Some Prefer Nettles

Kaname, of course, is not himself a "foreigner" with respect to the Japanese culture of which the Bunraku puppet show is a part. He is Japanese, and he demonstrates extensive knowledge and experience of other aspects of Japanese culture, but with respect to the Bunraku puppet theater he might as well be a foreigner.

This is not to say that he has no knowledge or experience of this particular aspect of Japanese culture. To the contrary, we are told that

Kaname had seen the Bunraku puppets once ten years before. He had not been impressed---he could in fact remember only that he had been intensely bored (28).

In addition, in his contemplation about what he is watching as we follow his consciousness through this witnessing of the puppet show ten years after that earlier experience, it is made abundantly clear that Kaname is a culturally knowledgeable gentleman in general. He is an intelligent, insightful, thoughtful man, and the range and depth of his curiosity and attentiveness to detail and his capacity for comparative analysis lets us know that he has developed these skills over the course of his lifetime. In other wo

. . .
haru just as he has lost himself in the sake and the mistress. He ignores or disdains the male puppet because it reminds him of himself, and he chooses to remain in ignorance about his own perception of and attitude toward himself. As we shall see, the final stage of his awakening with respect to the puppet play can take place only when he allows himself to see the intimate connection between himself and his own life and the character of the "old man" who he had earlier held in nothing but disdain. Kaname engages in lengthy meditative ruminations about the subtleties and intricacies of the puppet theater. on one hand, we can say that these musings indicate his appreciation of the art, but on another hand we can see that they allow Kaname once again to keep his reasoning mind between his heart and the essence of that art. Even if we accept the latter explanation, there still remains the fact that in those musings there is material which plays a part in his awakening. He certainly approaches his enlightenment with resistance and indirectness, but there is obviously a force in him which drives him nevertheless towards the awakening and self-awareness which awaits him. He compares Japanese Bunraku puppets with Western string pupp
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Japanese Bunraku, Prefer Nettles, Koharu Jihei's, japanese culture, bunraku puppet, NP NP, puppet play, female puppet, puppet theater, 26 kaname, ten earlier, puppet ten earlier, puppet ten, bunraku puppets, male puppet,
Approximate Word count = 1539
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)