This facility is the home of Awa Ningyo Joruri puppet theater, and teaches visitors about the wonders of traditional Japanese performing arts. One well-known puppet performance is Keisei Awa no Naruto, a tale of a family tragedy. 

徳島県立阿波十郎兵衛屋敷

One of the best experiences I had in Japan. They have English subtitles and leaflets with information. After the show you can actually control the puppets in the museum part. The staff were so kind and generous with their time. An experience I'll never forget. Thank you!!

Incredible experience. Came here on a whim and was amazed by the brilliant staff, performance and how accommodating they were for foreigners. We even had a guided tour around the museum by the lovely Keiko-san, recommend this place to anyone looking for a cultural experience in Tokushima.

Increíble lugar! Amazing staff and puppeteers. Hidden outstanding gem. I went to the National Bunrako Theatre in Osaka and the museum was not even half of what I learned here. If you are passionate about sociology, drama, theatre and art, this is a must... It is not a big museum but it has excellent information. The documentary was super useful for a deeper understanding of the role of puppets in Awa even today. They perform every day, and the performance is also excellent.

This is the ONLY place in Japan where you can see performances of traditional Japanese puppet theater every day of the year (twice daily at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM, admission only 410 yen), with additional seasonal performances and cultural events. There are projected English supertitles for the performances.

There is also a beautiful, informative museum, a gift shop, and helpful, friendly, quite knowledgeable staff. Some English is spoken. You can see the puppets up close and meet the performers.  Not to be missed if you are in Tokushima. Small, lovely traditional garden dates from the Edo Period.

They give you an English summary of the story that will help you understand the performance. Everyone there was really helpful and the performance was beautiful. They also showed a movie with subtitles afterwards that explained the history of this art form in the region.

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