Thanks, Tony, Nate and David. The bunraku genealogy of the suit is fascinating. on that note, I strongly recommend the film Double Suicide<
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000560QE/qid=1092455078/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2530544-3643125?v=glance&s=dvd>, which involves a Bunraku love story that is transferred to a 'real-life' Edo drama, yet the Puppeteers, supposedly out of place, are still around, manipulating the environment and the characters, as if it is all still on stage. It it one of the most beautifully designed films I've seen. watch it. Rami
>It's pretty much a modern theatrical thing. It's based -- losely -- on the
>uniform of the bunraku puppeteers' assistants, an outfit intended to mean "I'm
>not here, ignore me". When ninja exploits were translated to theatre in the
>1800s or so, the outfits were understood in the milieu to mean "invisible." It
>just stuck.
Tony
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