Music in Kamigata Rakugo Performance

• Main Author: Catherine Hallett
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japan Foundation, Sydney 2014-01-01
• Series: New Voices
• Subjects: Kamigata; rakugo; storyteller; storytelling; yose-bayashi
• Online Access: http://newvoices.org.au/volume-6/music-in-kamigata-rakugo-performance/

Rakugo is the Japanese tradition of staged comic storytelling presented by highly trained hanashika storytellers associated with small urban variety theatres called yose, found in the Kamigata and Edo regions. Although yose theatres are associated with spoken rather than musical events, music is an integral component of Kamigata rakugo performance. It is central both to the rendering of a storyteller’s performance and to creating the overall atmosphere in the yose theatre. This paper addresses the lack of detailed research on music in Kamigata rakugo performance, particularly in English. It demonstrates and documents the centrality of music in Kamigata rakugo performance, specifically the way that this music, which is rich in symbolism, aids a storyteller’s performance and is intrinsically bound up in the hierarchical structure of the storytellers and yose-bayashi ensemble musicians. It focuses on how the music functions in the performances, transmitting meanings and supporting the social structure of the ensemble.