Katsura Sunshine
Japan Society North West and JET Alumni Association present Katsura Sunshine!
Sunshine is Canadian, but now lives in Japan where he trained to become a Rakugo comic storyteller. What is Rakugo? Hilarious. Fascinating. Unique. A 400-year-old tradition of comic storytelling, Rakugo is more popular today in Japan than it ever was. A lone comedian in a Kimono kneels on a cushion and entertains the audience with his original comic anecdotes, before launching into a traditional story populated by hilarious and quirky and yet oddly familiar characters. The only props are the Japanese fan and hand towel.
To become a professional Rakugo storyteller, one must be accepted as apprentice to a Master, and serve for three to four years: no days off, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, carrying the bags, folding kimonos, strict curfew, no drinking, no smoking, no dates, completely subsuming any sense of personal individuality. Anyone who does this for three years will become a funny person. Anecdotes of the good old apprenticeship days become comic material for the audience’s hilarity! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see the only non-Japanese today to have been accepted and gone through this gruelling and traditional apprenticeship!
