Performer wants to see Japanese tradition of rakugo grow in NZ

Kanariya Eishi is on a one-man mission to bring rakugo, a lesser-known Japanese oral tradition, to New Zealand.

Rakugo is a mix of stand-up comedy, ghost stories, human drama and storytelling, depending on which part of Japan you take inspiration from.

A performance normally consists of a single actor dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono embodying multiple characters.

Originally created to entertain bored Monks in Kyoto, rakugo has developed into an important part of Japanese culture performed from theatres and schools to the streets.

Eishi believes shared traditions are very important and rakugo would make a good addition to the local art scene in New Zealand.

He chooses to perform in mostly English and hopes to eventually perform in te reo Māori, rather than Japanese.

“If I do it in Japanese people won’t understand me,” Eishi said.

“I love rakugo so if I want to continue to practise in New Zealand, for the sake of practicality and an audience it’s got to be in English."

He sees rakugo as an opportunity for growth and as a more authentic expression of his own culture, having moved away from Japan at the age of 19.

“My foundation and my culture is Japanese but I’m becoming more Kiwi," he said.

Training in Western countries had influenced his style of performing and teaching Rakugo, he said. “I studied theatre in California and theatre clowning in Tokyo - that’s my backbone."

Rakugo was traditionally taught in a very disciplined way with a tough master, Eishi said. “However, I give it a clowning American twist that is fundamentally different to other teachers, a really positive way of teaching.”

A display of Eishi performing Rakugo is being shown at the Christchurch Art Gallery as part of the Things That Shape Us exhibition.

Two large screens display Eishi in his, and creative partner Fiona Amundsen’s, interpretation of the "lingering effects of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki".

"Our artwork was based on actual and imaginary conversations between my grandfather and me," Eishi said.

His grandfather was a hibakusha, a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing of World War II, an event that went on to affect the rest of the family line.

“The whole work was based on our mutual understanding that a war is a loss of the ordinary things. Like kids being able to play outside freely, having green tea with family and friends, or watching fireworks at summer festivals."

Although he became involved with the Christchurch gallery because he felt he had to tell this story, the exhibition may bring some more recognition to rakugo, Eishi said.

Eishi also performs in schools across Auckland with help from educational agencies and the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

He also runs workshops and teaches classes for the public at the Onehunga Community Centre.