Japanese puppeteer, one of the greatest in the history ofBunraku (ningyō jōruri). He wrote many libretti under the pen name Yoshida Kanshi. He participated in the emergence of the Takemoto-za (seeTakemoto Gidayū) where he worked under his father, an important manipulator. Bunzaburō made his debut in 1717 and his talent was recognized by connoisseurs. He was not only a consummate puppet manipulator but also an innovator inscenography and the technical aspects of the art. Around 1734, he created the three-manmanipulation system. He established the Yoshida lineage, which lasts to the present as a name for principal puppeteers.

Among the great masters of the modern period was Yoshida Tamazō (1829-1905), who experienced the flourishing days of the Bunraku-za during the Meiji period. Yoshida Eiza (1872-1945) and Yoshida Bungorō (1869-1962) were two virtuoso players of female roles who brought Bunraku through the difficult period of World War II. In the contemporary period, Yoshida Tamao (1919-2006) was a pillar of the Kokuritsu Bunraku Gekijō (National Bunraku Theatre) and was honoured as a “Living National Treasure”. Yoshida Bunjaku (b.1928) and Yoshida Minosuke III (b.1933) received the same designation in 1994.

(SeeJapan.)