A rakugo performer should not tell a rakugo story seriously.

Beicho Katsura

 

 

The rakugo performer says "rakugo is not "a performance to do enthusiastically drenched in sweat. "While trembling and pulling the heart of the audience, the storyteller evades and dodges saying this is "a drolly," and finishes with "a punch line." Yes, if the performer gets serious, the rakugo will get messed up. With such a sense of fun and lightness, rakugo stays present to common people's feeling that "they don't want a big thing" and as long as everyone lives safely, nothing else matters. From "Rakugo And I."

 

"February 10  2019

from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun"