Our puppetry company is Deaf and hearing people working together.
With ability of puppetry, which not caught in phonetic language, the company was established in 1980 to seek for new expression of puppetry. The project has dual actions, that is, welfare and theater arts.
The quality of their shows improved, and it has performed in Japan and other countries.
Our Puppetry have challenged various channel of expression.
A puppet play completely no dialogue, a play which made sign language to an artistic expression, coexisting both sign and sound dialogue, placards, subtitle, pantomime, Kagura; sacred music and dancing performed at shrines, Japanese traditional dance, Peking Opera, and various musical instruments…. The quality of their shows improved, and it has performed in other countries.
Deaf Puppet Theater Hitomi
Last update : 29 Jan. 2026
Works
Hyakumonogatari
2022
at KAAT Kanagawa art theater
Original:Hinako Sugiura 'Hyakumonogatari'
(published by Shincho Bunko)
Composition/Direction:Momoko Shiraga(Momonga Complex)
Cast:Toru Enomoto/Keiko Yanase/Aya Suzuki/Saki Adachi
(Deaf Puppet Theater Hitomi)
Yumiko Kawai/Yu Kitagawa(Momonga Complex)/Nami Takahashi(Hitomiza Puppet Theater)/Dakei
Asian Object Theater: Laos-Japan Collaboration among Deaf and Hearing Performers
“Things Alive From Darkness/ ສິ່ງທີ່ມີຊິວິດ ຈາກຄວາມມືດ”’
2024
at KAAT Kanagawa art theater
The collaborative effort between the deaf and hearing theater companies Khao Niew Theater (Laos) and Deaf Puppet Theater Hitomi (Japan) invited choreographer and director Shiraga Momoko renowned for her innovative approach to creating new spaces, to join forces with Lattanakone Insisiengmay (founder of Khao Niew Theater) for a two-year international collaborative creation spanning from 2023 to 2024.
What does it mean for an object to "live"? It is the act of imbuing an inanimate object, which would otherwise remain lifeless, giving a sense of vitality. While the approaches to objects in Laos and Japan are different, through a process of mutual exploration and suggestion, the creators engaged in profound dialogue with the objects and their interactions with the body, ultimately overcoming these differences to forge a new form of expression. In this performance, ten scenes are developed around everyday objects such as fishing tools and mosquito nets, in which the objects seem to come to life and move with a vibrant energy, as if they were alive themselves.
Organizer: The Foundation Modern Puppet Center
Co-organizer: The Japan Foundation
◆Co-creation with people in elderly DEAF
We had been a new project “Art project with elderly deaf” from 2021.
This project started a new artist team which is Deaf puppet theater Hitomi and Setsu Hanasaki.
We made a small performance based on an episode of the childhood heard from an elderly deaf person.