- A Brief Introduction to the History of Bunraku by Matthew Johnson Bunraku is the name commonly used for ningyo-joruri, literally puppets and storytelling. This simple name not only describes a puppet performance, but also alludes to its predecessors. There was a long tradition of travelling storytellers who used biwa as their accompaniment. There were also travelling puppeteers. When these two ...www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/definitions/Bunraku.hist.html