Exhibitions, Shows Mark 100th Birthday of Legendary Storyteller Katsura Beicho; Late Performer Was Known as ‘God of Kamigata Rakugo’ and ‘Living National Treasure’

By Kiyohito Yoshida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:27 JST, April 27, 2025

OSAKA — This year marks 100 years since the birth and 10 years since the death of legendary rakugo storyteller Katsura Beicho III (1925-2015). A number of plans have been made to pay tribute to the man and explore his achievements and character, including for rakugo performance events to be held by his disciples and for special exhibitions and publications to introduce people to the valuable materials he left behind.

Beicho is widely praised as “the father of the Kamigata rakugo revival” which occurred in the Kamigata area around Kyoto and Osaka. He was named a holder of important intangible cultural property — a living national treasure — in 1996.

Beicho was born in modern-day Dalian, China, and grew up in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. While attending Daito Bunka Gakuin, now Daito Bunka University, Beicho began studying rakugo under novelist Iruru Masaoka, who was also a researcher of the culture of yose entertainment theaters.

In 1947, Beicho became a disciple of Katsura Yonedanji IV, aiming to become a rakugo performer and revive Kamigata rakugo, which was in danger of going into decline.

Beicho later gained popularity as a rakugo performer for his deft use of language and graceful way of speaking. He subsequently became known as one of the “Big Four” along with Shofukutei Shokaku VI, Katsura Bunshi V and Katsura Harudanji III.

Even among this group, Beicho was particularly scholarly. He revived long-unperformed stories such as “Jigoku Bakkei Moja no Tawamure” (A dead man enjoys eight views of hell), a story about the experiences of a man who dies and roams the afterlife.

He also published a number of books, including collections of his stories and essays, full of insights into Kamigata rakugo. Beicho also created many audio recordings of his performances. In recognition of his contribution to the world of Kamigata entertainment, Beicho was awarded the Order of Culture in 2009, making him the first rakugo storyteller to receive this honor.

Precious draft

In Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, where Beicho lived, a special exhibition, entitled “Katsura Beicho: Hanashika no Sugata” (Katsura Beicho: The image of a rakugo storyteller) was held earlier this year at the Amagasaki Cultural Center. About 190 items connected to the performer were put on display, including photos of his performances taken by the exclusive photographer for Beicho and his disciples.

Messages from his master Yonedanji gave a window into Beicho’s youth. One postcard expresses Yonedanji’s frustration about a performance by Beicho, saying, “Even given the condition you were in, your performance was extremely dissatisfying.” But another letter from Yonedanji offers encouragement: “When you are young you have to be conceited.”

Beicho also created new stories while exploring and performing classical stories. A draft of a story called “Inu no Kuyami” (Condolences for your dog) written on a piece of straw paper was displayed at the exhibition. The sheet of paper was filled with plot points and phrases from the story — whose existence had not been known when Beicho was alive — in tiny writing.

“His study of Kamigata entertainment and exchanges with people of culture from both eastern and western Japan contributed to his big achievements in reviving Kamigata rakugo,” the center’s official in charge of the exhibition said. “He displayed great skill, putting the extensive knowledge he gained from these activities back together and expressing it all in the form of rakugo stories.”

Memories of Beicho

In February, a book titled “Katsura Beicho ga Nokoshita Takaramono” (Treasures left by Katsura Beicho) was published by Tankosha Publishing. The book is split into two parts. In the first, “Mono-Hen” (Things), rakugo researcher Koji Ozawa, who had a close relationship with Beicho and has been sorting out papers left behind by Beicho at his residence, writes about these documents, which number roughly 40,000.

In the second chapter, “Hito-Hen” (People), 13 of Beicho’s disciples relate memories of their master. During his life, Beicho fostered 22 direct disciples, including such famous entertainers as Tsukitei Kacho, Katsura Shijaku and Katsura Zakoba. Including second-generation and later performers and those who are now deceased, his family of followers comprises a total of 90 rakugo storytellers.

The chapter also includes a discussion between second-generation disciple Katsura Nanko and two other performers, Katsura Bunchin and Shofukutei Tsurube, who were acquainted with Beicho despite being members of a different family. This section of the book gives the reader a glimpse of how Beicho was loved beyond the boundaries of rakugo families.

Memorial rakugo tour

Beicho’s disciples are going on a nationwide tour of performances to pay tribute to their master. The tour began on March 19, the anniversary of Beicho’s passing, and will include performances in 19 locations, including ones in Okayama, Fukuoka and Ibaraki prefectures, with the last shows scheduled for Nov. 8 and 9 at the Yurakucho Asahi Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. In addition to his disciples’ performances, video of Beicho performing will be shown and roundtable discussions between the disciples will be held.

These performances are filled with the disciples’ fervent hopes that, in a time when there are more and more people who have never heard a rakugo performance by Beicho, audiences will learn a little about the “God of Kamigata rakugo.”

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Eldest son speaks about Beicho

The Yomiuri Shimbun spoke with 66-year-old Katsura Yonedanji V, the eldest son of Beicho, about memories of his father and the future of Kamigata rakugo. The following is excerpted from the interview.

From the time I was small, my father gave me opportunities to get in touch with art forms such kabuki and kyogen, but he never once taught me about rakugo. When I told him I wanted to join his family of rakugo performers, having been encouraged by people such as my elder disciple [Katsura] Shijaku, he accepted my wish, bitterly saying “I will teach you just one story, because it would be unbecoming for the son of a rakugo performer to be unable to tell at least one story.” I found out later that he admitted to his disciples that if I became a rakugo performer he would favor me.

The actual training was as strict for me as it was for the other disciples. Beicho often told his disciples, “You need to do it just as I tell you.” When I was just starting out, I would try performing in ways I thought would be more interesting, only to find that they didn’t work well. I realized that Beicho’s way of performing had come about through repeated trial and error from the time he was young. I thought, “Those things he said to us really meant a lot.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of young people pursuing careers in Kamigata rakugo has declined to one or two per year. It is frightening to think about what the situation will be a decade from now. I think all rakugo storytellers, including myself, have to make ourselves ever more charming and aim to be star storytellers. That’s how we’ll create the rakugo world of tomorrow.