6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Japanese art of storytelling, Rakugo, comes to Chennai
Rakugo is a solo, sit-down storytelling form that dates back to nearly four centuries. The performer remains seated throughout the act, often in a kneeling position called seiza, and enacts multiple characters using just minimal props. It's a form of mono-acting that relies heavily on vocal shifts, gestures, and facial expressions.
'Every Rakugo story builds up to a strong climax punchline called ochi which is the soul of the performance. The stories themselves are often passed down for generations. While most Rakugo are comic in nature, there are also ghost stories (Kaidanbanashi) and emotional narratives (Ninjobanashi),' says Santhosh.
His discovery of Rakugo was accidental. While living in Bengaluru five years ago, he happened to attend an event by a Japanese storyteller who couldn't speak a word of English. The performance was entirely in Japanese, a language Santhosh barely knew. Yet, he was fascinated. 'I couldn't understand anything, but I fell in love with it,' he says. That led him to read more, and discover Rakugo being performed in English in Japan. He eventually shifted to Tokyo, where he now lives and works as an IT engineer while learning the art on the side.
