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Paper short abstract

This paper, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and media and performance analysis, examines the relationship between the wagei (storytelling arts) of rakugo and kōdan, and manga/anime. The paper focuses on wagei-themed manga and anime, and, in turn, wagei stage adaptations of manga and anime.

Paper long abstract

What happens when so-called traditional forms of popular entertainment intertwine with contemporary pop culture? This paper examines the relationship between the wagei (storytelling arts) rakugo and kōdan, and manga/anime works. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Tokyo and media analysis of manga, anime, and wagei performances, the paper explores three levels of analysis. First, it contextualises the interactions between the media, looking especially at how rakugo represented a source of inspiration for several manga, and in turn benefitted from the publicity offered by rakugo-themed pop cultural works, which contributed to a significant revival of the art since the beginning of the 21st century. Second, it analyses the emerging corpus of rakugo- and kōdan-themed manga and anime, observing how authors and animators, often with the help of professional performers, have managed to portray these oral, rather minimal arts into their respective media. Works analysed include the manga and anime Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū, created by Kumota Haruko (previously known for producing Boys Love, or BL, manga), depicting the lives of rakugoka in the 20th century; the kōdan-themed manga Hiraba no Hito, published, not by chance, by Kōdansha, and written with the supervision of kōdan’s rising star Kanda Hakuzan VI, who also acted as the inspiration for the protagonist; and the manga (and soon-to-be anime) Akane Banashi, currently serialised on the magazine Shōnen Jump, which attracted attention for its unusual theme and protagonist (a young girl dreaming to become a successful rakugoka). Finally, and most importantly for the aims of this panel, it explores the opposite phenomenon – the adaptation into oral storytelling performances of manga and anime. I focus on the work of two artists: Kōdan performer Kanda Hakuzan VI, who adapted volume 92 of the manga One Piece (the first of the series set in the Japan-inspired island of Wano) into a kōdan performance uploaded on the official One Piece YouTube channel; and rakugoka Shōfukutei Ukō, who became a professional storyteller after a career as mangaka, and who has adapted several pop cultural products into rakugo pieces.