What is the least expensive Bunraku doll?

Answer 1

Bunraku is a Japanese art that uses puppets, not dolls. Puppets used in actual productions are built from scratch by the performers, crew and puppet builders of each puppet theatre or troupe. They are works of art that require sculpting, costuming, hair dressing, painting and creation of the technical mechanisms that make them work (articulated hands, moveable eyebrows, blinking eyes, etc). As they take many tens or hundreds of hours to create and maintain, they are priceless. There is no place that I am aware of that creates production-ready puppets for bunraku. If you monitor ebay you may find bunraku puppets for sale from time to time but be ready to pay handsomely to own one. If you have a real interest in owning a bunraku puppet, I'd advise researching their construction online and in books and attempting to build one of your own. This would be a massive undertaking but those who are able to see it through will certainly have a unique work of art.