
Kanariya Kouraku (Director)
Kanariya Koraku
After graduating from high school in the United States, where he studied abroad, he traveled frugally through Asia and Europe as a part-time tour guide and backpacker during his university years. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as a diplomat at embassies in the UK and Africa, participating in numerous international conferences and negotiations, and also serving as an interpreter for heads of state and other dignitaries. To leverage the English communication skills he cultivated in various challenging situations, he established an international business communication company in 2002. His connection to rakugo (traditional Japanese comic storytelling) is actually quite deep; he made his debut at a rakugo club performance during his high school's cultural festival in 1986.
After a period away from rakugo, he resumed his serious pursuit of the art in 2018. He studied classical rakugo under Kinbara-tei Ryoma, English rakugo under Rokumei-ya Eiraku, and French rakugo under Cyril Copini. He is currently training to become a multilingual rakugo performer, aiming to share traditional Japanese humor with people around the world.
In 2019, they performed in the UK (London, Manchester, Edinburgh) and Kazakhstan, and in 2022, they performed in France (Nice, Paris, Tours, Strasbourg). Their specialties include humorous tales such as "Chiritotechin" and "Ko-home".
Koichiro Fukazawa: When he's not performing on stage, he is currently working as the representative director of Wasabi Communications Co., Ltd. (overseas marketing) and Camino Co., Ltd. (sustainable products). He graduated from Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics and holds a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Cambridge University.
