Rakugo (落語; literally 'story with a fall')[1] is a form ofJapanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed inyose theatres.[2] The lone storyteller (落語家,rakugoka) sits on a raised platform, akōza (高座). Using only a paper fan (扇子,sensu) and a small cloth (手拭,tenugui) as props, and without standing up from theseiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical (or sometimes sentimental) story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters. The difference between the characters is depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head.
The speaker is in the middle of the stage, and his purpose is to stimulate the general hilarity with tone and limited, yet specific body gestures. The monologue always ends with a narrative stunt (punch line) known asochi (落ち; lit. "fall") orsage (下げ; lit. "lowering"), consisting of a sudden interruption of the wordplay flow. Twelve kinds of ochi are codified and recognized, with more complex variations having evolved through time from the more basic forms.[3]
Early rakugo has developed into various styles, including theshibaibanashi (芝居噺; theatre discourses), theongyokubanashi (音曲噺; musical discourses), thekaidanbanashi(怪談噺; ghost discourses, seekaidan), andninjōbanashi (人情噺; sentimental discourses). In many of these forms theochi, which is essential to the original rakugo, is absent.
Rakugo has been described as "asitcom with one person playing all the parts" by Noriko Watanabe, assistant professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature atBaruch College.[4]
The precursor of rakugo was calledkarukuchi (軽口; literally 'light-mouth').[1]: 38 The oldest appearance of thekanji which refers specifically to this type of performance dates back to 1787, but at the time the characters themselves (落とし噺) were normally read asotoshibanashi ("dropping story").
In the middle of theMeiji period (1868–1912) the expressionrakugo first started being used,[1]: 45 and it came into common usage only in theShōwa period (1926–1989).
One of the predecessors of rakugo is considered to be a humorous story insetsuwa. TheKonjaku Monogatarishū and theUji Shūi Monogatari weresetsuwa collections compiled from theHeian period (794–1185) to theKamakura period (1185–1333); they contained many funny stories, andJapanese Buddhistmonks preached Buddhism by quoting them. InMakura no Sōshi, it is described that the monks had gained a reputation for their beautiful voices and narrative arts.[5]
The direct ancestor of rakugo is a humorous story among the stories narrated byotogishū in theSengoku Period (1467–1615) .Otogishū were scholars, Buddhist monks and tea masters who serveddaimyo (feudal lord), and their duty was to give lectures on books to daimyo and to be a partner for chatting.Anrakuan Sakuden, who was anotogishū and a monk of theJōdo-shū, is often said to be the originator ofrakugo, and his 8 volumes ofSeisui Sho contain 1000 stories, including the original stories ofrakugo.[5][6]
Around 1670 in theEdo period (1603–1867), three storytellers appeared who were regarded as the firstrakugoka. Tsuyuno Gorobe inKyoto, Yonezawa Hikohachi inOsaka, and Shikano Buzaemon inEdo built simple huts around the same age and began telling funny stories to the general public for a price. Rakugo in this period was calledTsujibanashi, but once it lost popularity, rakugo declined for about 100 years.[6]
In 1786, Utei Enba presided over arakugo show at aryōtei, a traditional Japanese catering venue, in Mukōjima. He is regarded as the father of the restoration ofrakugo. His performances led to the establishment of the firsttheater dedicated to rakugo (yose) by Sanshōtei Karaku and Sanyūtei Enshō, and the revival ofrakugo.[6]
During the Edo period, thanks to the emergence of the merchant class of thechōnin,rakugo spread to the lower classes. Many groups of performers were formed, and collections of texts were finally printed. During the 17th century the actors were known ashanashika (found written as噺家,咄家, or話家; "storyteller"), corresponding to the modern term,rakugoka (落語家; "person of the falling word").
Before the advent of modernrakugo there were thekobanashi (小噺): short comical vignettes ending with anochi, popular between the 17th and the 19th centuries. These were enacted in small public venues, or in the streets, and printed and sold as pamphlets. The origin ofkobanashi is to be found in theKinō wa kyō no monogatari (Yesterday Stories Told Today, c. 1620), the work of an unknown author collecting approximately 230 stories describing thecommon class.
’’Niwaka ochi’’: An ochi using a pun, it is also called 'Jiguchi Ochi.'
’’Hyoshi ochi’’: An ochi that uses repeated punchlines.
’’Sakasa ochi’’: An ochi with a twist punchline, one where roles are reversed
’’Kangae ochi’’: A punchline that is hard to understand but people will laugh after pondering for a while.
‘’Mawari ochi’’: A punchline that ends the story by returning to the beginning.
’’Mitate ochi’’: An ochi that uses unexpected punchlines.
’’Manuke ochi’’: An ochi that ends the story with a dumb or ridiculous joke
’’Totan ochi’’: An ochi using a signature phrase.
’’Buttsuke ochi’’: An ending with a punch line based on a misunderstanding.
’’Shigusa ochi’’: A punchline that uses a physical gesture.
Many artists contributed to the development ofrakugo. Some were simply performers, but many also composed original works.
Among the more famousrakugoka of theTokugawa period were performers likeAnrakuan Sakuden (1554–1642), the author of theSeisuishō (Laughter to Chase Away Sleep, 1628), a collection of more than 1,000 stories. InEdo (today'sTokyo) there also livedShikano Buzaemon [ja] (1649–1699) who wrote theShikano Buzaemon kudenbanashi (Oral Instruction Discourses of Shikano Buzaemon) and theShika no makifude (The Deer's Brush, 1686), a work containing 39 stories, eleven of which are about thekabukimilieu.Tatekawa Enba I [ja] (1743–1822) was author of theRakugo rokugi (The Six Meanings of Rakugo).
Kyoto was the home ofTsuyu no Gorobei I [ja] (1643–1703), who is considered the father of the rakugo tradition of theKamigata area (Kamigata rakugo (上方落語)).[7] His works are included in theKarukuchi tsuyu ga hanashi (Jocular Tsuyu's Stories, date of composition unknown), containing many word games, episodes from the lives of famous literary authors, and plays on the differentdialects from theTokyo,Osaka, and Kyoto areas.
Of a similar structure is theKarukuchi gozen otoko (One-liners: An Important Storyteller, date of publication unknown) in which are collected the stories ofYonezawa Hikohachi I [ja], who lived in Ōsaka towards the end of the 17th century. An example from Yonezawa Hikohachi's collection:
A man faints in a bathing tub. In the great confusion following, a doctor arrives who takes his pulse and calmly gives the instructions: "Pull the plug and let the water out." Once the water has flowed completely out of the tub he says: "Fine. Now put a lid on it and carry the guy to the cemetery."
For the poor man is already dead. The joke becomes clearer when one notes that aJapanese traditional bathing tub is shaped like a coffin.
Currentrakugo artists includeTachibanaya Enzō,Katsura Bunshi VI,Tachibanaya Takezō II,Tatekawa Shinosuke andHayashiya Shōzō IX. Furthermore, many people regarded as more mainstream comedians originally trained as rakugokaapprentices, even adopting stage names given to them by their masters. Some examples includeAkashiya Sanma,Shōfukutei Tsurube II, andShōfukutei Shōhei.[8] Another famousrakugo performer,Shijaku Katsura II, was known outside Japan for his performances ofrakugo in English.English Rakugo performances have been studied for how they convey traditional Japanese cultural values through adapted scripts, making the art form more accessible while preserving its original narrative style.[9]
Rakugo stories are generally divided into two categories: classical repertoire stories (koten rakugo, 古典落語) and original stories (shinsaku rakugo, 新作落語).Koten rakugo consists of traditional tales that, in principle, can be adapted and performed by any storyteller. In contrast,shinsaku rakugo refers to new, original works created by individual performers. As the copyright holders, these performers must grant permission before their stories can be performed by others. While some classical repertoire stories are attributed to specific authors, these authors have often been deceased for a considerable time, allowing the stories to enter the shared repertoire.[10]
Notable examples of classical repertoire stories include:
