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Paper short abstract

This paper examines rakugo as a performative practice in which humor is produced through timing, pauses (ma), and embodied narration rather than verbal punchlines alone. Focusing on live performance, it analyzes how voice, gesture, and audience co-presence shape comic effect.

Paper long abstract

Rakugo is commonly described as a form of comic storytelling or oral narrative, and scholarly discussions have often focused on its plots, stock characters, or verbal punchlines. Such approaches, however, tend to overlook the fact that rakugo is first and foremost a live performance, in which humor unfolds in time and depends on the shared presence of performer and audience. This paper approaches rakugo from the perspective of performance analysis, asking how comic effect is produced through timing, pauses (ma), and embodied narration rather than through language alone.

The analysis is based on selected contemporary rakugo performances and concentrates on the performative means available to the rakugoka: vocal modulation, rhythmic pacing, minimal gesture, and the disciplined use of stillness. Particular attention is given to pauses and moments of suspension, which structure audience expectation and play a decisive role in shaping the reception of the ochi. In this context, the punchline is treated not simply as a verbal twist, but as the endpoint of a carefully calibrated temporal process.

The study employs a qualitative research approach based on the primary observation of recorded and live Rakugo performances. The research focuses on the physical bases of Rakugo and the way performers use the restricted prop set (sensu and tenugui) when seated and other subtle body and vocal changes to generate multiple characters. The study describes humorous mechanisms that generate amusing effects through silence, anticipation, and time delay rather than through obvious performance of comic actions.

This paper highlights timing and pause as the main analytical categories to provide an understanding of rakugo that is complementary to text and linguistic analysis. It demonstrates that rakugo is a particularly evident instance of humorous performance that is based on rhythmic patterns and physical control and the live performer-audience communication in Japanese performing arts.