< Rakugo (Comic Storytelling) > Rakugo was established as a performing art about 300 years ago, during the mid-Edo period. Rakugo is characterized by comic monologues about the lives of townspeople or folk tales, and also by a final punch line called ochi (lit. the drop). Rakugo can be categorized into Kamigata rakugo, developed in the Kansai (also called Kamigata) region around Osaka and Kyoto, and Edo rakugo, developed in Edo (now called Tokyo). (Rakugo and Osaka) Since Kamigata rakugo developed in the Kansai (Kamigata) region, most stories are set in Osaka and other parts of Kansai, and are narrated in Kamigata dialects such as the one used in Osaka or Kyoto. At the same time, however, there are some stories called tabi-neta (travelogues) that depict areas some distance from Kansai, for example on a pilgrimage to Ise Shrine. Kamigata rakugo was originally performed out in a noisy street and, in order to attract chance customers who happened to pass by with no intention to stop and listen, the performance had to be attention-getting in every possible way. For this reason, one characteristic of Kamigata rakugo lies in its gaiety compared to Edo rakugo, with the use of props and narimono (musical instruments; also called hamemono). The debayashi musical accompaniment to the narrator’s entrance and exit, which now is part of rakugo performances in both Kansai and Kanto (Tokyo region), used to be unique to Kamigata rakugo and was later introduced to Edo rakugo.

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