Rakugo is one of the most classical forms of Japanese comedy. The artist wearing a Kimono will sit down on a cussion and will perform a story only using his handkerchief and a fan. During the performance he will normally perform dialogues between the people involved in the story, rather than really tell a story like a storyteller - still rakugo is often refered too as "Japanese storytelling" in Japanese. I like the term "Sit-Down-Comedy" as opposed to American "Stand-Up-Comedy".
While many young people might not be too much interested in rakugo, since it's not "cool" at all, you will probably find a rakugo-club at every bigger university. It is fascinating to see how such an tradition is taken serious by young people, often still teenagers, while still having fun and trying to find their own access to that kind of art. The rakugo-club of my university is a little bit more famous than the clubs of other universities. It was founded by the famous comedian Katsura Sanshi and is called "Rakugo University".
For me, rakugo is still not easy to understand, due to the old-fashioned language. Still I have started practising my own first rakugo. I am listening to an MD where our "boss" Hananoya Sango is performing the beginner-rakugo called "Tsuru". Tsuru is the Japanese word for crane. The story basically is about a dull man who is interested in the question why the bird Tsuru is actually called Tsuru. An intelligent man who does not want to admit that he does not know either makes up a story using a word play of "tsu" and "ru", meaning something like "whoosh", that a couple of cranes came across to Japan whoosh and whoosh flying all the way from China. Our dull fellow likes the story and tries to tell it to other people, but mixes up the word play which leeds to some funny complications.
I think I have remembered the main parts of the story already, but the language is still very difficult for me to remember. It's older than the Japanese I am used to. It is not only old Japanese, but old Osaka-dialect. I think I will still need some more time to remember the words, not to mention the use of the fan and the handkerchief once I have remembered the word. Still I am enjoying it very much, and I will listen to the MD once I have finished writing my blog for today.
By the way, I have not introduced myself as a rakguo-artist ("rakugo-ka" in Japanese) to you. When doing rakugo my name is Kandaitei Oimatsu, the given name meaning "old pine". I guess the other members decided that name for me because in their eyes I am already an old man.
