Getting laughs in English and Japanese英語と日本語を自在に操る落語家・立川志の春さん

英語と日本語を自在に操る落語家・立川志の春さん。幼少期と大学時代を米国で過ごし、大学卒業後は商社マンとして働いていた彼は、偶然観た落語に衝撃を受け、その世界に飛び込んだ。英語落語にも力を入れ、伝統と革新を融合させた独自のスタイルを確立。国境を超えて落語の魅力を伝えている。

Shinoharu Tatekawa is a rakugoka, a uniquely Japanese form of comedy that’s part storytelling and part acting. Rakugo goes back about 400 years and traditionally, the rakugoka sits on their knees on the stage in seiza style. Aided only by a fan and a piece of cloth, they express everything from having a meal to climbing a mountain.

Shinoharu may be described as a maverick rakugoka. He’s completely bilingual, thanks to three years spent living in New York as a child and his time as an undergraduate at Yale University. Currently, he is a master performer in the Tatekawa family and has given many English rakugo performances, with his newest slated for April. “I was 8 when my father was transferred to New York,” recalls Shinoharu. “I attended a local elementary school and struggled at first, unable to understand a word. But my teacher assigned me a buddy and, within months, I made friends and could join conversations.”

In the middle of sixth grade, his father was transferred back to Japan and Shinoharu found himself in a Japanese classroom again. Still, he chose to go to the U.S. for university. “My parents opposed it, but I convinced them it would be an invaluable life experience.”

At Yale, Shinoharu was floored by the number of gifted students in his discussion group. “I knew right away that I could never compete with these people. I thought it would be a joyous four years but in fact, my life was pretty gray.” But an encounter with a friend who was into Japanese culture dramatically changed Shinoharu’s perspective. “This friend was very informed about Japanese film and seemed surprised that I didn’t know anything about it. I started watching old Kurosawa movies and realized that I had neglected the Japanese aspect of myself and my life. It was as if I was struck by lightning.”

After returning to Japan and becoming formally employed, he was struck by lightning again, this time in the form of rakugo. “By chance, I attended a performance and got hooked.” The following year, Shinoharu became apprenticed to the Tatekawa family.

Taking the leap from being a rakugo fan to becoming a rakugo master is a mind-boggling feat. “The world of rakugo is tough and works in a system where the top master’s authority is absolute. With my free and democratic American upbringing, it was hard for me to stick to the rules and I was fired about 10 times. But I always managed to come back. If nothing else, my time in the U.S. taught me that whatever happened, keeping my self-esteem was the most important thing.”

They say you can take a boy out of New York but you can’t take New York out of the boy. Shinoharu’s unique perspective and insight into both American and Japanese comedy culture is both a product of his upbringing on both sides. It also got him through his apprenticeship and helped shape his performance style. “I feel that modern Japanese comedy, as it’s played out in TV variety shows for example, is a closed circle. It’s funny for people who are already in that circle but less so to everyone else. Rakugo on the other hand, is open to the world. The stories have been told and retold for centuries, and they’re still so funny and capture the imagination of people who have never been to Japan and don’t know the culture.”

Shinoharu says that when performing in English to a foreign audience, he explains traditional rakugo gestures like air-eating soba noodles. “I explain that in Japan, it’s polite to slurp as loudly as possible.” At this point, the audience is already chuckling and when Shinoharu actually tucks into his imaginary soba, they burst into laughter. (Kaori Shoji)

Words to live by