"Yose" are places where a variety of performances are presented in turn, including rakugo comic storytelling, kodan oral storytelling, rokyoku musical recitation, manzai comedy, magic tricks, and daikagura acrobatics. The word yose comes from "yose-atsume," which means putting together.
One element of yose performances is "kami-kiri" paper cutting. Its artists are given a theme by the audience and cut out corresponding paper silhouettes with scissors. Works range from those derived from kabuki, such as the kabuki dance drama "Kyoganoko Musume Dojoji" (The Girl at Dojoji Temple) and "Fujimusume" (The Wisteria Maiden), and the protagonists of folk tales such as "Momotaro" (Peach Boy), to those that represent the current state of society. Kami-kiri is completely improvised, so the artists have to have the skill to give concrete shape to the images they draw in their minds.
Currently, there are seven paper cutters based in Tokyo. One of the leading figures is Hayashiya Shoraku III. In March, he received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for fiscal 2019.
The government declared a state of emergency in early April, forcing yose to voluntarily suspend their operations for about a month.
"Here it is. If you want to keep it as a souvenir, please take it with you." Shoraku said lightly, as if he was on stage, and handed me a piece of his work. It wasn't just a typical picture of a yose stage -- the people in the audience, and even the rakugo performer on the stage, were all wearing masks. Just a few millimeters of unevenness vividly marks the shape of the masks.
For Shoraku, who normally works at yose for more than 300 days a year, the depression of being deprived of his "daily life" is profound. He said that from around March, the number of yose viewers had visibly dropped.
"However, because there were so many devoted yose fans coming to the show [just before the suspension], they listened to the show and it was a great atmosphere. Future yose events have almost all been canceled. Please open yose ..." he said sadly.
Last year's Art Encouragement Prize, which is given by the government to outstanding artists, was also awarded in recognition of the quality of everyday yose.
"It's not an award you can try to get, so I didn't think I had any chance. So it's wonderful [to get it]," Shoraku said.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Shoraku earning his name. When he changed to Shoraku III from his previous name Koshoraku in September 2000 after he became a disciple of Shoraku II, he served as the "tori" last performer, which is very unusual for performers of iromono (entertainments other than rakugo and kodan).
His style of telling stories with a light tone and responding to the audience's requests has not changed from the past, but Shoraku says that his style has gradually changed since he took the name. I didn't smile very much on the stage when I was Koshoraku, but I've learned to laugh. Because the first Shoraku, who was active from the Taisho era (1912-1926) to the Showa era (1926-1989), was such a person."
He is the top performer of the "hiza-gawari," who serves right before the "tori," and his theory is that "the role as a hiza-gawari is to create a good atmosphere and pass the baton to the tori performers." There's a big difference when the tori is a master rakugo performer or a young rakugo performer. "When the tori is young, make it a little more lively. Anyway, we have to keep it light and fun."
Shoraku usually has two yose appearances a day, and if he has a hiza-gawari in a yose, the order of his performance in the other yose is closer to the beginning. "That's also what's interesting how much you can warm up the audience," he said. "The beginning is the key to yose."
There are some challenges he would like to take on in the future, Shoraku said. "People who play instruments don't look at their hands. I want to cut without looking at the paper, too. It's difficult, but I'll do it in a casual way sooner or later. I just hope some people notice."
He shows his favorite tricks in a casual way at yose. He longs for this daily life to come back soon.
I asked one last thing, the secret to not getting flustered by any request from the audience. "Knowing the world. I read newspapers. Especially The Yomiuri Shimbun. Also, if you listen to the performances on stage every day, you'll come up with ideas naturally," Shoraku said with a smile.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
