You might be wondering what I’ve been up to as my “schedule” page looks rather sad these days. Someone commented on that, being worried about the future of my rakugo career 🙂

No need to worry, my friends, here are some of the things I have been doing under the radar. (If you follow my Twitter, I tend to update more than I do on here, by the way.)

One of the highlights has been performing at a conference for Kiwis who are going to the 2020 Olympics. I got to perform a brand new piece about a judo athlete, a character that was inspired by a real Kiwi judo Olympian.

Proud to support Japan cultural experts Hiroshi Nakatsuji, Ian Kennedy and Naoe Hashimoto to share their tips & insights with @HPSportNZ @NZParalympics @nzolympics as part of the prep for next year’s Tokyo Olympics @Tokyo2020 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/EbmF0JX4Hf

— Asia New Zealand Foundation (@asianewzealand) March 13, 2019

Another memorable performance happened last week. It was at Consul General’s residence. I got to perform rakugo for the Auckland Consular Corps, a group of consul generals from various countries. The Consulate General of Japan Website has a few photos from the performance.

I have also done my first animation VO for a TV programme called “Tales of Nai Nai”.

View this post on Instagram

Spoiler alert: you’re looking at the voice of your favourite character 🇯🇵🌸 This is Hiroshi Nakatsuji and the character he plays is top secret, but he will make you cry and then laugh and then cry again. Hiroshi is a brilliant actor and longtime Rakugo performer and was so charming and memorable as our secret fav. His episode is the season finale because we saved the best for last… watch all eps on Oct 7th on HeiHei!

A post shared by Tales of Nai Nai (@talesofnainai) on Jun 3, 2019 at 5:58pm PDT

Also, I have appeared in a display video for the Auckland Museum. I wonder if you can spot me!!!

Finally, my favourite under the radar performances have been at retirement homes!!! Those lovely residents make me happy and always remind me of why I do what I do.

One of the things I have meant to share on this website is this possibly the first poem about rakugo performers in English.

It was written by a narrator/ actor/ writer, Stuart Atkin, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my rakugo master’s English rakugo school in October 2017.

I had a permission to share this on my website but somehow never happened until now (I did write about it on my Japanese blog, though).

So… ladies and gentlemen… this is possibly the first poem about rakugo in the English language! There are a few Japanese terms you might not understand. Please comment if you need any explanation. I’ll be super happy to answer!

The Good Old Days (Song of Rakugoka)

Yes, folks, this is it indeed:
Stories from the past we tell-
Trad Japan on a cushion,
And lots of laughs as well!
With just our voices, hands, and eyes,
A tenugui and a fan,
We build up pictures in your mind
Of life in Old Japan.
In kimonos yellow, turquoise, mauve,
Red and brown, sky-blue and green,
We talk of mochi, soba, fish,
And the bustling Edo era scene;
Chonmage, netuske, hibachi, nagaya,
Cats and doctors, tea and manju,
Wrestlers, travellers, vendors, bo-san,
Con men, courtesans, actors, too,
Not to mention roamin’ ronin,
Their swords just worn for fashion….
Stories we have on all of these
Here in our yose, told with passion;
Tales of folk life you and me,
Funny in lots of silly ways,
So sip your sake, sit back and laugh,
And enjoy with us the good old days!

―　Stuart Atkin