Kanariya Eishi is the only overseas full member of the English Rakugo Association, based in New Zealand. He began his training under Kanariya Eiraku in 2016 and continues to share the art of rakugo across cultures.

Before performing English Rakugo, Eishi worked as a stand‑up comedian in New Zealand, winning the national title at the 2005 New Zealand International Comedy Festival’s Raw Comedy Quest (under his real name ‘Hiroshi’). He later appeared in television programmes, commercials, and served as a TV reporter.

A lifelong rakugo enthusiast, Eishi grew up listening to rakugo since his childhood and joined his university’s rakugo club. After five years of theatre study in the United States, he married a New Zealand woman and settled permanently in New Zealand in 2003.

He has a deep passion for the Māori language- the indigenous language of New Zealand- and continues to study it alongside his dedication to rakugo. His current goal is to perform rakugo in Māori one day.