Alma Fatagani-Sato / Jeepney Press

Rakugo (Japanese Art of Storytelling)

There are many kinds of Japanese traditional art of storytelling and the one that I’m very fond of is the Rakugo. It is a comical storytelling wherein the story is narrated as a conversation between two or more characters. The storyteller switches from one character to another by changing his voice, facial expressions, actions and accent, without rising from his seat. The monologue would usually last for about 30 minutes with a punch line as an ending.

The storyteller (referred to as the rakugoka), usually wears a traditional Japanese kimono with a formal jacket (haori) and sits (Japanese style known as seiza) on a cushion placed on an elevated platform on the stage (koza). The person who wants to become a rakugoka needs to go on training for two to four years. He becomes a rakugoka, if he passes the apprenticeship and with his master’s permission.

Performers usually have only two kinds of props: (1) a foldable fan (sensu) which is used to represent long objects like chopsticks, cigarettes, etc. and (2) a long hand towel (tenugui), used to represent items like books, notes, etc. Rakugo is believed to have originated from stories used in Buddhist sermons to educate the common people about spiritual principles. Each story comes in three parts: the prelude, the main story and the closing punch line. The storylines are often humorous but there are also serious, miserable or even scary stories.

Rakugo is usually performed in entertainment halls called yose. Nowadays, you can watch it on local television. Some of the rakugo programs on television, come with movie like visuals and if you try to watch it on the internet like YouTube, it may even have an English subtitle for you to understand the story.

Some stories maybe difficult to understand since they involve puns or wordplay. But, there are a lot of stories that I think can be enjoyed even with a limited Japanese language ability, like –Rokusyakubo, Gonsuke Sakana, Hatsutenjin, and Shinigami just to name a few.

I think it’s a very good way to learn and brush up on your Nihonggo.

Alma Fatagani-Sato

Jeepney Press