Profile

 

Koraku is a diplomat-turned Rakugo storyteller. Despite the growing interest in in Japanese culture around the globe, the art of traditional comic storytelling, Rakugo has remained largely unknown overseas due to the language barrier. Having always felt that it would be a shame to keep the enjoyment of Rakugo only to Japanese speakers, Koraku is committed to spreading the appeal of Rakugo to the world by performing it in English and French.

 

Koraku studied traditional Rakugo under Master Kingentei Ryoma, English Rakugo under Master Kanariya Eiraku. He is one of the few Rakugo-ka who perform Rakugo in multiple languages. Additionally, he also dabbles in magic and shamisen comic talk.

 

He regularly performs in Asakusa, Tokyo, and has toured around the world covering such places as the UK (London, Manchester, York, Edinburgh, etc.), France (Paris, Nice, Cannes, Marseille, Tours, Strasbourg), the US (San Jose, San Francisco), Turkey (Istanbul), Denmark (Copenhagen).

 

He is a founding board member of the English Rakugo Association. He holds a BA from Waseda University, Tokyo and MPhil from University of Cambridge.