Month: February 2026

Free Rakugo Performance/ Workshop?

On By Kanariya EishiIn NoticeLeave a comment

Kia ora everyone,

Sorry for the last‑minute notice, but I’m wondering if any school or library in North and West Auckland would like to host a FREE rakugo performance/workshop sometime between April and December.

I’m currently preparing a funding application that’s due this Sunday, and I suddenly remembered that I need letters of confirmation from participating schools and other organisations. Silly me for realising this so late!

If you’re interested, I’d be grateful for a simple letter confirming that your school/ library would like to host a rakugo performance‑workshop. For this round, I’m focusing on North and West Auckland schools, as these communities have supported my work in the past. If I can confirm interest from five schools, I’ll proceed with the application; otherwise, I’ll hold off and apply in the next round.

If your school is in another part of Auckland, please feel free to get in touch anyway- I may apply for a separate funding round to include you.

My sincere apologies for the short notice, and thank you so much for considering this opportunity!

Eishi’s Rakugo Commentary No.5 [Peach Boy 桃太郎]

On By Kanariya EishiIn Digital Rakugo, Rakugo CommentaryLeave a comment

Momotaro (桃太郎) or Peach Boy is a rakugo piece built on one of Japan’s best‑known folktales, and that alone makes it stand out. It’s rare for an entire folktale to appear inside a rakugo story, and even rarer for the performer to spend so much time in straight narration rather than the usual back‑and‑forth of character dialogue. For performers like me, who love the energy of conversational storytelling, this shift in style becomes a surprisingly refreshing challenge.

To be very honest, it isn’t my favourite story to perform, but the tale itself is wonderfully crafted.

The frame story is quite simple. A father is trying desperately to get his son, Kimbo, to sleep. His chosen strategy is the classic tale of Momotaro: the old couple, the giant peach, the brave boy who grows up to defeat the ogres of Onigashima with the help of a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant.

But Ken is not the “innocent child” of the olden days. He is a modern kid, raised in an age of Google searches and endless information. He bombards his father with questions.

The father, of course, has no answers. And before long, the child takes over the storytelling entirely.

This video was filmed during the pandemic as part of the Creative New Zealand–funded Online Rakugo Project. I look so much younger, and my rakugo skills were still very raw. But it’s good, sometimes, to look back and see how far I’ve come 😁