Seiwa Bunraku is the only remaining traditional puppetry organization in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Seiwa Bunraku puppet theater began about 170 years ago (toward the end of the Edo period) in Seiwa Village (now the Seiwa section of Yamato Town, Kumamoto Prefecture), when local farmers learned from visiting members of the Awaji Puppet Troupe. While going through rises and declines, the performing art was passed down by farming communities.

In 2022, as part of a reconstruction effort from the Kumamoto Earthquake, “Chopper, Embarking from the Winter Sakura” was presented in collaboration with ONE PIECE, a popular manga by Eiichiro Oda, who is from Kumamoto Prefecture. A remake of the play adapted to the scale of Seiwa Bunrakukan has been staged since 2023, and now in March 2025, the highlight of the work will be presented abroad for the first time at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.