English Rakugo performer and actor based in NZ. A full-time rebel with common sense. A lover of art, books, comedy, Japanese culture/ language, music, peace, positivity, theatre, and trivia. Idealistic, but ain't no saint.
鹿鳴家英志（本名：中辻拓志）。ニュージーランドを拠点とする役者・英語落語パフォーマー。アメリカへの演劇留学をきっかけに、気付くと海外滞在20年。現在ニュージーランドに永住中。アメリカの4大卒業後は日本で英会話講師を経験、その後ニュージーランドの高校教師資格を取得する。ニュージーランドでは英語にてスタンダップコメディーを行い、2005年ニュージーランド国際コメディーフェスティバルの新人大会にて全国優勝を果たす。その後、テレビドラマ、CM等に出演、テレビのレポーターも勤める。
In the world of rakugo, every performer has their own custom-printed tenugui or Japanese traditional towels, which act as business cards or ID’s.
Until this day, I still do not have my original tenugui, but as someone who performs rakugo in English, I wanted something very unconventional that can be used by myself or gifted to my supporters.
So I decided to design my own tote bag, which is the one in the picture above.
However…
I realised only after I had already designed Rakugo NZ Logo that the website required me to post 5 designs at least and officially open a shop in order to order items for myself…
So for the last few months, I have learned a bit about graphic design, copyright, etc. and created 4 extra designs so that I could finally get my own tote bag 😁
This is how this shop was born… rather randomly just like my own life.
Having said that, I’m hoping that this shop will promote the word “rakugo” in a fun way.
Click the photo at the top or below to visit the shop. Once on the page, click “shop all products” to see all available items.
If you like what you see in the shop, please spread the word!
One of my dreams has been to produce storytelling performances curating stories from all over the world including my art, rakugo.
This may sound like a massive dream, but the journey of a thousand miles got to begin with one step!
So, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in starting a very casual storytelling group where members share their stories or simply read picture books or passages from your favourite book or poetry?
If you are interested, please contact me via the contact page or one of my SNS (linked icons below).
If I get 2 or 3 people interested (as 1 on 1 would be a bit awkward…), we can meet at a cafe or a library somewhere in Auckland. I will book a space!
Here in Auckland, some parts of the city were flooded once again the day before yesterday, and last night we had a thunderstorm with hail where a lightning struck the Sky Tower. The temperature dropped nearly 10 degrees overnight, too.
My life isn’t as dramatic as the Auckland weather these days, but it’s definitely about time for an update on the rakugo front.
As some of you are aware, I have been struggling with a frozen shoulder for a while, but to make it more exciting, I injured my back during my recent trip to Japan. It was kind of exciting to buy my first walking stick, which I affectionately call ‘Mjölnir’, to waddle back to New Zealand.
It felt like being Yurakutei Yakumo if I let my inner anime geek shine through…
Fortunately, I don’t have to use the cane anymore, and I am steadily recovering.
However, the problem is that I still can only hold the seiza position up to only 20-30 minutes.
My usual solo performances run 60-90 minutes, so it is currently not possible to do a full-length performance.
So…
I am looking for groups, organisations or venues in Auckland to let me perform rakugo only up to 30 minutes maximum…
Do you know such people who would kindly invite me?
As it is my favour, I will not charge my usual fees, but I’m keen on performing for free (though petrol money would be appreciated).
I really need to get back to stage to polish my craft.
Please contact me via the contact page if you are interested. Thank you!
Another exciting news is that the rakugo-inspired installation art that Fiona Amundsen and I created will now be exhibited at Tampere Art Museum in Finland.
I’m quite impressed how far it will travel-16,606 km away from here according to Google!
Technically, they will probably build the screens locally over there, so I don’t think it will travel physically, though- so you know that it will not add to the carbon footprints 😁
The exhibition opens on 17 June 2023 and runs until 15 October 2023.
If you happen to be in Finland…
I have 2 Finnish friends, so I’m hoping at least 2 people would check it out. See you next time!
I have to say that one of the highlights from my recent Japan trip was Tōkōin Temple (東光院) in my hometown, Oiso.
Mind you, I am not at all a religious person.
I only visited this temple to pay respect to my uncle who passed on during the pandemic, but this temple really blew my mind and showed me what it is to adapt our old traditions to this ever-changing world.
As you would know, not taking off your shoes to enter a Japanese house is a cardinal sin.
If I’m allowed to be a bit passive aggressive right now, each time my NZ European family members and friends walk into my house with their shoes on, I’m internally very, VERY cross! (Now you know!)
This cultural rule is upheld even more strictly at places of worship such as shrines, temples, and even some churches in Japan.
But, as you can see in one of the pictures above (“Keep your shoes on” sign), this temple broke this sacred cultural law to make the sanctuary barrier free for the elderly and people with disability (you need to bend down to remove your shoes, which is hard for them).
I was born and raised in Japan and spent about 21 years of my life there, but it was the very first time to visit a temple that allows you to keep your shoes on… in the sanctuary!!!
They also removed tatami mattresses and placed chairs in the sanctuary so that people don’t have to sit in the seiza position. It is a seiza-free temple!!!
I don’t know any other temple that does this. Please comment below if you know any other temple like this one in Japan… This is that rare!
But what really surprised me doesn’t end here.
This temple has a cozy community space with a library which is completely open to the public- anyone can just walk in and use it to study, to work, up to you.
When my family entered the space, there were a lot of after-school primary school students, reading manga, playing games together, or doing homework.
Then joined one of the monks (who once was a boxer!), and they all started watching the Final of 2023 World Baseball Classic together!
As you may know, Japan beat US and won the championship this year 😁
Did I say that the temple also provides tea, coffee, hot lemon drink, and sometimes even snacks free of charge.
If you want to have some quiet time to meditate, there is space available, too, where you can do sutra copying (写経) or “shabutsu” (写仏), which is a meditative practice to trace pictures of Buddha and other Buddhist deities.
My son was really amused by the tracing activity and completed it in a few minutes- though it’s supposed to be done very slowly to contemplate.
The temple also works closely with doctors, nurses, social workers, psychotherapists to offer free help for those who cannot afford these kinds of services themselves.
They invite academics to do open lectures on non-Buddhist subjects like economics as well.
There are even more radical things they do, but I’ll stop here to not to bore you!
My learning from their adaptability is that traditional arts such as rakugo also have to keep evolving, adapting themselves to the time, here and now. I have to say this temple is way ahead of the world of rakugo.
As I promised in the previous post, here is a very fascinating folklore from my hometown, Oiso.
In Oiso, fishers traditionally do not catch octopuses, and this is a folklore that explains why:
During the reign ofEmperor Ōjin (270- 310), there lived a fisherman called Takonojo (蛸之丞; たこのじょう). Tako, by the way, means an octopus.
One day, when he was fishing as usual, he saw something glittering, drifting in the waves.
Lo and behold, it was a small octopus, and it began approaching Takanojo’s fishing boat!
The octopus crawled up onto his boat and suddenly began transforming into a shining statue of a Thousand-Armed Kannon (千手観音), which is said to be a manifestation of the Buddha’s compassion.
This is not the actual statue, but here is an example of a Senju Kannon. This Kannon is from the 14th century (Nanbokucho period/ early Muromachi period) and owned by the Tokyo National Museum.
This statue was first enshrined at Koma Temple (高麗寺) but moved to Keikakuin Temple.
Because of this legend, real Oiso fishers do not catch octopuses.
What puzzles me, though, is that Buddhism reached Japan in 538AD, which was well after this miraculous incident happened in my hometown.
Someone is making loud scraping noise right outside of our bedroom.
I peek through the curtains…
It’s a surfer, busily applying wax on his surfboard.
Then, I realise- I’m back home in Oiso!
My hometown, which is located 70km to the west of Tokyo, perhaps is one of the Top 10 destinations for the Japanese surfers.
The number of surfers per capita is abnormally high, and in summer the main beach literally gets filled with local and visiting surfers. It’s like the Shibuya Station crossing if you know what I mean.
Naturally, the town is full of the outdoor types, hippies, creatives and plain weirdos (like myself).
It’s a historical town, too, that once hosted 2 ex-Japanese Prime Ministers and 6 other PM’s who had their holiday homes there.
The Japanese literary giant, Toson Shimazaki, lived in Oiso, too, and Haruki Murakami still has one of his houses there (he’s rich).
I realised that I am describing it like a utopia, but it’s really a sleepy little town with a population of around 30,000 people. Most Japanese would just bypass right through unless they are surfers or history fans.
But to me this is my home, and I have a lot to talk about!
In the next few blog entries, I will be sharing about this town that only the locals know, including its local legends and folklores.
My back and shoulder are not doing great at the moment, so I’ll stop here for now.
English Rakugo NZ 