Talented Attractive Scholar Promoting Rakugo Worldwide

OSHIMA Kimie, Rakugo Producer

There are many aspects of Japanese culture, but few non-Japanese know about rakugo, which can be described as a sit down comedy performed by a single entertainer and is thought to be the original style of Japanese comedy. Some theaters specialize in rakugo, which is deeply rooted in the daily lives of Japanese people. However, it is not as easy to promote rakugo to non-Japanese as it is to promote other visual aspects of Japanese culture such as ikebana (flower arranging) or origami (paper folding).

OSHIMA Kimie is striving to promote rakugo to the world. She is an assistant professor at Bunkyo Gakuin University, as well as a sociolinguist doctor. Upon hearing her titles and qualifications, many people will imagine she is too serious to be involved in comedy, but in fact she is a beautiful lady who looks as young as a student. She is the producer of so-called "eigo rakugo" (a sit-down comedy in English) and also a performer. This contrast in her makes her uniqueness more vivid.

Eigo rakugo began when Kimie joined the International Society for Humor Studies in the U.S.A. in 1996 as the first Japanese scholar. "They said I should make a presentation on Japanese humor," Kimie recalls.

Arranges everything from translation of rakugo scripts to locating halls
Kimie went to high school in the U.S. and studied at an American university. After returning to Japan, she received a scholarship and graduated from ICU graduate school. The focus of her studies has been cross culture communication. Being influenced by the words she heard at the Convention, she decided to change the image of Japanese held by foreigners and make everyone laugh. To make that happen, she launched eigo rakugo in 1997.

The first rakugo performer who joined her was SHOFUKUTEI Kakushow. "We performed in Japanese. I prepared translation boards and turned pages according to the scenes. However, I felt something needed to be changed. So, after a number of performances, I changed the method to consecutive Japanese-English verbal interpretation, but I found that didn't fit either."

The performances were successful, but Kimie was not satisfied which led her to decide to teach English to rakugo performers and to perform rakugo herself. Since then she became very busy with rakugo study, script translation and voice recording, letting rakugo performers practice with these tools and practicing rakugo herself.

In rakugo many jokes are made that play on words, so translation is not easy. "I ensure I make those portions in English in all cases. So, they can become quite different from the original text. You can say it is rather a creation than a translation." She says the reason rakugo performers take on rakugo in English comes from their desire to travel overseas and make non-Japanese laugh. "Rakugo performers' ability to memorize is amazing," Kimie says with admiration in her voice.

Their first overseas performance took place in 1998 in the U.S. at several University campuses, including University of Colorado at Boulder, where Kimie graduated. Year after year, overseas performances were held throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S.A. Kimie does everything alone from the hall arrangement to finding sponsors.

"I contact a list of organizations that may take an interest in rakugo such as the Overseas Japanese societies and universities which have Japanese language departments. When the location has been decided, I start to look for sponsors. I contact Japanese companies in the area. I also tie up with airlines and hotels to save on expenses." In the beginning, Kimie paid rakugo performers' performance fees out of her own pocket. But now, she is supported by a subsidy from the Japan Foundation.

Laughing points differ between cultures
In performances overseas, audiences are younger and more families come compared with performances in Japan. The performances are great successes everywhere, but she says their laughing points are different from ones in Japanese. "For instance, in a tale about "Tokisoba" (time-noodles) in Rakugo (it is called "Tokiudon" in Kansai), there is a scene where a rakugo performer makes loud slurping noises while eating soba (noodle). Foreign audiences laugh loudly. They are surprised by the astonishing manners and find Japanese culture where those kind of manners is allowed is interesting. They say they would like to try it according to the questionnaire survey.

Even though audiences may laugh at unexpected points in the show, which may surprise rakugo performers, she says they cannot suddenly stop speaking. "Actually, rakugo performers do not understand the English meanings, but just memorize English words as marks. So they have to perform it at their own pace," Kimie laughs. After the performance finishes, the audience asks for their autographs. However, the rakugo performers do not speak English at all. The audience, who have just heard the performers speaking in English, often become confused. "Now, their English is very much improved," Kimie says about their efforts.

The performances are also held in Japan 2~3 times. Now, she is delighted to be receiving 40~50 requests a year for performances from many organizations including enterprises, schools and foundations. "I can't do the same thing again," Kimie says recalling the hard times. It is not exaggeration to say that she created rakugo in English single-handedly. "Rakugo in English is the frontline of cross cultural communication and as a scholar, it is helpful to build up a theory."

At present, Kimie appears as a regular member on NHK's International Broadcast "Hello from Tokyo" show and rakugo in English has been included in the curriculum of her universities. Kimie, who is experiencing extremely smooth sailing, mentioned her wishes this way: "I hope 'rakugo' will be included like 'sushi' in the Oxford Dictionary." She continued, "Laughing contributes to world peace. You cannot hit someone while you are laughing, and you cannot hit someone who is laughing. Laughing is effective for demolishing hostility," smiles Kimie.

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