Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Fresh out of prison and determined to leave his yakuza past behind, Yotarou sets his sights on rakugo—the traditional Japanese art of comic storytelling. While incarcerated, he was captivated by a performance from the celebrated Yakumo Yuurakutei, and he now seeks out the master to ask for training. Moved by Yotarou’s fervent plea, Yakumo takes him on as his first apprentice.

As Yotarou begins learning Yakumo’s disciplined approach, he meets Konatsu, a sharp-tongued young woman raised under Yakumo’s roof since the death of her father, the renowned rakugo performer Sukeroku Yuurakutei. Drawn to Sukeroku’s distinctive style even as he studies under Yakumo, Yotarou inadvertently stirs long-buried memories in his mentor—echoes of a past shaped by rivalry, promises, and complicated bonds. Moving between present and earlier years of the Shōwa era, *Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju* traces the relationships forged through performance and the lives devoted to keeping rakugo alive.