Legendary Japanese puppet master Koryu Nishikawa V returns to Toronto with Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo for the company’s first full-scale production – featuring chanters and shamisen performers – at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. The company will perform three female-focused stories from classic Japanese literature: Kuzunoha, about a mother’s undying love for her child; Tsuri On’na, a comical piece about “fishing” for a wife and Yugao, a new work from Nishikawa based on a story from Murasaki Shibibu’s classic epic The Tale of Genji, in which the jealous spirit of one of Genji’s lovers possesses a young woman he’s courting. Kuruma ningyo, literally meaning “puppets on wheels,” refers to Nishikawa’s unique technique in which the puppeteer sits atop a three-wheeled dolly, adding an element of dynamism and power to each of these awe-inspiring female characters from classical literature.