Where to see rakugo in English
You don't need to speak Japanese to enjoy rakugo. Here's where to find it performed in English — on stage and online.
🇺🇸 United States — New York
Katsura Sunshine (桂三輝), a Canadian-born storyteller and a disciple of the great Katsura Bunshi VI, performs rakugo entirely in English and has run long Off-Broadway seasons in New York. In 2020 his show became the first rakugo ever nominated for an Off Broadway Alliance Award — a sign that New York audiences have taken to it as a comedy genre of its own. He also tours internationally.
▶ Katsura Sunshine Rakugo on YouTube
🇬🇧 United Kingdom — London
Britain — home to the wry, absurd humour of the Monty Python tradition — is a natural fit for rakugo's playful "laughter of the imagination." British performer Diane Kichijitsu (ダイアン吉日), long based in Japan, has performed widely in the UK and abroad, introducing English-speaking audiences to the art.
▶ Diane Kichijitsu on YouTube · Watch a performance
🇫🇷 France & Europe
On European tours, performers often note that French audiences savour rakugo as a traditional art — watching the fine gestures and the minimal, see-it-in-your-mind technique closely, finding a quiet beauty in miming a whole scene with a single fan.
💻 Online, anytime
More and more rakugo is available with multilingual subtitles on YouTube, so you can start watching from anywhere in the world. The channels above are a great place to begin; for the words you'll hear, keep our glossary handy.