Watermark Fine Art Photographs & Books (CLOSED) (Alan Griffiths, 7 November 2025) Nashiwari (Before), Ena Bunraku captures a moment of poignant vulnerability within the Bunraku tradition. The puppet’s weathered face and humble expression—its painted features cracked and worn by time—convey a haunting humanity that transcends its wooden form. Dressed in patterned robes and bound with a simple headcloth, this figure suggests a character burdened by misfortune or moral trial, emblematic of the emotional realism that defines Bunraku storytelling. The photograph’s soft monochrome palette and centered composition heighten a sense of stillness and introspection, inviting viewers to read the puppet as both an artifact of performance and a vessel of lived emotion. In freezing this figure in its pre-performance state—the “before” of its narrative life—the image meditates on transformation, decay, and endurance, turning the theatre’s ephemeral art into an enduring study of compassion and time.
