Katsura Sunshine —Making the World Laugh

Section 1

Interviewer :

Why did you get interested in rakugo ?

Sunshine :

I first came to Japan/to see noh  and kabuki /because I was involved/in the performing arts/in Canada. One day,/I happened to see rakugo /in a casual yakitori  restaurant. It was difficult for me/to understand the whole story. But I was impressed with rakugo /because one performer played every role/in a story.

I :

How did you become a professional rakugo  performer?

S :

I became an apprentice/of my favorite rakugo  performer,/Katsura Bunshi. Generally speaking,/I was too old/to enter the rakugo  world then. So/it was surprising/that he accepted me. He expected me/to spread rakugo /to the world/in the future. He named me Sunshine.