Rakugo

Rakugo (落語^?, literally "fallen words") is a Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone storyteller (落語家 rakugoka^?) sits on the stage, called the Kōza (高座^?). Using only a paper fan (扇子, "sensu") and a small cloth (手拭, "tenugui") as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters, the difference between the characters depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head.

Rakugo was originally known as karukuchi (軽口).^[1] 

In the middle of the Meiji period (1868–1912) the expression rakugo first started being used, and it came into common usage only in the Shōwa period (1926–1989).

The origin of this art form can be traced back to the story collection Uji Shūi Monogatari (1213–18). Gradually the form turned from humorous narrative into monologue, probably upon the request of the daimyo, feudal lords, seeking people skilled enough to entertain them with various kinds of storytelling.