The Chanter
The chanter's responsibility is to explain the background of scenes and speak the dialogue of all the play's characters. This task is difficult to master because the puppets of the play are usually of different sexes, ages, and personalities. The chanter must master the different voices and tones of all these different characters in order to make the play realistic and believable. He must have a very versatile voice and a extremely large range. This responsibility is extremely important because without it, the otherwise expressionless puppets would not be able to convey emotions to the audience. Because of the importance of his task, tayu are generally considered the most important of the bunraku performers and are given the highest social status.
Image from http://www.la-pierre-et-le-sabre-iaido18.fr/bunraku.htm
Image from http://www.la-pierre-et-le-sabre-iaido18.fr/bunraku.htm