Canadian Raconteur With a Japanese Twist

Katsura Sunshine performs ancient Japanese art of rakugo storytelling

Katsura Sunshine on stage using one of only two props to illustrate the story he is telling. Courtesy of Katsura Sunshine

Humour is something that can transcend cultures and Katsura Sunshine is touring the world to prove it as he presents the 400-year-old traditional Japanese comic storytelling art of rakugo.

Born in Toronto as Gregory Robic, Sunshine fell in love with the ancient art while studying Noh and Kabuki theatre in Japan, where he has lived since 1998. He was immediately drawn to the format and decided he wanted to learn all about it. It takes years to learn the art, and students need to ask a rakugo master to teach them his particular storytelling skills.

Katsura Bunshi VI, a renowned master of rakugo who has written over 200 original stories, agreed to take Sunshine as an apprentice and spent three years teaching him the fine art of Osaka-based kamigata storytelling.

Originally used by Buddhist monks to maintain interest in their sermons, rakugo evolved to become a stylized comic art form.