“Rakugo and Kobanashi: Enjoy Storytelling and Explore Japanese” event series was held on 8th and 9th of November 2024 in Oxford, and 10th November 2024 in London. 

The traditional Japanese theatre art Rakugo dates back to the Edo period, where it was appreciated by all classes – and it is still enjoyed by many today. During the performance, a storyteller sits onstage, alone, in the seiza position (kneeling with tucked legs), using only their voice, a cloth (tenugui), and a folding fan (sensu), to tell comedic or dramatic stories. While Rakugo remains one of the most popular traditional theatre arts in Japan, those overseas do not often get the opportunity to enjoy it live. 

We were delighted to invite the distinguished Rakugo Master Ryūtei Saryū and Professor Kazumi Hatasa to the UK. Master Ryūtei Saryū has been performing Rakugo across the world for over 30 years and achieved Shin’Uchi Rakugo Master Storyteller status in 2006. He became a visiting associate professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University earlier this year. Professor Hatasa is part of the School of Languages and Culture at Purdue University, USA. He works with professional performers to incorporate Rakugo and Kobanashi into Japanese language education. 

While we held this event for people in the UK to enjoy Rakugo, another aim was to introduce Kobanashi. Kobanashi are short skits with an ending punchline, serving as a preface to the main Rakugo story. Every learner, from a beginner level to a higher level, from children to adults, and from those learning Japanese as a foreign language to those learning it as a heritage language, can try Kobanashi and enhance their motivation and creativity! We have been encouraging learners and teachers to try Kobanashi, and many of them have already performed it in their class or elsewhere. To spread the message of this fun and useful artform, we hosted an in-person Kobanashi showcase during this event series.

Day One – Friday 8th November 2024, Oxford 

The day’s proceedings began with opening remarks by Mr TANAKA Shin-ichi, Director of the Japan Foundation, London. Following this, Professor Hatasa provided an explanation of Rakugo and yose theatre. He then introduced various gestures used in Rakugo to the audience, alongside gesture performances by Master Saryū. 

The Rakugo ghost story Shinigami (God of Death) was then briefly explained by Professor Hatasa, leading into Master Saryū’s expertly performed rendition of this terrifying tale. The plight of an Edo man who made a deal with a deity of death was masterfully portrayed to a captive audience through Master Saryū’s voicework and acting. 

Following the frightfully fantastic Rakugo performance, the floor opened to the audience for questions to both Professor Hatasa and Master Saryū. 

The Friday event was co-organised by the Japan Foundation, London and Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford. We would like to further thank the Nissan Institute for graciously providing the venue for the day’s activities. 

Day 2 – Saturday 9th November 2024, Oxford, and Day 3 – Sunday 10th November 2024, London 

Day 2 and Day 3 followed similar programmes. On Day 3 we were also honoured to receive Mr OKAZAKI Yasuyuki, a minister of the Embassy of Japan, to give a greeting.

Following a welco me address from Mr TANAKA Shin-ichi, Director of the Japan Foundation, London, Professor Hatasa began with an introductory lecture about the art of Rakugo and yose theatre. Alongside Master Saryū, he then presented a demonstration of various gestures used during Rakugo performances by showing Master Saryū’s gestures on the stage.  

Kobanashi Happyoukai

Following the brief Rakugo taster, it was time to move onto the Kobanashi Happyoukai! Each venue filled with laughter and applause as 12 Japanese learners of all ages took to the stage one-by-one. It was a great opportunity for them to show off their language and acting skills in a programme full of entertaining and witty skits – as coached by Master Saryū during their rehearsal. Following the Kobanashi presentations, the performers were invited back to the stage for a brief talk about their experiences preparing for the Happyoukai. Please see the programme at the bottom of this report. We hope that this precious experience will motivate our performers to keep studying Japanese hard!

After a short interval, the audience returned to their seats in anticipation of two Rakugo performances by Master Saryū himself. A background explanation of the first story, ‘Long and Short’ (chōtan), was provided by Professor Hatasa, then Master Saryū launched into a hilarious rendition of the tale about two friends with opposing personalities. The second story, ‘Okiku’s Plates’ (okiku no sara), was a ghost story with a twist – it tells the tale of the young maid Okiku, who haunts an old well whilst counting plates and cursing her former master. Background context was once again provided by Professor Hatasa for Master Saryū’s captivating performance. 

A talk and Q&A session then followed the performances and allowed the audience to learn more about Rakugo and Kobanashi. The day closed with a taiko drum demonstration, as would be done in an authentic theatre after a long day full of exciting Rakugo! 

The Saturday and Sunday events were organised by the Japan Foundation, London. Wadham College, University of Oxford supported the event on Saturday. We would like to further thank Wadham College and Regent’s University London for graciously providing the venues for the days’ activities.

Overall, we had a packed three days full of exciting performances, and we hope that those in our audience, both in-person and watching from our online broadcast, will keep enjoying Rakugo and Kobanashi in the future! As for us, we will continue hosting various events to show how fun it is to learn about Japanese culture and language.

If you would like to try Kobanashi yourself, the information below will be useful. Don't miss it!

• Professor Hatasa's website


• KKGH website (*KKGH is "Kokusai Kobanashi Godo Happyoukai")


• Kobanashi performances video (from an online event in 2021)

Please make sure to check out our What's On page and keep a look out for our future events like this one!

Downloads:

• Event Flyer


• Kobanashi Performance Flyer (Oxford)


• Kobanashi Performance Flyer (London)