, known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

, is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

TV presenter and

rakugo is a form of ''yose'', which is itself a form of Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on a raised platform, a . Using only a and a as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long ...

artist. His former stage name was . Sanshi received this name from his ''shishô'' (master) and one of the celebrated postwar Kamigata Rakugo greats, . Sanshi's "san" came from, originally, being Bunshi's third ''deshi'' (pupil) and "shi" came from the second half of ''shisho''s stage name. Sanshi succeeded his ''shisho'''s stage name in 2012.

Earlier years

Sanshi was born in Higashi-ward,

Sakai, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...

on 16 July 1943. His father died when he was an 11-month-old baby. Despite early unfortunate circumstances, his efforts in the entertainment business have brought him success.

Youth

Sanshi entered

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one of t ...

(Faculty of

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

), after graduating from Ichioka Commercial High School in Osaka. He immediately gained fans at University with his

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

and humor, though he had no professional careers. After university, Sanshi entered the artistic school or Katsura Bunshi V and later signed with agents at

Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai (comedy) talent, produci ...

TV presenter

Sanshi worked as a master of ceremonies on:

Punch De Date

:An audience participation matching and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

TV program produced by

Kansai Telecasting Corporation JODX-DTV, virtual channel 8 ( UHF digital channel 17), branded as or , is the Kansai region key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS), operated by the . Kansai TV is a company affiliated in Hankyu Hanshin Holdin ...

and broadcast from 1973 to 1985 co-starring Kiyoshi Nishikawa. The show's opening

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

was "Hitome atta sono hi kara, koi no hana saku koto mo aru, mishiranu anata to mishiranu anata ni, date o torimotsu Punch De Date!" (approximate translation: Even though they are not acquainted with each other, the pairings will bring us shot-gun couples. Punch De Date makes amazing matches!).

Shinkonsan Irasshai

:An audience participation program featuring

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

couples. Using Sanshi's original pitch and tone, the opening phrase "Irasshai!" (Welcome!) was his

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

Filmography

Films

* ''

Porco Rosso is a 1992 Anime, Japanese animated Adventure film, adventure-fantasy film, fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on ''Hikōtei Jidai'' ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki. It ...

'' (1992), Mr. Piccolo (voice) * ''Notomitori Samurai'' (2018),

Tanuma Okitsugu (September 11, 1719, in Edo, Japan – August 25, 1788, in Edo) was a chamberlain (''sobashū'') and a senior counselor (''rōjū'') to the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieharu of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the Edo period of Japan. Tanuma and his s ...

Television

*''

Sanada Maru The was a small fortification attached to Osaka castle. It is famous for being impregnable and playing a key role in defending the castle in the winter of 1615. Later, it was forcefully destroyed despite being exempt from the reconciliation con ...

'' (2016),

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects ...

Recent Activities

Sanshi is on the board of the ''Kamigata Rakugo Kyoukai'' (Rakugo artists and performers' Guild in

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

), and is the director of Yoshimoto Kogyo. In the rakugo world, Sanshi is known mostly for his "New rakugo" (in Japanese "創作落語"). He has been a guest professor at Kansai University.

Sanshi School

Sanshi has many deshi

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

s and all of them have been given stage names that have the "san" (number 3, 三), for example, Katsura SANpo, Katsura SANpu, Katsura SANpatsu, and so on.

Awards

* 2006

Osaka Culture Prize The is an annual award presented by the Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wa ...

— Culture Special Prize

External links

* 1943 births People from Sakai, Osaka Living people Rakugoka Kansai University alumni Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon {{owarai-stub