December 21, 2006

Rakugo is an ancient art of story telling that has its origins in homes of the Japanese families during the cold snowy evenings when restless homebound children had to be kept happy and entertained, reports Zohrah Noorwala


The new auditorium at the Karachi Arts Council of Pakistan reverberated with loud spontaneous laughter and appreciative applause from the audience, as a group of Japanese artists presented a delightful ‘sit-down comedy’ called Rakugo.

Organised by the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Centre, three world renowned Japanese Rakugo performers entertained Karachiites with an ancient art form. Though each was unique in style, the performers had two common elements -– purity and simplicity.

Kimie Oshima presented the hilariously dramatic narration of the story The chicken with three legs that ran faster than an automobile. Katsure Asakichi graphically performed the Beautiful dishwasher’s ghost and narrated the Silly noodleman’s tale with well-timed comic movements. While Shofukutei Kakushaw, a puppeteer of great skill, was very good with his foot, knee and hand puppets in telling the story of the Growing monsters. His deft tossing and acrobatic jostling of the puppets kept the audience enthralled.

Rakugo is an ancient art of story telling that has its origins in homes of the Japanese families during the cold snowy evenings when restless homebound children had to be kept happy and entertained by adults in the family. Beginning somewhere near the end of the 17th century, it has been perfected over the centuries and has been the most popular performing art among Japanese people.

In 1984 Rakugo was first introduced to the outside world when Shofukutei Kakushaw took his puppets to perform at the ‘Comedy festival’ in Melbourne, Australia.

Kimie Oshima, with a Ph.D in Sociolinguistics and Associate Professor of linguistics at Bunkyo Gakuin University, got interested in this genre when she began broadcasting the programme Hello from Tokyo on NHK International Broadcasting Radio. She performed Rakugo in English and noticing its growing popularity initiated an annual Rakugo world tour in 1996.

Kalsure Asakichi took to performing Rakugo publicly in 1993. In 1998, he joined Kimie Oshima’s Rakugo World Tour and in 2000 adopted English language for his presentations. Kalsure is an adept instrumentalist and plays several Japanese traditional instruments. Among them is the twin flute which resembles the Pakistani instrument alghoza.

It is remarkable that Japan not only holds on to its traditional art forms, but also takes pride in its rich cultural heritage. Unlike many countries of the world that have jettisoned their traditional arts and crafts as cumbersome, old fashioned baggage, Japan has maintained its identity and respect for its heritage, despite being one of the leaders of the modern world.

If Rakugo can be kept alive, why can’t the kathputli be brought back?

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