HANG OUT VOL.5

One Talk One Kill

Chapter 01

2024.12.30

Photo：Kai Naito

Edit：Shinri Kobayashi

HANG OUT VOL.5

HANG OUT VOL.5One Talk One Kill

A person who is not good at speaking dreams of becoming a Rakugo performer. Let's start Rakugo.

The beginning of the year is a good time to break away from your old self. If you want to be able to speak in front of people without getting nervous, why not start with rakugo? Ideally, you would be a rakugo performer who can captivate the audience with just the art of storytelling, but start by enjoying rakugo. After all, you can only become good at something if you love it.

Chapter 01 | One Talk One Kill

Chapter 1: Let's ask a Rakugo performer.

Rakugo primarily depicts the Edo period. Of course, for people overseas, it is a different country and a different time. There is a person from another country who is fascinated by this rakugo that is so "far away." That person is Katsura Fukuryu, from Canada. Not satisfied with just listening to rakugo, Fukuryu also works as a rakugo performer, so we asked him about the appeal of rakugo.

Katsura Fukuryu

Originally from Canada, he came to Japan in 2001 and taught English while studying Japanese language and culture, which he was interested in. In 2011, he encountered English Rakugo, and was fascinated by the fusion of Japanese tradition and English, becoming addicted to Rakugo. Wanting to try his hand at Japanese Rakugo, he joined the Katsura Fukudanji school in October 2016, becoming Katsura Fukudanji's 11th disciple and being given the name Katsura Fukuryu. In addition to Japanese Rakugo, he has ample experience performing English Rakugo overseas, and has recently been performing sign language Rakugo as well.

YouTube is the gateway.

- In Rakugo, there are ranks such as Shinuchi, Nittsume, Maeza, etc. that can only be promoted if the master recognizes them. What stage are you at now, Fukuryu-san?

Fukuryu: As for Japanese rakugo, I've been studying it for nine years and I'm currently a futatsume. It'll be a few more years before I become a shinuchi. As for English rakugo, I'm already a shinuchi.

-First of all, what were you doing before you became a Rakugo performer?

Fukuryu: I came to Japan and worked as an English teacher for a while. Before that, I was a magician in my hometown of Canada.

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