Language and Culture Workshop Rakugo with Katsura Sunshine

On Friday the 27^th of March, students in Year 11 and 12 who study Japanese Continuers had the privilege to attend a Language and Culture workshop at the Japan Foundation, Sydney in Central Park. St Andrews College was one of a number of schools who were fortunate enough to attend this workshop. The workshop consisted of a rakugo performance by Mr Katsura Sunshine. Rakugo is the Japanese art of comic storytelling, performed seated and solo on a stage with only a few props. Mr Katsura Sunshine is a Canadian-born professional rakugo storyteller who completed his apprenticeship in 2012, he travels Japan and internationally to entertain people through the art of rakugo storytelling.

The performance by Mr Katsura Sunshine provided an insight to the Japanese language, and Sunshine’s enthusiasm in his performance had thoroughly engaged and enticed laughs within our students. His performances were extremely humorous, and was performed in Japanese, showcasing his ability in the language although it is not his native tongue. After his performance he had talked about his journey as a rakugo storyteller and what it’s like to be one. He had also answered many questions about the art of rakugo asked by students and teachers within the audience. He had also allowed students from St Andrews College to engage and perform their own rakugo storytelling.

After the workshop, students were also able to have Japanese food for lunch at Ichibanboshi restaurant. Then, they visited Kinokuniya, a book shop located in Central which has many Japanese texts such as manga, and dictionaries. Students were able to purchase dictionaries to assist them in their studies in Year 11 and 12.

The Language and Culture workshop was a very valuable and educational experience for the students, Katsura Sunshine offering advice to students partaking Japanese Continuers, providing his experiences and difficulties learning the language, and also humorously explaining the intricacies of the language of Japanese. Overall, this workshop provided students an opportunity to further understand Japanese and allowed them to go beyond with their studies in Japanese Continuers.

Year 11 Japanese Continuers
Kenneth Samson