Rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji dies at 80

Rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji dies at 80

TOKYO, Japan - Popular rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji (in photo taken in October 2001) died of kidney failure caused by acute leukemia at a Tokyo hospital on Jan. 31, his family said. He was 80. Bunji, whose real name was Tatsuo Sekiguchi, was known for his crisp and well-mannered style of delivering his stories, which conveyed the traditions of the Edo Period (1603-1867).

Akutagawa literary award in Japan

Akutagawa literary award in Japan

Novelist Bunji Sunakawa attends a press conference in Tokyo on Jan. 19, 2022, after winning the Akutagawa Prize, a Japanese literary award.

Akutagawa, Naoki literary awards in Japan

Akutagawa, Naoki literary awards in Japan

(From R) Novelists Bunji Sunakawa, Shogo Imamura and Honobu Yonezawa pose with their award-winning books in Tokyo on Jan. 19, 2022. Sunakawa won the Akutagawa Prize while Imamura and Yonezawa won the Naoki Prize.

Giant mushrooms grown in southwestern Japanese town

Giant mushrooms grown in southwestern Japanese town

Bunji Suenaga shows a giant head of "shimeji" brown beech mushrooms at his field in Kawaminami, Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on June 19, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji dies at 80

Rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji dies at 80

TOKYO, Japan - Popular rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunji (in photo taken in October 2001) died of kidney failure caused by acute leukemia at a Tokyo hospital on Jan. 31, his family said. He was 80. Bunji, whose real name was Tatsuo Sekiguchi, was known for his crisp and well-mannered style of delivering his stories, which conveyed the traditions of the Edo Period (1603-1867). (Kyodo)