Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Name: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
Rating: 8.4

Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
昭和元禄落語心中

Manga8.42201 votes10 volumes · 31 chaptersFinished

Award WinningDramaAdult CastLove PolygonPerforming ArtsJosei

to add this manga to your library.

About this title

Synopsis

Young Yotarou has just left prison after serving a short term for a crime he does not know anything about, but without family, he has nowhere to go. Instead, he is going straight to the unrivaled master of rakugo—a form of comedic Japanese storytelling—Yakumo Yuurakutei himself. Due to a series of events, Yotarou becomes enamored with rakugo, bent on becoming a shunichi. Yakumo, who never takes apprentices, almost immediately agrees to pass his trade on to Yotarou. Together with Konatsu, a young lady living in the household, they start struggling toward becoming the new hope for rakugo, which seems to be slowly withering away alongside the Shouwa era. However, as Yotarou gets to know his new mentor and "big sis," he notices hints of a dark past in both of them. The environment of the household becomes strained and, at times, scary. Naturally, no hardships matter to the young Yotarou, as his gaze is set upon their mutual future—the future where he becomes the master of rakugo. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu won the Excellence Award in manga category at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival, as well as the the 38th Kodansha Manga Award for best general manga. It was also nominated for the 17th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and placed fourth in the 5th Manga Taisho award, second on the 2012 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! rankings for the female division, and seventh in the 2013 Comic Natalie's Grand Prize. The series was published digitally in English as Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju by Kodansha Comics USA from January 17, 2017 to December 11, 2018, and in print from May 23, 2017 to December 31, 2018.

Published

Mar 25, 2010 to Jun 7, 2016

Authors

Kumota, Haruko

External links

MyAnimeList page KodanshaKodansha USA Official Site Wikipedia Wikipedia

MAL rank: #255
Members (MAL): 11,424
Favorites (MAL): 179

Related titles

Adaptation

Spin-Off

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Bangai-hen

Main characters

Yakumo Yuurakutei1998 fan favorites
External profile
A legendary rakugo performer who is haunted by his past. He refused to take in any apprentices until he met Yotarou. As a child, Bon had originally trained as a dancer until damage to his leg left him unable to dance. Bon's mother, a geisha, sent him to train as a rakugo performer under the Seventh Generation Yakumo Yuurakutei alongside Shin, a boy who shows up unexpectedly and is accepted on a whim. While he proved to be adept at the basics of rakugo, and possessed impressive potential to memorize stories, his performances were stiff and lacked emotion and passion. Shin, with his impressive love for rakugo, quickly overtook him. As an apprentice, he was given the name "Kikuhiko." In an attempt to find his own style, Kikuhiko began performing 'bawdy and erotic' stories and discovered his strong ability to personify feminine characters.
Sukeroku Yuurakutei316 fan favorites
External profile
Shin was the Eighth Generation Yakumo's lifelong friend and partner growing up, and Konatsu's father. Apprenticed under Yakumo Yuurakutei alongside Bon, he was originally given the name "Hatsutarou," but rejected it to instead perform under the name "Sukeroku." As a shin'uchi, his unique and passionate style of performing quickly earns him a name and reputation in the rakugo community, but also strikes a nerve with the traditionalist members of the rakugo association. Sukeroku and Kikuhiko made a promise with each other to ensure rakugo's survival as an art form together—Sukeroku would practice rakugo that changed to appeal to the public and Kikuhiko would practice rakugo that never changed and stayed true to its roots. This promise would go unfulfilled when Sukeroku died a tragic death at a young age, but his impact on rakugo as an art never faded.
Yotarou158 fan favorites
External profile
An ex-convict, released from prison at the beginning of the story, who seeks out apprenticeship under the legendary Eighth Generation Yakumo Yuurakutei, who performed in Kyouji's prison. He is taken in as Yakumo's first ever student, and is given the name Yotarou (rakugo slang for "fool").