What do you need for rakugo? A fan, a cloth, a story, and a lot of training. Rakugo is a 400-year-old element of Japanese culture, birthed in the yose theatres and now performed on American stages by the hilarious Katsura Sunshine. But don't think this is some kind of revisionist joke: The Canadian performer studied for years under rakugo master Katsura Bunshi VI, and takes the business of being very, very funny very, very seriously. In between ongoing residencies in New York and Tokyo, the spiky-haired raconteur brings his sidesplitting shows complete with a history lesson about rakugo to Austin audiences. – Richard Whittaker
