Awa Deko (Awa Wooden Puppets)

Awa Deko is a type of puppet used for Awa Joruri Puppet Theater.

Unlike Bunraku (Joruri Puppet Theater founded in Osaka), it is mostly performed outdoors at rural community theaters as entertainment for ordinary people in Awa; therefore, the heads of the puppets are a bit bigger than Bunraku puppets in order for the audience to be able to see well.

Outstanding puppet makers including Ningyotomi, Ningyochu and Tenguhisa emerged and ingenious mechanisms such as opening and closing eyes, and glass eyes were invented.