Kayoko Ebina, Widow of Rakugoka Hayashiya Sanpei, Dies at 92

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:25 JST, December 29, 2025

Kayoko Ebina, the widow of rakugoka comic storyteller Hayashiya Sanpei, has died at the age of 92.

Ebina passed away on the evening of Dec. 24 due to old age.

Her late husband was a rakugo performer known as the “Laughter King of the Showa Era,” and her sons, Hayashiya Shozo and Hayashiya Sanpei II, are also rakugo performers. Her eldest daughter is a former TV personality, and her second daughter is a former singer. After her husband’s death, she has supported her family in the entertainment industry.

After losing her home in the Great Tokyo Air Raid in 1945 and becoming an orphan, she has made it her life’s work to share stories about the tragic air raids. As an essayist, she wrote many books about her experiences during the war and her thoughts on peace.