Carved Wooden Bunraku Puppet Depicting Osome, Articulated Fingers, Circa 1900

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45" (114 cm.) All-carved wood with rich gofun finish, glass eyes which open and close by lever mechanism in the neck, dramatically-painted features include outlined eyes, open mouth, teeth, accent lines around the nostrils, swivel head on wooden shoulders and wooden hands with articulation at three knuckles which is operated by a lever at back torso. The internal construction allowed the puppeteer to manipulate the figure in intricate ways to depict anguish, horror, piety and devotion, including backward fling of the head, lowering of the eyes, and articulation of the fingers. This figure depicts Osome, playing the role of the merchant's daughter from the Bunraku theatrical play "Osome of the White Tie-Dyed Sleeves" who falls in love with a lowly worker. Her costume is designed to both reflect and constrict her societal position; since the sumptuary laws of Japan forbade her to wear the luxurious embroidered and brocade silks favored by the upper classes, she is adorned in simple fabrics enhanced with ingenious techniques including tie-dyeing. silk crepe with fawn spot, and a dramatic back panel with bells. Excellent condition. Meiji era, circa 1900. Alan Scott Pate writes in Ningyo, The Art of the Japanese Doll, page 237, "over time, this particular costume with its tie-dyed sleeves executed in large blocks of red alternating with a light blue green, with a black satin or velvet lapel, became the stock costume for Osome and a ready signifier of her role."