles, notably Umegawa in “Meido no Hikyaku” (The Courier for Hell), Ohatsu in “Sonezaki Shinju” (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki) and Osono in “Hadesugata Onna Maiginu” (A Tragic Love Triangle).

Yoshida was designated a living national treasure by the government in 1994. He was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2009 and selected as a member of the Japan Art Academy in 2012.

In November 1998, he collapsed due to a brain hemorrhage. After rehabilitation, he returned to the stage the following year and continued to perform even after he turned 80. In April 2021, he announced his retirement, saying, “I have given all I can.”