Japan’s Traditional Storytelling
By Anita Magradze
Thursday, March 28
On March 25-27, Rakugo shows took place in Tbilisi, organized by the Japanese Embassy in Georgia and hosted by Georgian National Museum (March 25), Royal District Theatre (March 26) and Free University of Tbilisi (March 27).
Rakugo is a traditional Japanese art of storytelling, which accounts for 400 years of history.
The performer on the stage, dressed in Kimono, while on his knees, tells the audience about the daily lives of ordinary people.
Rakugo is unique because of its dialogue-type form instead of monologue. Using only a paper fan and a small cloth as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story.
Only by changing the volume of the voice and movement of the head the performer imitates a number of characters and plays different scenes. Unlike Kabuki and Noh, where you can see decorated stages and colorful costumes, Rakugo stage is very simple as the performer only needs a traditional Japanese fan and a napkin to play roles and imitate different actions, varying from eating, writing a letter, paying money or else.
Rakugo remains popular as one of Japan’s representative classical arts. A recent survey found that 26.4% of Japanese people had attended a rakugo performance, putting it ahead of other disciplines such as kabuki, nogaku, and buyo (traditional dance). It is common for schools to invite rakugoka to perform for children studying traditional arts.
Four national Rakugo performers: Kanariya Eiraku, Kanariya Ichirin, Kanariya Nuts and Kanariya Nagami presented the shows in English language.
Apart from Rakugo, the shows included Tamasudare, Japanese traditional street entertainment, and Dodoitsu, Japanese 7-7-7-5 syllable poems.
Kanariya Eiraku started English Rakugo classes in Tokyo in 2007. Since then he has performed Rakugo in English both in Japan and abroad. So far he has toured several states in the US, Denmark, and Laos. He also introduces Japanese songs in English with a ukulele.
Kanariya Ichirin has been enjoying performing Japanese and English Rakugo for seven years now. Apart from performing at a local theatre, educational institutions, and international organizations, she has performed in New York and Arizona. She is a lecturer at a university in Japan and the spouse of the Japanese Ambassador to Georgia.
