During the last week of October, I immersed myself in rakugo comic storytelling. Shunputei Ichinosuke, 42, and Yanagiya Sanza, 46, two outstanding midcareer performers of the traditional art, each held special shows on three consecutive days.
From Oct. 25 to 27, Ichinosuke gave a total of six daytime and nighttime performances over three days at the Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in The Yomiuri Shimbun headquarters building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The daytime shows had two stories each, while the nighttime shows had three stories each, including one which he was performing for the first time. So it truly was an ambitious event.
Ichinosuke already has a repertoire of over 200 stories. Nevertheless, he is determined to charge ahead with new work, saying, "If events like this are not held, there will be no increase in new stories."
Of the three new stories, the one told on the second day, titled "Mo Hanbun" (Another half), left a strong impression on me. It's a ghost story about a man who killed an old man to steal his money, and the elderly man is later reincarnated as the killer's son.
In the scene where the protagonist kills the old man, Ichinosuke spoke in the style of a kabuki actor. Ichinosuke's usual style of storytelling is to mix modern gags into his anecdotes, but he did not make the audience laugh at all in this narrative. Instead, the way he conveyed the insidiousness and viciousness of the story thrilled the audience.
After the intermission, Ichinosuke told his signature comedic piece, "Unagi no Taiko," which had the audience breaking into laughter throughout the telling. Ichinosuke's sense of balance was impressive.
For his part, Sanza gave a solo performance at the Owlspot Theatre in the Higashi-Ikebukuro district of Toshima Ward, Tokyo, from Oct. 28 to 30.
In tribute to his stage name, which includes two kanji characters meaning "three," Sanza likes to hold events related to the number three. This time, too, he planned the show based on a man's so-called three indulgences: drinking, gambling and adult entertainment. In contemporary society, men who drown themselves in these desires are considered immoral, but in the world of rakugo, they are allowed to act freely.
The highlight of the nine performances I saw over the three days was Sanza's "Neko Sada" (Sada the cat), the last story told on the final day. It was nearly an hour long and just as horrific as "Mo Hanbun."
In the story, a gambler named Sadakichi is killed in a surprise attack by his wife's lover, but Sadakichi's cat avenges his master's death by biting the throats of both his wife and the lover. There is almost no comic element in this story either, but Sanza uses his beautiful, low-pitched voice to depict the scenery of a dark night in the Edo period (1603-1867).
Sanza described his motto as a rakugo performer, saying: "It's not so much about making people laugh. Rather, it's about how much of the story's scenery I can conjure for the audience. I want my audience, and myself, to be immersed in that world."
I am sure Ichinosuke feels the same way.
Rakugo is not just about comedy. It is a truly profound traditional art form that can evoke the reality of human nature simply by sitting on a cushion and telling stories.
-- Morishige covers traditional performing arts.
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