There was an 11-year-old boy named Jiro living in Japan. His father, who was a puppet maker, made extraordinary puppets for the Hanaza, a theater owned by Yoshida where plays are performed regularly. Because Japan was having a famine then, they were always hungry. If Jiro’s father did not sell any puppets, they won’t have any money to buy food. Jiro’s father tried to teach him how to make puppets but most of the time he made mistakes. Because he was an unwanted baby, born in the year of the plague, his mother, Isako, was always angry at him. He was able to survive the plagues while his brother and sister died.
One time he joined his father to deliver a puppet to the Hanaza. Kinshi, the gatekeeper, let them in. Yoshida examined the puppet and happily paid for it. He invited them to have dinner with him, but Jiro’s father politely declined. In Japan, it is good etiquette to reject three times before you say yes. Because Jiro was starving, he forgot his manners and jumped and sat down at the table. What he did was shameful for the Japanese, he wouldn’t dare to look at his father while he ate the food. Yoshida saw Jiro’s spirit and invited him to join his theater should his father not need him in the shop anymore. Jiro’s father was speechless and replied that he would think about it. That same night, Jiro heard his parents quietly talked about Yoshida’s offer.
There was one time when Yoshida rejected a puppet that Jiro’s father delivered and Isako got angry. Because of that, Jiro decided that he be an apprentice at the Hanaza without his parents’ permission. Okada, Hanaza’s writer, welcomed him to be apprenticed. Kinshi helped Jiro write a letter to his parents that he accepted as an apprentice in the Hanaza.
Because Jiro’s father had not been to the Hanaza for a long time, he assumed that he was sick, and worried about him. After bravely asking Yoshida to check on his father, he learned that his father, who was very ill, had moved to the country with his mother. Life was not easy for Jiro at the Hanaza. They worked from dawn until dusk. He practiced his theater role after doing chores. He started from opening/closing curtains to controlling the one-man puppet. In time, Yoshida recognized his skill in operating complicated puppets.
They did not lack food at the Hanaza. Kinshi started disappearing at night. Night rovers started banging and shouting at the door of the Hanaza. Jiro was surprised to hear his mom’s voice among the night rovers. Yoshida, who was training Kinshi to move the puppet, advised that he do nothing. Jiro acquired a mallet from the kitchen and guarded the door the whole night in case it was knocked down.
Jiro realized that Kinshi joined the night rovers. Realizing that Kinshi’s life was in danger, Jiro looked for him. Jiro accidentally met his father disguised as a fireman. His father explained everything so Jiro could understand that he was not sick but helping Saburo, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Jiro found Kinshi and his mother at the police station, requested for their release and returned to Hanaza. Jiro continued to train under Yoshida, and his relationship with the family was restored.
The End
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