| Rakugo is a comic monologue performed by a kimono-clad rakugo-ka sitting on a cushion on stage holding a folding fan. The basic form is an amusing conversation between an experienced, knowledgeable, wise person and a rough, ignorant, foolish person; the rakugo-ka performs both parts, facing right to indicate the wise person and left to indicate the foolish person. The humour arises from amusing associations of ideas and misunderstandings between the two characters. The rakugo-ka uses a fan and hand-towel as props and enlivens the performance with droll hand actions and facial expressions. Rakugo was originally known as 'otoshi-banashi.' Both of these words mean 'stories with a point.' Rakugo started life as the amusing stories told by jesters to their generals at the end of the Muromachi Era. The subjects dealt with are taken from various fields, such as Buddhist literature and Chinese humour, and these are combined with amusing stories from the life of ordinary people of the Edo Era. The Yose, the traditional story-teller's theatre started in the Edo Era, has declined in popularity today, but Rakugo is regularly performed on television and radio and is strongly supported. |
