A seven-day solo program by popular rakugo storyteller Shunputei Ichinosuke was held at the Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, from Oct. 21 to 27. I went to all the performances -- three each day, totaling 21. What's so appealing that I can watch his show every day and never get weary of it?
There are currently about 900 professional rakugo performers nationwide, mainly in Tokyo and Osaka. Born in 1978, Ichinosuke, 41, has been in rakugo for 18 years. He definitely has the ability to draw the largest audience of any rakugo performer of his generation.
Tickets for the weeklong program at the 501-seat Yomiuri Otemachi Hall sold out quickly.
In my opinion, Ichinosuke's rakugo has three main characteristics. First, his storytelling is clear-cut. He doesn't overperform characters, whatever their age or sex, but is superb in revealing the nature of the people he depicts.
At times, I feel like he disappears from the cushion on the stage and the characters are talking to each other. This is not necessarily limited to Ichinosuke: I've experienced this with popular rakugo performers from older generations in general. In a nutshell, they have the technique to achieve that.
Secondly, Ichinosuke adds his own contemporary touch to classic rakugo mainly depicting the Edo period (1603-1867). Take his signature program "Hatsutenjin," for example. It's a story about a father taking his son to worship at a shrine. On the way there, his son keeps begging him to buy dumplings and candies at stalls.
Crying and shouting, the boy manages to make his father buy the food. A seller then tells the boy with a thumbs-up, "Boy, good job!" -- a Western-style punch line. The punch line is anachronistic, but Ichinosuke strikes a delicate balance by incorporating a contemporary sense of humor into the classical program in a way that doesn't cross the line into destroying the story.
Thirdly, Ichinosuke performs characters with wholehearted affection. In many rakugo programs, a common goofy character named Yotaro appears. Ichinosuke plays the character as an honest man who never lies and always speaks his mind.
Accustomed and resigned to his behavior, his relatives and neighbors say, "Oh well" and accept him as part of their community and kindly teach him things without excluding him. Other characters Ichinosuke performs, such as Jinbe and Hachigoro, are careless and full of flaws, but also have places they can live happily. The rakugo world depicted by Ichinosuke is a utopia people want to visit.
Tatekawa Danshi, a rakugo master who died eight years ago, defined their art by saying, "Rakugo affirms human deeds." He argued that human instincts, such as the desire to drink and eat as much as we want, win over a beautiful woman, and live easily without working, form the foundation of rakugo stories.
Once an avid fan of Danshi, Ichinosuke appears to perform programs featuring people who live honestly by choice. I believe Ichinosuke's rakugo has progressed one step further from Danshi's theory. Ichinosuke shows that "Rakugo affirms human beings as a whole."
-- Morishige covers traditional performing arts.
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