Thank you for coming to the first time ever “Rakugo & Ramen” at Ramen DO the other day!

It was an exciting opportunity for me to perform at my favourite Japanese restaurant in Auckland.  Admittedly though, it was also the most challenging environment to do Rakugo, as half the people came to watch my performance and the other half just wanted to be left alone to enjoy the beautiful ramen noodles (fair enough) 🙂

I will probably need to change my strategy next time… perhaps a bunch of “Kobanashi” (one-liners) and just one Rakugo story instead of two?  I have learned heaps, and I can feel myself grow as a performer each time I get on stage.

So… as in the title, another show is coming up at Onehunga Library next week.  I am very much looking forward to it as it is my old workplace and I live in the community.

Without exaggeration, I believe that a public library is the closest place to heaven on earth.  How many other public facilities are truly open to literally all people?

Another show is getting organised at Titirangi Library in July.  I will update here once the details are confirmed.

Hope to see you there!

What can I say?

I am really excited!

New regular shows will be happening very soon!

I had been in search of a semi-permanent venue where I can perform Rakugo regularly, say, at least once a month to promote Rakugo to the New Zealand audience and also to improve my skills as a performer.

One of the hardest things in this attempt was that I had to start from explaining what Rakugo is before even asking for performance opportunities.

After a few futile attempts, I got hungry.

Very, very hungry.

I had this mysterious craving for Ramen noodles, my all time favourite food.

Then, a brilliant idea flashed into my mind.

How about doing Rakugo at a Ramen restaurant?

Both words happen to start with “Ra”.

“Ra” happens to be the name of an Egyptian god…

No, I wasn’t thinking that, but it actually felt quite promising.

So I decided to approach ら～めん道（Ramen DO) my favourite Ramen restaurant that is run by my favourite person.

After an hour of catching up and discussing the show, “Rakugo & Ramen” was born!

The first one will be held at 7:00PM, Mon 28 May 2018!

The date for the second one hasn’t been set yet, but it will be sometime in June.  The timing will be posted here or on my Twitter.

Come enjoy Rakugo and Ramen… at the same time!

“Eishi is a wonderful and talented storyteller full of charm and charisma! We very much enjoyed his Rakugo performance; The evening was filled with both funny and dramatic moments enthused with the spirit of Japanese culture! Highly recommended!”

E. Backler

“I recently had the opportunity to see Eishi perform Rakugo in English. He explained the artform and its conventions for those of us unfamiliar with it and performed two well known stories “Jugemu” and “A Summer Burglar”.

He was obviously well versed in the performance style and his translation made the stories both accessible and enjoyable.

Highly recommended.”

Julia Clement, Comedian

“I enjoyed so much the Rakugo show that Eishi performed, I had never experienced this before. I lived how we were drawn in to the story and into the relative stillness of the performer. I loved how he explained the moving of the head denoting status and characterisation – it was great to learn about it and then witness it, you felt “in the know”.

I liked the kiwi elements, it also made me feel included in this ancient practice, it helped me to relate.

I would love to hear other Rakugo in the future.”

Julie Watson

“日本にいた時も落語が好きで時々聞いていましたが、英語で落語を聞くのは初めての体験でした。英志さんの英語はとても流暢で聞き取りやすく、表情の豊かさ、表現力の素晴らしさに終始魅了され、ずっと笑いっぱなしの公演でした。日本の笑いの文化をニュージーランドにとどまらず世界に伝える文化大使として今後もぜひ頑張ってください！”

Tさん　オークランド在住

“当日は、こども達と『何度も絵本で読んで楽しんだ「寿限無」を英語で表現したらどうなるんだろうね？？？』とワクワクしながら会場へ向かいました。落語を生で鑑賞することが初めてでしたが、内容を全て知っているお話しでも話し手の表現力でこんなにも楽しく、大笑いできるのだなと感心しきりでした。こども達もとても楽しんでいたようで、私の隣でよく笑っていました。

次回は家族で英語落語を鑑賞しに行きますね。”

M.A.さん　オークランド在住