Kabuki started on the Noh stage, but once curtains were incorporated during the Kanbun era, it allowed actors to change between scenes and became a distinctive element to kabuki. Kabuki is less ritualistic than Noh and less balletic than Bali, but it more important to note how kabuki compares to bunraku. Bunraku was considered a serious drama medium for adults as puppetry, and greatly influenced and flourished with kabuki during the Tokugawa period. A narrator, who sings all the parts, and a samisen-playing chorus, are the main elements of bunraku. These are similar to the story teller in kabuki, who clarified the plot, and the music emanating from the lute. Bunraku became incorporated into kabuki when Japan’s greatest playwright, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, mixed both into one.