操り人形

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 操り人形 (あやつりにんぎょう) is a puppet controlled by strings and, figuratively, a person controlled by someone else.
• Basic usage: One is a literal string-operated figure dancing onstage; the other is a person refusing to become a tool of those in power.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• String-controlled figure and person controlled by power
  • 糸で動く操り人形 is a physical object; 権力者の操り人形になる is a metaphor for losing autonomy. The latter does not mean working as a puppeteer.