was a popular 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 ...

entertainer from

Koishikawa is a district of Bunkyo, Tokyo. It consists of five sub-areas, . In Koishikawa are located two well regarded gardens: the Koishikawa Botanical Garden (operated by the University of Tokyo) in Hakusan, and the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Kōra ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Born ''Katsuyoshi Matsuoka (松岡克由)'', he was a disciple of . Katsuyoshi would adopt the name of the famed Meiji era rakugoka ''Danshi Tatekawa'' ( ja) in 1963 upon his recognition in rakugo as "shin'uchi", or a rakugo

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

( ja). Tatekawa was the

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

of the long running NTV variety show Shōten when it first aired in 1966, and host of the popular radio program "Danshi Tatekawa Kayo Battle" (談志・円鏡歌謡合戦) with Tachiban Iezo from 1969 through 1973. He would go on to host many other radio and television programs during his long career, and write more than a dozen books on Rakugo theory. In 1971, Tatekawa ran for one of the 50

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

upper house seats in the Japanese

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

, coming in at 50th place and serving for one term. In typical rakugoka fashion, his response to coming in last was "the best is always the last to go up". Failing to win a second term, Tatekawa returned to entertainment, withdrawing from his mentor Yanagiya's Rakugo Kyokai association and establishing his own school, Rakugo Tatekawa, mentoring a number of successful rakugo, including

Tatekawa Shinosuke is a rakugo performer. His real name is . With his comic group, Rokunin-no-Kai (Group of Six), formed in 2003, he has helped to popularise rakugo among young Japanese people. He is also well known as a TV presenter, and has presented the primeti ...

. A fan of

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

, Tatekawa developed a friendship with the prolific animator and had guest star roles in A Thousand and One Nights and

Jungle Emperor Leo ''Jungle Emperor Leo'', known in Japan as is a 1997 Japanese animated film focusing on the last half of Osamu Tezuka's manga, ''Jungle Taitei'' (known in earlier US productions as ''Kimba the White Lion'' and '' Leo the Lion''). Plot At the ...

, and wrote an introduction to

Black Jack Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game. Black Jack or Blackjack may also refer to: Places Australia * Black Jack, Queensland, a locality in Queensland * Black Jack, a civil parish of Pottinger County, New South Wales * Black Jack H ...

. Tatekawa would die at 75 of laryngeal cancer at his home in Tokyo on 21 November 2011. According to '' Gendai Business'' columnist Kenichiro Horii, the character Issho Arakawa in the 2022 ''rakugo''

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

Akane-banashi is a Japanese manga series written by Yuki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Moue. It follows teenager Akane Osaki as she aims to reach the highest rank in '' rakugo'', partly to avenge her father, who was expelled from the profession six ye ...

'' is modeled after Tatekawa Danshi.

Kōzamei

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatekawa, Danshi Rakugoka 1935 births 2011 deaths Japanese male voice actors People from Bunkyō People of Shōwa-period Japan Comedians from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese politicians Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Deaths from laryngeal cancer Deaths from cancer in Japan