October 9, 2020 Vol. 75, Issue 19 Published Every 2nd and 4th Friday
Your Link to SEATTLE’S JAPANESE COMMUNITY Since 1902 FEATURE
Katsura Sunshine Rakugo Storytelling by N.A.P.
Washin Kai and Town Hall Seattle welcome renowned entertainer Katsura Sunshine for a special performance of unique storytelling called rakugo. Rakugo (from the kanji for Kyoto, the capital, + speech, language) is a 400-year-old tradition of comic storytelling in Japan. Katsura Sunshine starred in the NHK World TV series “Dive into Ukiyo-e,” emceed the opening reception for the G20 Summit in Osaka in 2019, and has performed in an extended run of shows Off-Broadway. This special, English-language performance will be broadcast live from Tokyo.
Sunshine will perform one traditional rakugo story and another written by his master. That is how he typically opens his Broadway show.
Join us for this introduction to rakugo and a singular performance from Sunshine as he works to share this traditional art with the world.
Katsura Sunshine (top), with his Times Square signage.
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Katsura Sunshine was born in Toronto, Canada, and began in entertainment as a playwright, composer, and producer of musical theatre. In 2008, he became the 15th apprentice to the great Rakugo Master Katsura Bunshi VI, from whom he received the name Katsura Sunshine. He is only the second westerner to make a go at the traditional art-form across Japan’s 150 years of renewed contact with the West since 1868. Few have attempted owing to the language, cultural, and personality hurdles involved. It is simply hard to understand continued on page 6
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