Shijaku Katsura II

In this Japanese name, the family name is Katsura and Maeda.
Crest of the Katsura school of rakugo

Katsura Shijaku II (2代目 桂 枝雀 Nidaime 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 Katsura Beichō III (桂米朝), and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name Katsura Koyone 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 Manjū kowai (まんじゅうこわい), 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 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 discovered by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.

Notes

  1. ↑ Katsura Shijaku "Der Schreiber"
  2. ↑ Katsura Shijaku "Der Schreiber"
  3. ↑ The first Shijaku Katsura lived 1862-1928.
  4. ↑ "Katsura Shijaku" on the Japanese Wikipedia
  5. ↑ Perkins, p. 329.
  6. ↑ "Katsura Shijaku" on the Japanese Wikipedia
  7. ↑ Features - Bill Crowley: Rakugo Diplomat
  8. ↑ Comic Storyteller Katsura Dies - AP Online - HighBeam Research

References

Further reading

Works in Japanese

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