The traditional Japanese art of bunraku was performed in Ireland this week in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Japan's favourite Irishman, Lafcadio Hearn. In the early 20th century, Hearn introduced the west to traditional Japanese culture and is still much loved in his second home of Japan.

His story Mujina was performed by the Seiwa Bunraku troupe. Bunraku is a unique form of puppet theatre incorporating puppetry, narration and shamisen, traditional Japanese guitar. The puppets are usually half to two-thirds life-size and are manipulated by three people dressed in black. It is said to take 30 years to master bunraku puppetry.

The story of Mujina is short and simple. A man meets a woman whom he assumes is in trouble. When he tries to help her, he finds himself face to face with a demon. Shocked and traumatised he is comforted by a street seller he meets afterwards, only to find that the seller is also the devil.

The resonant shamisen, played by a musician in traditional dress, seated off stage, created the right atmosphere for the play.

The puppets were very impressive in their detail and size, and the similarity between kabuki, could be seen in the costumes and their movements. Though the puppeteers were in full view, they became both irrelevant and invisible as the puppet became more lifelike. The appeal of this form of theatre, which is undergoing a renaissance in Japan, was obvious.