Hikaru Storms the World of Rakugo—And Tatekawa Shiraku Has a Plan

Hikaru to become Tatekawa Sagishi

A scheme involving popular YouTuber Hikaru (34) and renowned rakugo performer Shiraku Tatekawa (62) has caused a bit of a stir within rakugo circles.

The web editions of sports newspapers reported it with headlines such as, “Hikaru to become an apprentice of a superstar rakugo performer! To debut as ‘Tatekawa Sagishi'” (Sports Nippon), and “Hikaru making his rakugo debut? Shiraku Tatekawa declares, ‘He wants to perform rakugo as Tatekawa Sagishi. Let’s make him debut'” (Daily Sports).

The sequence of events went roughly as follows.

On his own YouTube channel, Hikaru stated that he did not find Tamori’s performances entertaining. After learning of this, Shiraku criticized Hikaru. In response, Hikaru criticized Shiraku for judging him based only on selectively extracted information.

Shiraku then immediately apologized for this. After watching the entirety of Hikaru’s YouTube video in question and, in an effort to convey Tamori’s appeal, Shiraku personally met with Hikaru. The two hit it off, and Hikaru himself later expressed to Shiraku via LINE that he wanted to perform rakugo, leading to the sports newspapers’ reports.

Rakugo performers do not debut. Singers have debut CDs or debut singles, and actors have debut works, but for rakugo performers, the equivalent of a debut is their “hatsukōza“—their first appearance on stage after advancing beyond the apprenticeship period as a zensa. It is a rather understated affair.

Surely knowing this perfectly well,

“Let’s make him debut,”

Shiraku said. In that phrasing, one can glimpse the master’s intentions. The calculation seems to be to capitalize on the popularity and name recognition of a famous YouTuber for the sake of promoting rakugo. Quite clever, indeed.

Shiraku’s scheme spread across social media, and rakugo performers and rakugo fans alike began expressing all sorts of opinions on the matter. There were, naturally, arguments both for and against it.

Some people did not welcome the idea, saying,

“A rakugo performer is someone who starts training as a zensa and strives to become fully fledged!”

Others welcomed it, saying,

“If it gets people talking about rakugo, isn’t that a good thing?”

Broadly speaking, those were the two camps.

Whenever someone outside the rakugo world publicly declares a desire to perform rakugo, many people attempt to judge them from such perspectives. Previously, when former House of Councillors member GaaSyy announced that he would debut as a rakugo performer, similar reactions flooded social media.

“I want to perform rakugo.”

Countless people, famous and unknown alike, criticized the approach taken by Shiraku and Hikaru. In response, Hikaru’s retort was refreshingly bold.

On X, Hikaru wrote:

“To those saying, ‘Are you making light of the rakugo world?’ — you are the ones making light of Hikaru. My talent is genuine and first-rate. Anyone with an eye for it will recognize that immediately, and I still have plenty of room to grow.”

Such self-confidence—it seems strong enough that if one could bottle it up and sell it, it would become a bestseller!

If one aims to become a traditional rakugo performer, the proper path would be to apprentice oneself to a master and begin training as a zensa (apprentice performer). However, what Hikaru possesses is a powerful desire to perform rakugo, and Shiraku can be seen as having accepted that wish by saying, “I’ll take him on as a disciple,” effectively volunteering to act as his sponsor and guarantor.

This situation should not be measured by the old standards of the rakugo world. It was different from the outset. Failing to recognize that only serves to make the rakugo world’s unique customs stand out in an unnecessarily negative way.

In the past, actress Nao Minamisawa (35) made her own rakugo debut. Under the instruction of former Rakugo Association chairman Ichiba Ryūtei, she trained and successfully performed the classical rakugo piece “Hinatsuba“ before an audience of 400 to 500 people. Not a single word of criticism emerged from anywhere.

Likewise, if Hikaru had quietly devoted himself to rakugo training and performed a routine that Master Shiraku had drilled into him thoroughly, the public would likely have judged only the result itself—reacting with comments like “Amazing!” or “Lame!” This time, however, Shiraku and Hikaru’s scheme, while somewhat premature as a publicity move, demonstrates that good publicity and bad publicity are both still publicity. After all, it’s not easy to generate conversation about rakugo in the first place.

There are people in this world who declare, “I’m going to do this,” and then follow through. Shiraku and Hikaru have made the declaration. All that remains is the execution.

Judging from his YouTube videos, Hikaru is a skilled speaker (though he should probably correct his use of “ra-nuki kotoba”—nonstandard omissions of the syllable “ra”). There are cases in which actors and voice actors have performed rakugo in a style very close to complete imitation and managed to make it work reasonably well. There are even formidable figures like actor Morio Kazama (77), who holds rakugo performances and has succeeded in monetizing them to a degree that rivals professional rakugo performers.

The YouTube video featuring Shiraku and Hikaru has already been viewed nearly five million times. Among the comments are many favorable responses such as:

“Because of Hikaru, I’m going to attend Master Shiraku’s rakugo performance next time.”

Even this alone suggests that Shiraku and Hikaru’s scheme has already succeeded.

Now then—whether it be several months from now or a year later—

Shiraku may very well be able to debut Tatekawa Sagishi as the opening act at one of his solo performances. What kind of first performance will emerge from someone whose talent can be declared, without hesitation, to be genuine and first-rate?

The true difficulty of rakugo can only be experienced on the stage itself.