Culture - Sports

Water puppetry opens Vietnam tourism festival in Japan

A water puppetry performance marked the commencement of the Vietnam tourism and culture festival, which opened in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka on June 9.
A water puppetry performance marked the commencement of the Vietnamtourism and culture festival, which opened in the Japanese prefectureof Osaka on June 9.

Organised by the VietnamConsulate General in Osaka and the Vietnam Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism, the programme drew representatives from theConsulate General of ASEAN, the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association,the Vietnamese Association in Kansai and crowds of local people.

This is the first time Vietnamese puppeteers have performed thetraditional and unique art in Osaka, which was brought to theprefecture in celebration of 40 years since Vietnam’s reunificationday and 70 years of the National Day.

Otheractivities such as folk music performances and cultural andpeople-to-people exchanges have helped increase mutual understanding,friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan .

Close to 5,200 Vietnamese are living and working in Osaka.

Water puppetry is believed to date back as far as the 11th century,originating in the villages of the Red River Delta region of northernVietnam.

Today’s Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.

The puppets are made of wood and then lacquered. The shows areperformed in a waist-deep pool; a large rod supports the puppet underthe water and is used by the puppeteers, who are normally hidden behind ascreen, to control them.-VNA
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