AIRMW Presents: Kuruma Ningyo Puppetry Workshop

AIRMW presents:

A Kuruma Ningyō Puppetry Workshop with

Master Puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V of Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō

and his student Tom Lee

This 90 minute workshop will introduce the basic elements of the kuruma ningyō (cart puppetry) style, a 160 year old Japanese traditional puppetry technique.  Participants will learn basic moves and sequences of this highly expressive one person form. 

Suggested donation is $75.  Space is limited.

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Koryū Nishikawa V is the fifth generation headmaster of the 165 year-old traditional puppet theatre company, Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō (cart puppetry theatre of Hachiōji), designated an Intangible Folk Custom Cultural Asset by the Japanese government. This unique solo puppetry form was developed by Koryū Nishikawa the First at the end of the Edo Era (1603-1868). As a child, Koryū Nishikawa V received instruction from his father and grandfather. Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō has performed in over forty countries, including the Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA) festivals in the Soviet Union, England, Belgium, India, Hungary and France. Koryū Nishikawa V has created two acclaimed collaborations with American puppeteer Tom Lee, Shank’s Mare and Akutagawa, which celebrate the traditional form and push the boundaries of contemporary puppet theater.  In 2025, Koryū Nishikawa V was awarded the Heritage Preservation Award by the Union Internationale de la Marionette at Chuncheon Puppet Festival in South Korea.

Tom Lee is a puppet artist, designer and director based in Chicago. He is a student of Japanese master puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V with whom he created Shank’s Mare (2015) and Akutagawa (2023).  Professional performances include War Horse (Broadway), Florencia en el Amazonas & Madama Butterfly (Metropolitan Opera) and The Queen of Spades (Lyric Opera Chicago). Tom recently premiered the puppetry adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness at Chicago Puppet Festival and Mirrored Pool with Eighth Blackbird at Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts, in conjunction with Child of Wood, an exhibit of his puppet work. He is co-director of the Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab.  www.tomleeprojects.com