Swedish Rakugoka Sanyūtei Kōseinen is Promoted to Futatsume!
Sanyūtei Kōseinen (right) with his master Sanyūtei Kōraku (picture from Sports Hochi article).
This week it was announced that Swedish rakugoka Sanyūtei Jūbei (born Johan Nilsson Bjoerk) was promoted from zenza to futatsume. In the world of rakugo, a traditional style of comedic storytelling, performers work under the guidance of a master and are promoted to different ranks when they are deemed ready. Jūbei, the first foreigner to be a professional rakugoka in the Edo-style, was promoted from zenza to futatsume. A zenza usually trains for 4 to 5 years before earning promotion. It then takes a futatsume 8 to 10 years before he or she can be promoted to the top rank of shin’uchi (or headliner). With the promotion, Jūbei was given a new stage name by his master Sanyūtei Kōraku. Sanyūtei Jūbei will now be known as Sanyūtei Kōseinen (written as 好青年). It is tradition for rakugoka to be given a new name once they are promoted to a new rank. The name often incorporates a character from their master’s stage name to show his/her relation to their master. Kōseinen, written as 好青年, shares the first kanji character of 好 (kō) with that of his master Kōraku (好楽). Kōseinen can be roughly translated into “good young man.” With his promotion, Kōseinen’s name will also now appear on the billboard outside the yose (theater) when he performs. As a zenza, because you are not yet seen as a full-fledged professional yet, your name does not get billing when you perform. As a zenza, performance is seen more as a chance to work on your craft in front of a live audience.
Kōseinen at a ceremony confirming his promotion to futatsume (photo provided by Sanyūtei Kōseinen)
The world of rakugo is not an easy one, especially if you are a foreigner. Luckily, earlier in his apprenticeship, I was able to interview Kōseinen. Only one other foreigner is currently a professional rakugoka, Canadien Katsura Shunshine, trained in kamigata rakugo (kamigata refers to the Kansai region). Check out my interview with Kōseinen (then Jūbei) here. It’s a really interesting look at a lifestyle that few foreigners will ever know. Also don’t miss NHK’s Japanology, the show (images below) for NHK World is in English and gives an excellent explanation of rakugo and of Kōseinen career so far (you can see a video of the show on the website). When it’s safer to go out (because of COVID-19), I can’t wait to head to Tokyo to see the new-promoted Kōseinen perform!
