Books
Eiraku's 100 English Rakugo Scripts (Volume 1)
August 17, 2022
Foreword and Edited by Kristine Ohkubo
Rakugo is the traditional art of Japanese storytelling which dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867). It's wonderfully rich stories are imbued with scenarios from everyday life-capped off with a touch of humor. There are approximately 500 stories known to exist. Each can be grouped into one of several categories including: stories about children, stories about men and women, stories about simpletons, fantasy and surrealistic stories, ghost stories, and human-interest stories.
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This book is the first volume, and it includes 35 classic rakugo stories selected from different categories. I hope to publish another 35 stories in the subsequent volume, and the remaining 30 in the concluding volume. It is my pleasure to introduce you to this unique facet of Japan's rich and wonderful culture.
Eiraku's 100 English Rakugo Scripts (Volume 2)
September 19, 2023
Foreword by Stuart Varnam-Atkin
Edited by Kristine Ohkubo
Rakugo, the traditional Japanese art of storytelling, developed as a form of entertainment for the general public during the Edo Period (1603–1867). It is a minimalistic art form which features a lone storyteller capable of conveying a wide variety of stories to an audience using only a fan and a hand towel as his or her props.
At the present time, there are approximately 500 stories known to exist. Generally, the stories are comedic in nature, but rakugo also includes tragicomic human-interest stories and scary supernatural stories.
In Eiraku’s 100 English Rakugo Scripts (Volume 1), you were introduced to thirty-five classic rakugo stories selected from different categories ranging from “Stories About Children” to “Human Interest Stories.” In Volume 2, you will be presented with an additional thirty-five stories including “Stories About Stores and Vendors,” ”Family Stories,” “Stories About Thieves,” “Fantasy Stories,” “Sumo Stories,” “Stories About Drinking,” and much more. This book also includes a bonus collection of short stories from the pleasure quarter in Ise.
Each story has been fully translated to English from the original Japanese version by rakugo storyteller Kanariya Eiraku. Follow along and experience the charm of rakugo, and find out why the art form has endured for over 400 years.
The Life of a CRAZY JAPANESE IMMIGRANT
October 4, 2023
Foreword and Edited by Kristine Ohkubo
Born in Nagano Prefecture only a month before the U.S. military occupation of Japan ended, Masayuki was envious of the wealthy American lifestyle depicted on television programs and in the films that were flooding into post-war Japan.
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A fortunate invitation by a wealthy American couple in 1971 brought him to Berkeley, California, where he observed firsthand the lifestyle he had been coveting. There he met a Korean brother and his sister who instilled the idea of attending school in the U.S. in Masayuki’s head. That seed soon germinated and grew into an obsession.
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Through various twists and turns, Masayuki succeeded in turning his ambition into a reality, and he even managed to find an American woman he intended to make his wife. However, as usual, things did not go smoothly for Masayuki, and he became an illegal alien in America.
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In this book you will learn the unusual job he did to earn money to come to the United States, how he handled cultural differences and the lack of employment opportunities as an illegal alien, how he battled a gambling addiction, and how he found a woman to settle down with. These are just some of the stories conveyed honestly and in stark detail. These stories will make you laugh hysterically, smile, cry and ask yourself, “Was the younger version of me ever this crazy?”
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The Life of a Crazy Japanese Immigrant is the true, unvarnished life story of Masayuki Ohkubo.