(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
Today, I watched live entertainment shows in Fukui, Japan.
I watched rakugo and manzai.
Rakugo is a 400-year-old traditional Japanese form of storytelling. Performers wear traditional Japanese clothing and tell humorous and heartwarming stories by themselves.
Manzai is a traditional style of Japanese stand-up comedy that is usually performed by a duo.
When I arrived at the venue, there was a long line of people waiting to enter. I joined the line. At the entrance, I saw a sign that said “Sold Out.” I was surprised by how popular the event was.
At the entrance, a young boy wearing traditional Japanese clothing gave a free towel to every visitor. I was surprised by this generosity.
I sat in the far-right seat of the fifth row from the front. There were about 200 people in the audience, and most of them were adults. Some women were wearing traditional Japanese clothing.
The star of the event, Aoitei Shingetsu, appeared on stage. He is a handsome 41-year-old rakugo performer from Fukui.
He sat on a raised platform and began speaking.
He explained that he had given free towels to everyone because he believed that spending money on other people would bring good fortune.
The towel cost 1,200 yen, while the admission fee was only 500 yen. In other words, he was spending more on each guest than he earned from their ticket.
I had never met anyone like him before. He was willing to spend his own money to make other people happy.
Shingetsu said, “I heard today’s tickets were sold out, but why are there still some empty seats?” He looked a little annoyed.
Then he began his rakugo performance.
The story was about a married couple who could not read very well. The husband had poor eyesight and wanted to use eye drops. He tried to read the instructions, but because he could not read properly, he kept making funny mistakes.
The story was full of humor, and the audience laughed a lot.
There was a man sitting behind me who laughed especially hard.
After Shingetsu finished his performance, a manzai duo took the stage.
Their name was Nabechan Yamachan. They are from Fukui and perform as amateurs.
As comedians, they had funny appearances and energetic personalities. They spoke loudly and used big gestures, which made their comedy easy to follow.
Their routine was about a man who had just started working at a convenience store. Since he was inexperienced, he made many funny mistakes.
One of the performers wore a uniform that looked like a convenience store employee’s outfit. It was very funny.
Because manzai is performed by two people, their performance had a lot of energy. I felt that comedy performed by a duo was especially enjoyable.
After their performance, a man named Hayaokitei Sadakuro appeared on stage to perform rakugo.
Before beginning his story, he spent some time chatting with the audience.
He said that he had owned a bakery until last year. However, the bakery went out of business after its machines broke down. Rakugo is now his main job.
He also said that he enjoys performing in front of audiences with many women because women tend to express their emotions openly and laugh more easily.
On the other hand, he joked that men do not show their emotions very much and do not laugh as often.
His rakugo performance focused on health, longevity, and aging.
He said that he had never imagined becoming old when he was younger, and even now it was difficult for him to believe that he was getting old. I could understand how he felt. It is difficult for many of us to imagine ourselves becoming old and eventually dying.
He said that he wanted to remain active until the day he died and did not want to spend a long time confined to a bed.
Then he jokingly said that the secret was to live to be 100 years old. If you reach 100, you can die peacefully when you get sick.
He also said that older men are more likely to suffer from strokes and heart attacks, while older women are more likely to experience joint pain and weakened bones.
One joke received a particularly big laugh. He said that if your parents are critically ill, you should withdraw their money from the bank before rushing to the hospital because once they die, you cannot access their money so easily anymore.
He spoke very fluently. Since I am not good at speaking, I was impressed by his ability to talk so smoothly.
Then there was a 15-minute break.
After the break, the same young boy wearing traditional Japanese clothing came onto the stage.
He said, “Please turn off your smartphones. If a phone rings during the performance, Shingetsu will forget his lines.”
The audience laughed, and so did I.
Then Shingetsu returned to the stage. He sat down and bowed deeply.
Before starting his performance, he talked freely for a while.
He said, “There are many incidents and conflicts in the world. People all have their own sense of justice, so perhaps there are no truly bad people.”
Then his second rakugo performance began.
The story was about a samurai who was suspected of stealing money.
Because samurai lived several hundred years ago, they spoke an older form of Japanese. Shingetsu recreated this old style of speech very skillfully, which impressed me.
In the middle of the performance, a smartphone suddenly rang loudly.
Shingetsu immediately turned the interruption into part of the comedy. Staying in character, he referred to the sound and joked about it, making the audience burst into laughter.
Rakugo performers must play many different roles by themselves, including men, women, children, elderly people, merchants, and samurai.
Shingetsu handled all of these roles wonderfully. I think this is one of his greatest strengths as a performer.
When he played a samurai, he spoke in a dignified, low, and slow voice. When he played a merchant, he used a higher and faster voice.
He also knew how to use silence effectively. Whenever he wanted the audience to pay attention to something important, he paused for a moment before continuing.
Eventually, the performance came to an end.
I was deeply impressed by Shingetsu’s second performance.
I have watched some of the best professional rakugo performers in Japan, and I felt that Shingetsu’s performance compared very well with theirs.
The man sitting behind me said, “Shingetsu has improved a lot.”
Later, I looked up information about him and discovered something surprising.
He is not a professional rakugo performer. He performs as an amateur.
After the event, he stood near the exit and chatted with his fans.
As I was leaving the venue, I overheard someone say, “Shingetsu’s story was serious, but it also had a lot of humor. It was excellent.”
I agreed completely. I thought it was an insightful comment.
I did not know any of the performers. None of them were famous professionals, but they all gave excellent performances.
The experience reminded me that there are many talented people in the world who are not well known. Sometimes, great performers can be found in the most unexpected places.