1. Discover the value of effort and the joy of participating with muscular dystrophic children.
Secretary General "Puppet and Therapy". Japan (16)
The Japan Puppet and Therapy Association was founded in Nagoya in 1989.
It is a center where meetings and conferences are organized for professionals in education and medicine.
A puppet class has been set up at the association's training center. This class is aimed at young people with mental health problems such as autism and motor disorders of central origin.
The age ranges from 18 to 25 years.
Puppets are built with very simple materials and a well-known comic work is made in Japan: The Wedding of Mice.
Each disabled person is accompanied by a volunteer, who assists him during the creation process and in the performances.
Puppet adaptations are made. For example, a disabled person who walks on crutches is put on a crutch, a puppet, and can be operated from the crutch itself.
They have a small theater subsidized by an insurance company.
They also have a newsletter that has been subsidized by the same company.
2. Role play by the puppet theater after the Kobe earthquake, to help children and people who are very traumatized. (produced in January 1995, with six thousand deaths) (17)
Maki Kohda. Professor at Seitoku University. TOKYO. Japan.
After the earthquake, many public spaces were used as temporary housing (communal halls, schools, nurseries…) and tents were also installed in the parks. These homes were unfortunately used for a year or two.
Life in these places was difficult as there was no intimacy. He didn't rest well at night either.
In this difficult situation, the children tried to lead a normal life.
I thought puppets might be a good way to get rid of anxiety.
I did not go immediately after the earthquake, because when there was an earthquake, then there are aftershocks and people are still very scared if there is another big one and they do not go out on the street.
I set up a network of adult volunteers performing puppet shows.
(In Japan there is no tradition of children making puppets).
More than 200 performances have taken place over five years. The puppet group is called "Good Face, Smiling Face." The aim was to bring back the smile on the faces of the people who had suffered the accident, with our representations.
It had two offices, one at the scene of the accident and another in a village outside.
There were several groups working (always amateurs and volunteers).
At the end of the performance, paper puppets (which had been built by my college students) were handed out, so that the children could continue playing with the puppets.
Because of the fear, the children would not let go of their parents. But thanks to the performances, they approached the theater alone. In a situation as strong as an earthquake, in war situations, in conflicts where the fear and tension of people is at its maximum, the strength of the puppet theater, especially aimed at children, can free hearts from serious worries. and can give birth to a will to live.
(17) PUPPET AND THERAPY. Issue 28 - 2002
