All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

NEW YORK, United States - Katsura Kaishi performs ''rakugo'' comic storytelling in English at the Sage Theater on Seventh Avenue between 47th and 48th streets in New York on Sept. 7. It is apparently the first time that such a performance has been seen on Broadway, event organizers said.

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

NEW YORK, United States - Katsura Kaishi performs ''rakugo'' comic storytelling in English at the Sage Theater on Seventh Avenue between 47th and 48th streets in New York on Sept. 7. It is apparently the first time that such a performance has been seen on Broadway, event organizers said.

Japanese high schooler at Fukushima festival in Paris

Japanese high schooler at Fukushima festival in Paris

Paris, France - Asuka Endo (R), a student at Kaishi Kokusai High School of Niigata Prefecture who hails from the town of Okuma in Fukushima Prefecture, talks with a visitor on Aug. 31, 2014, at a booth at a two-day cultural event in Paris titled "Ring of Tohoku Rebirth," an OECD project to help the 2011 earthquake-hit northeastern Japanese region get back on its feet. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also visited the event.

FEATURE: Sit-down comedian knocks New Yorkers off their feet

FEATURE: Sit-down comedian knocks New Yorkers off their feet

NEW YORK, United States - Katsura Kaishi, a traditional ''rakugo'' (comic storytelling) performer from Osaka, speaks before reporters after finishing an English-language rakugo performance at Merkin Concert Hall in New York on Sept. 17.

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

NEW YORK, United States - Katsura Kaishi performs ''rakugo'' comic storytelling in English at the Sage Theater on Seventh Avenue between 47th and 48th streets in New York on Sept. 7. It is apparently the first time that such a performance has been seen on Broadway, event organizers said. (Kyodo)

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

All-English rakugo performance opens at Broadway theater

NEW YORK, United States - Katsura Kaishi performs ''rakugo'' comic storytelling in English at the Sage Theater on Seventh Avenue between 47th and 48th streets in New York on Sept. 7. It is apparently the first time that such a performance has been seen on Broadway, event organizers said. (Kyodo)

Japanese high schooler at Fukushima festival in Paris

Japanese high schooler at Fukushima festival in Paris

Paris, France - Asuka Endo (R), a student at Kaishi Kokusai High School of Niigata Prefecture who hails from the town of Okuma in Fukushima Prefecture, talks with a visitor on Aug. 31, 2014, at a booth at a two-day cultural event in Paris titled "Ring of Tohoku Rebirth," an OECD project to help the 2011 earthquake-hit northeastern Japanese region get back on its feet. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also visited the event. (Kyodo)

Japanese Rakugo performer Katsura Kaishi

Japanese Rakugo performer Katsura Kaishi

TOKYO, Japan - Katsura Kaishi, a Rakugo comic storyteller, performs in English at the Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin girls school in Tokyo on Dec. 16, 2011. His art of telling stories in English has thrilled people in nearly 100 cities outside Japan. (Kyodo)