The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan: Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo

291 Pages·2021·7.846 MB·English

by  M. W. Shores

THE COMIC STORYTELLING OF WESTERN
JAPAN
Rakugo,apopularformofcomicstorytelling,hasplayedamajorrole
inJapanesecultureandsociety.DevelopedduringtheEdo(1600–1868)
andMeiji(1868–1912)periods,itisstillpopulartoday,withsometop
contemporaryJapanesecomedianshavingoriginallytrainedasrakugo
artists.Rakugoisdividedintotwodistinctstrands,theTokyotradition
andtheOsakatradition,withthelatterhavingpreviouslybeenlargely
overlooked. This pioneering study of the Kamigata (Osaka) rakugo
traditionpresentsthefirst complete Englishtranslationoffiveclassic
rakugo stories, and offersa history ofcomicstorytelling in Kamigata
(modern Kansai, Kinki) from the seventeenth century tothe present
day. Considering the art in terms of gender, literature, performance,
and society, this volume grounds Kamigata rakugo in its distinct
cultural context and sheds light on the “other” rakugo for students
andscholarsofJapanesecultureandhistory.
m.w. shoresisaLecturerofJapaneseatTheUniversityofSydney,
andhasbeenaFellowofPeterhouseattheUniversityofCambridge.
ShoreshasspentoveradecadeinJapanforresearchandapprentice-
shipswithtwoofKamigatarakugo’srespectedpractitioners,Katsura
BunshiVandHayashiyaSomemaruIV.
Published online by Cambridge University Press
Frontispiece(andchapterheadings):Calligraphyintheyosemojistylethat
reads Kamigata rakugo, by Tachibana Uichirō (b. 1946). Courtesy of
TachibanaUichirō,withthankstoHayashiyaSometa(b.1975).
Published online by Cambridge University Press
THE COMIC STORYTELLING
OF WESTERN JAPAN
Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo
M.W. SHORES
TheUniversityofSydney
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108831505
doi:10.1017/9781108917476
©M.W.Shores2021
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
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Firstpublished2021
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
names:Shores,M.W.,author.
title:ThecomicstorytellingofwesternJapan:satireandsocialmobilityinKamigatarakugo/
M.W.Shores.
description:Cambridge;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2021.|Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindex.
identifiers:lccn2021024078(print)|lccn2021024079(ebook)|isbn9781108831505
(hardback)|isbn9781108917476(ebook)
subjects:lcsh:Rakugo–Historyandcriticism.|Rakugo–Japan–OsakaRegion.|
Storytelling–Japan–OsakaRegion.|Literatureandsociety–Japan.|BISAC:LITERARY
CRITICISM/Asian/General|LITERARYCRITICISM/Asian/General|LCGFT:Literary
criticism.
classification:lccpl746.5.s562021(print)|lccpl746.5(ebook)|ddc895.609–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2021024078
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2021024079
isbn978-1-108-83150-5Hardback
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Contents
ListofIllustrations pagevii
Author’sPreface:COVID-19andTenuguiFaceMasks ix
Acknowledgments xiii
ANoteonRomanizationandConventions xvi
ANoteontheCoverArt xviii
Introduction 1
part i
1 Kamigata,Osaka 21
1.1 Kamigata-OsakaHistory 23
1.2 OsakanIdentity 27
1.3 OsakaArtsandLetters 32
1.4 KamigataPerformingArts 35
1.5 TheBreakdownoftheMerchantSystem 38
2 TheHistoryofKamigataRakugo 42
2.1 Storytellingbefore1600 43
2.2 EarlyModernEra 44
2.3 MeijitoWorldWarII 72
2.4 Post-WorldWarIIShōwa 81
2.5 HeiseiandReiwa 87
3 WhatConstitutesaKamigataRakugoStory? 91
3.1 DistinctTraditionsinKamigataandTokyo 92
3.2 RecurringCharactersinKamigataRakugo 95
3.3 KamigataRakugoandManzai 99
3.4 AspectsofKamigataRakugoPerformance 102
3.5 AspectsofKamigataRakugoContent 114
4 Geidan:AnInterviewwithHayashiyaSomemaruIV(b.1949) 132
Conclusion 150
v
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vi Contents
RakugoThatEmbodiesOsaka 150
“Merchant-Centered”asTransgressive 152
part ii
5 FiveKamigataRakugoClassics 161
5.1 Kuchiireya(EmploymentAgency) 164
5.2 Hichidanme(ActSeven) 176
5.3 Hyakunenme(HundredthYear) 185
5.4 Tachigiresenkō(Time’sUpIncense) 205
5.5 Takoshibai(OctopusKabuki) 214
Appendix1:SelectedKamigataRakugoTitles 224
Appendix2:KamigataRakugokaLineageCharts 235
Bibliography 241
Index 253
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Illustrations
0.1 KatsuraBeichōIII(1925–2015)performingthestoryKuchi
ireya(EmploymentAgency).CourtesyofBeichōJimusho. page2
0.2 Therakugoka’sviewfromonstageatOsaka’spremieryose,
theTenmaTenjinHanjōtei.CourtesyofKamigataRakugo
Kyōkai. 5
1.1 MerchantsjostlingattheDōjimariceexchangeinNaniwa
meishozue:Dōjimakomeakinai,1834,byUtagawaHiroshige.
CourtesyofMuseumofFineArts,Boston. 22
2.1 Rokyū(TsuyunoGorobēI)performingkarukuchibanashi
atanoutdoorteashop.Karukuchichiyomansai(Karukuchi:
ThousandAges,Ten-ThousandYears)(vol.1),1752?,byRokyū.
CourtesyofWasedaUniversityLibrary. 52
2.2 YonezawaHikohachiIperformingshikatamonomaneon
thegroundsofIkutamaShrine,Osaka.Gonyūbukyaraonna
(vol.5),1710,byYuzukeGansui.CourtesyofWaseda
UniversityLibrary. 53
2.3 Womenandmenenthusiasticallyporeovertexts,likelyin
preparationforperformancestheywillsoonbegivingonstage.
Toshiwasurehanashisumō(StorytellingMatchtoForgettheYear)
(vol.1),1776,editedbyOkamotoTaizanandTsuchimoto
Kabutsu.CourtesyofWasedaUniversityLibrary. 59
2.4 Rakugodoyōyose(RakugoSaturdayYose),1957.Courtesy
ofBeichōJimusho. 83
2.5 ApresentationoftheclimaxofTakoshibaiwith
theyosebayashiensembleinaudienceview. 87
3.1 KatsuraBunzaV(b.1967)onstage.Heldlikethis,thesensu
canrepresentayokeforcarryingapairofpailsorbaskets,
orthepoleofapalanquin.CourtesyofKatsuraBunzaV. 92
3.2 HayashiyaKikumaruIII(b.1974)performsrakugowitha
kendaiandhizakakushi.CourtesyofHayashiyaKikumaruIII. 103
vii
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viii ListofIllustrations
4.1 HayashiyaSomemaruIV(b.1949)onstageattheTenma
TenjinHanjōtei.CourtesyofHayashiyaSomemaruIV. 133
5.1 TsuyunoMiyako(b.1956)performingrakugo.In1974she
becamethefirstwomantoofficiallyjointheranksasa
professionalrakugoka.CourtesyofTsuyunoMiyako. 162
5.2 KatsuraBunzaVincharacter.CourtesyofKatsuraBunzaV. 178
5.3 HayashiyaKikumaruIIIincharacter.CourtesyofHayashiya
KikumaruIII. 188
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’ 19
Author s Preface: COVID- and Tenugui Face
Masks
On1March2020,theKamigataRakugoKyōkai,theprofessionalguildfor
comic storytellers in Osaka and the surrounding area, announced on its
websitethat itwould intwo daysbegin cancelingshows atits premier yose
(rakugohall),theTenmaTenjinHanjōtei.Itpromisedrefundstoallticket
holders. COVID-19 infections were spiking around the globe and it was
feared that it was only a matter of time before this would come to Japan.
ManywonderedhowJapanesepoliticianscouldcontinueissuingstatements
about the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games going ahead as
plannedinspiteofthe pandemic. PoliticalscientistJules Boykoff wrote in
theNewYorkTimesthattherewerepowerfulinterestsintentonseeingthat
the 2020 Games get staged. This included Japan’s Prime Minister Abe
Shinzō and other politicians who had “sunk enormous sums of political
capitalintotheGames.”Moneywasobviouslyanissuetoo–thepriceforthe
Games had skyrocketed by nearly $20 billion since the initial bid.1 The
pandemiconlybecameworseandAbeannouncedon24MarchthatJapan
had reached an agreement with the International Olympic Committee for
theGamestobepostponeduntilsummer2021,“atthelatest.”
After the initial March notice about show cancelations and ticket
refunds,theKamigataRakugoKyōkaiwasforcedtomakefurthersimilar
announcements. Over the months that followed, “kōen chūshi” (show
canceled)couldbeseensofrequentlyonstorytellers’socialmediaaccounts
thatitfeltlikeavexingtrendingtopicthatwouldnevergoaway.Liketheir
guild, artists apologized for the unfortunate situation and promised to
refundalltickets.Someevenwaitedoutsidevenues,donningmasks,justin
casetheirfanshadnotreceivedwordaboutcancelations.
Since the turn of the nineteenth century, rakugo (though not always
called this) has catered to the masses and depended on them to gather in
1 JulesBoykoff,“Cancel.The.Olympics,”NewYorkTimes,18March2020,www.nytimes.com/2020/
03/18/opinion/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus.html.Accessed8February2021.
ix
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x Author’sPreface:COVID-19andTenuguiFaceMasks
small,oftenpackedvenues.Obviously,thisisnotsomethingthatgoesover
wellduringapandemic.Rakugowasnottheonlyperformingartaffected
by COVID-19 of course. Everything from rakugo, kabuki, and nō to
CirqueduSoleilandBroadwayshowshadtobesuspended.Andjustlike
entertainerseverywhere,rakugoartists–manyofwhomstruggletomakea
livingwage–suddenlyfoundthemselvesoutofwork.Whatdidtheydo?
Theydidwhatother artistsaround theworld did.Theytook theirshows
online.Somedidthiswithnothingmorethanasmartphonewhileothers
investedinadvancedcameras,microphones,andotherequipmentinorder
to produce high-quality online shows, both streamed live and recorded.
Some storytellers built makeshift stages in their homes. Perhaps it was
fortunate that rakugo is a minimalistic art that requires very little to
perform – one needs only a sensu (folding fan) and a tenugui (hand
towel), and a kimono. In adapting and delivering their art remotely,
some storytellers organized for-fee events, but the majority did this free
ofcharge.Theyhopedtoliftpeople’sspirits,stayintouchwithfans,and
stirinterestintheirartathomeandabroad.
COVID-19elicitedvariousresponses,artistic,social,andpolitical.Some
storytellers simply hunkered down, doing their part to not add to the
problem. Like all of us, rakugo artists experienced personal and profes-
sional highs and lows. COVID-19 left no one untouched. This is some-
thing that world history will always remember, and it is something that
rakugo history, too, shall recall. What gets written about rakugo during
thistimewillnotbebleakanddepressing.Oratleastnoteverything.After
all,rakugoisanartthataimstomakepeoplefeelgood,makethemlaugh,
put them at ease. It will be remembered that – thanks especially to social
media and video conferencing services – storytellers helped people get
through the COVID-19 era with a few smiles. Take, for example, the
followingtweetsfromKamigatarakugoartists.
Katsura Fukumaru (1978–, @fukuma_lism) tweeted in response to
Japan’stoiletpaperhoarderson12March2020:
Toallthosewantingtobuyupallthetoiletpaper!!Thehomesofrakugo
performersarenowfilledwithflyersforcanceledshows–wehaveatonof
paper!We’lldivvyitupforcheap!(LOL)Okay,Ibettertakeallthispaperto
theneighborhoodassociationforrecycling…2
Inaflurryoftweetson2April,KatsuraAkashi(1971–,@katsuraakashi)
pokedfunatthenewwordscomingintouse:
2 https://twitter.com/fukuma_lism/status/1237986794890604544?s=20.Accessed8February2021.
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