Shijaku Katsura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shijaku Katsura (桂枝雀 Katsura Shijaku?) (August 13, 1939-April 19, 1999) was a Japanese rakugo performer of the late 20th century, who often performed in English. He was born Tōru Maeda (前田達 Maeda Tōru?) in Kobe, the son of a brick-maker.[1] In 1960 he entered the tutelage of the rakugo performer Beichō Katsura III (桂米朝?), and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name Koyone Katsura X (桂小米?).[2] He changed his stage name to Shijaku Katsura (Shijaku Katsura II)[3] in 1974. Katsura's more well-known rakugo stories include Manju kowai (まんじゅこわい?), Atagoyama (愛宕山?), Toki udon (時うどん?), and Yadoyagataki (宿屋仇?).[4]
Katsura studied English in the early 1980s, and gave his first English-language rakugo performance in 1983.[5] For the rest of his career, he often performed rakugo in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, making an otherwise inaccessible form of comedy accessible for non-Japanese speakers.
Katsura's students include equally famous rakugo performers such as Jakujaku Katsura.[6] He also assisted in launching the career of Bill Crowley, the first non-Japanese professional rakugo performer.[7]
Katsura died of heart failure on April 19, 1999, after a failed suicide attempt at his home in Suita, Osaka.[8] He was survived by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Katsura Shijaku "Der Schreiber"
- ^ Katsura Shijaku "Der Schreiber"
- ^ The first Shijaku Katsura lived 1862-1928.
- ^ "Katsura Shijaku" on the Japanese Wikipedia
- ^ Perkins, p. 329.
- ^ "Katsura Shijaku" on the Japanese Wikipedia
- ^ Features - Bill Crowley: Rakugo Diplomat
- ^ Comic Storyteller Katsura Dies - AP Online - HighBeam Research
[edit] References
- Shijaku Katsura at the Internet Movie Database
- Shijaku Katsura obituary (accessed 21 December 2007)
- "Katsura Shijaku" on the Japanese Wikipedia (accessed 21 December 2007)
- "Der Schreiber" (German translation of one of Katsura's rakugo, including a short biography) (accessed 21 December 2007)
- "Sushi and Sake" interview with Bill Crowley. (accessed 21 December 2007)
- Perkins, Dorothy (1991). Encyclopedia of Japan: Japanese History and Culture, from Abacus to Zori. n.p.: Facts on File.
[edit] Further reading
Works in Japanese
- Katsura, Shijaku (1996). Katsura Shijaku no rakugo-annai. Tokyo: Chikuma-shobo.
- Ueda, Fumiyo (2003). Warawasete warawasete Katsura Shijaku. Tokyo: Tankōsha.
