林家扇 (Hayashiya Sen) -The rakugoka who became the youngest female futatsume in 2013 has dropped out

In the highly structured world of rakugo, female storytellers are still very rare—even after 400 years. Want to be rakugo storytellers typically endure rejection many times before being accepted as a disciple by their intended masters. It may seem like an antiquated manner in which to secure an apprenticeship, but it is believed to show a person’s determination to follow through in what is considered very strenuous training. There are still a limited number of rakugo masters who are willing to take on female apprentices.

Known by her stage name, Hayashiya Sen, she attained the second rank in rakugo storytelling (futatsume) in 2013, becoming the youngest female storyteller to be promoted to that level. Sen was born in Hokkaido in 1990, and developed an interest in rakugo while still a high school student. “I thought it would be an interesting job to be a rakugo storyteller, traveling all over the country… so I wrote a letter,” she revealed in an interview given to Masumi Hidai.

That letter was sent to Hayashiya Kikuou, a long-standing member of the variety show “Shoten.” He in turn, invited her to his rakugo performance in Sapporo. When she stopped backstage to say hello, he handed her a bowl of ramen. Sen understood that he expected her to sell ramen that night and made a concentrated effort to do so. Kikuou is also famous for his side job, a chain of noodle shops named after him called "Kikuzou (his stage name until 2007) Ramen." After watching her trying to sell ramen he said, “She is good at selling ramen, so let’s take her on as an apprentice.” Sen was to find out later that this was a test Kikuou gave to all of his potential disciples. After graduating from high school in 2008, she formally became Hayashiya Kikuou’s disciple.

At first, she was stunned to see her mentors and senior disciples walking around the dressing room in their underwear without paying any attention to her presence backstage. She also endured being harshly disciplined in regard to manners and courtesy. Despite all of this, she prevailed and was promoted to futatsume after five years of training. She joined a group of female rakugo performers known as the Rakugo Girls. (https://mgsdp835.wixsite.com/rakugogirls) The group consisting of storytellers such as Kokintei Komako, Sanyutei Aiba, Tatekawa Koharu, and others was formed in 2017. Its aim is to gain national recognition for female rakugo performers without being bound and limited by the various rakugo groups and associations.

The future looked promising for Sen, but in May 2022, at the age of 32, she announced that she would be abandoning the world she worked so hard to become a part of. It was disclosed that Sen was suffering from mental illness— she had been taking medication and was being treated by a doctor. Her profile was removed from the Rakugo Kyokai (Rakugo Association) website and her social media accounts were shut down in July. About her relationship with her master, Sen commented, “I would like to thank my master from the bottom of my heart for training me for the past 14 years.”