Where I discuss the roots of modern Japanese comedy called rakugo...

Owarai began with the traditional comedy called rakugo.  Rakugo is a performance where a single rakugo-ka (the story teller) sits on stage and tells a witty, humorous story.  In "Popular Performing Arts: Manzai and Rakugo," Muneo Jay Yoshikawa writes:

Rakugo can be described as a popular comic art performed by one person.  One must be able to have the skill of creating a stage, background, and atmosphere in the minds of the audience and also be able to play the parts of the characters that appear in the stories being narrated.

And in "Rakugo and Humor in Japanese Interpersonal Communication," Kimie Oshima states:

Rakugo is a unique form of storytelling that includes comic acting and mimicry as well as the art of narration.  Japanese audiences appreciate the continuity of the style, structure, and rich tradition of rakugo as it has been passed on to succeeding generations; at the same time, they want to see social and cultural changes reflected in rakugo.  Newer stories do reflect modern Japanese society and are as much appreciated as classic stories.  Today's events will be history tomorrow, so reflections of today's society are blended into rakugo tradition. 

Rakugo began in the Edo period and later flourished again in Tokyo and Osaka.  "However, with the arrival of radio and movies, rakugo gradually began to decline in popularity in both Tokyo and Osaka.  Osaka, in particular, began to change its focus from rakugo-centered to manzai-centered yose" (yose refers to the venue where they performed; historically, it was a large room in a house) (Yoshikawa).

I will discuss manzai in a later post.  What is particularly interesting about rakugo that translates into modern manzai-centered comedy in Japan is the proximity of these performers to their audience.

Even some of the most prestigious venues of rakugo are very small, and the audience sits near the performer. Today, the most successful geinin of Japan are considered more accessible than highly held actors and musicians because they carry on this tradition of proximity.  The theaters that the geinin perform are usually small with a local flavor.  This contributes to the huge success of geinin today.

What also translate to the modern owarai is the practice of deshi.  The deshi is the apprentice or the intern.  It is a traditional practice where he learns the art of rakugo from the master.  "The master trains the student verbally by imitation and repetition" (Oshima).  The deshi, in return, may carry out tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry for the master.  Before owarai schools were established (which I will discuss more later), this was the common practice in order to become a rakugo-ka or a geinin.

Rakugo is also studied by the geinin to not only learn the classical humor but also to learn the art of speech such as timing and tempo.  In this sense, rakugo is a practiced art form and serves as a text for today's Japanese comedians.  This practiced, perfected, and repeated nature of Rakugo, its set structure, in my opinion, is why other forms of comedy that are popular today are viewed with respect and as a legitimate art form.  It is why the geinin are called the professional of speech, or hanashi-ka, and it is why they, aside from anchors, are the main personnels on television shows ranging from comedy to sports to news programs.

Finally, although rakugo is no longer the main-stream form of comedy in Japan, it prevails in popular culture, and there are occasional attempts (successful and unsuccessful) at reviving the popularity of rakugo.  Two recent hits were the drama series Tiger and Dragon and the film Shaberedomo Shaberedomo.

Tiger and Dragon

Shaberedomo Shaberedomo


What is particularly interesting about Tiger and Dragon is that each episode is a modern-day remake of a rakugo story and has won many screenwriter and literary awards.  Because of this drama series, it was observed that younger people started to take interest and listened more rakugo, and following this series, Shoten (a comedy stage/television program featuring rakugo-ka) experienced an increase in the number of viewers.

And also in the last few years, geinin has started to compete in a televised competition called R-1 Grand Prix to carry on the tradition of rakugo (R stands for rakugo; the competition is a spin-off of M-1 Grand Prix, which I will explain later).  The competition is opened for any solo comedy acts, unlike in manzai competitions that require two.  Although R-1 Grand Prix carries rakugo in its name, it is not restricted to rakugo and is more of an attempt to show case solo performers as well as revive rakugo through increased exposure of solo performances and use of the word rakugo in the media.