Section 2

I :

What’s important/when you perform rakugo  overseas?

S :

I consider it important/to keep the original stories,/including the settings and characters. By doing this,/international audiences/become absorbed in Japanese culture. As a result,/they laugh more.

I :

How did you realize that?

S :

In a performance/in the US,/I told a Japanese story/which included an episode/about a crane and a tortoise. I didn’t think/the audience was familiar with a Japanese crane. So/I replaced it/with a flamingo. The audience didn’t laugh/as much as I had expected. Later,/I found out the reason. The word “flamingo”/brought their minds to Florida/because it’s famous for those birds. I realized/I had to keep their minds/in a Japanese world.