was a Japanese rakugo performer of the late 20th century, who often performed in

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. He was born in Kobe, the son of a brick-maker. In 1960 he entered the tutelage of the rakugo performer , and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name . He changed his stage name to Shijaku Katsura (Shijaku Katsura II) in 1974. Katsura studied English in the early 1980s, and gave his first English-language rakugo performance in 1983. For the rest of his career, he often performed rakugo in the

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, and elsewhere, making an otherwise inaccessible form of comedy accessible for non-Japanese speakers. He also assisted in launching the career of Bill Crowley, the non-Japanese professional rakugo performer. Katsura died of heart failure on April 19, 1999, after a suicide attempt at his home in Suita, Osaka.Comic Storyteller Katsura Dies – AP Online – HighBeam Research
/ref> He was discovered by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.

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References

*
Shijaku Katsura obituary
(accessed 21 December 2007)

(accessed 21 December 2007) *"Sushi and Sake

with Bill Crowley. (accessed 21 December 2007) *Perkins, Dorothy (1991). ''Encyclopedia of Japan: Japanese History and Culture, from Abacus to Zori''. n.p.: Facts on File.

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