was a Japanese

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 ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

best known for hosting the '' Shōten''

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

show on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

. He is known as a master of the Japanese comic art of rakugo, in which a single

performer The performing arts are The arts, arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art object ...

or storyteller appears on

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and tells comedic stories to the audience.

Career

Born in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Utamaru's real name was Iwao Shiina. He became an apprentice of the rakugoka Kokontei Imasuke V in 1951 at the age of 15, assuming the name Kokontei Imaji. He left rakugo for a while, then became the apprentice of Katsura Yonemaru, assuming the new name Katsura Yonebo. He changed his name to Katsura Utamaru in 1964 and rose to the shin'uchi rank in 1968. He was one of the first members of '' Shōten'' when it started in 1966. He became its host in 2006, but retired in 2016 for health reasons. He became the head of the Rakugo Geijutsu Kyokai in 2004, and received many honors, including the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

in 2007. He died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on 2 July 2018 at a hospital in Yokohama.

Kōzamei

* * *

References

External links

Official profile
Rakugo Geijutsu Kyōkai {{DEFAULTSORT:Katsura, Utamaru Rakugoka 1936 births 2018 deaths People from Yokohama Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun