A list of representative programs of Rakugo, a traditional Japanese storytelling art.
Overview
Rakugo Program List
Rakugo is a traditional Japanese storytelling art that has continued since the Edo period. A storyteller sits on a cushion and uses a folding fan and hand towel as props to perform multiple characters alone while narrating a story. There are about 300 classical Rakugo programs, including various genres such as humorous stories, human interest stories, and ghost stories. Jugemu, Toki Soba, and Shinigami are particularly famous masterpieces among them.
Rakugo
Classical Rakugo
Program
Traditional Performing Arts
Japanese Culture
Storyteller
| code | slug | name | description | duration | genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | jugemu | Jugemu | A masterpiece of wordplay where auspicious words are combined to create an endlessly long name. | 10-15 minutes | Humorous Story / Wordplay Story |
| 02 | toki-soba | Toki Soba | A humorous story where a man asks the time at a soba stall and tricks the vendor by mixing it into the bill. | 15-20 minutes | Humorous Story |
| 03 | shinigami | Shinigami | A ghost story where a man becomes a doctor and makes a fortune with the Shinigami's advice, but eventually has his life candle extinguished. | 20-30 minutes | Ghost Story / Human Interest Story |
| 04 | shibahama | Shibahama | A human interest story where a fishmonger who loves sake picks up a fortune and lives extravagantly, only to find it was a dream and reforms touched by his wife's kindness. | 25-35 minutes | Human Interest Story |
| 05 | bunshichi-moto-yui | Bunshichi Moto Yui | The pinnacle of human interest stories where a plasterer who loves gambling gives his daughter's sale money to a young man about to commit suicide. | 30-40 minutes | Human Interest Story |
| 06 | manju-kowai | Manju Kowai | A humorous story where a man who insists he fears nothing admits 'I am afraid of manju,' and it turns out he tricked others into giving him manju. | 10-15 minutes | Humorous Story / Apprentice Story |
| 07 | meguro-no-sanma | Meguro no Sanma | A satirical story where a lord is impressed by commoners' grilled saury in Meguro but disappointed by the refined saury served at his mansion. | 15-20 minutes | Humorous Story / Satirical Story |
| 08 | sokotsu-nagaya | Sokotsu Nagaya | A humorous story where careless tenement residents mistake a collapsed person for their friend's corpse, ending with a philosophical punchline. | 20-25 minutes | Humorous Story / Tenement Story |
| 09 | doguya | Doguya | A humorous story where a poor businessman serving at an antique shop gives bizarre responses to customers. | 15-20 minutes | Humorous Story |
| 10 | yabu-iri | Yabu Iri | A touching human interest story depicting the reunion of a taciturn parent and child when the son, who is in service, returns home once a year. | 25-35 minutes | Human Interest Story |