鋏の法則・日本の落語

 

This week, I decided to try to redeem myself by again exposing myself to Japanese comedy. This time though, I watched the video “桂かい枝　入門・やさしい日本語『ハサミの法則』,” featuring a performance of the Japanese performing art of rakugo (落語) instead of manzai (漫才) which I previously viewed. Both rakugo and manzai are comedic artforms. But whereas the humor of a manzai performance relies on the exchange between two performers, in rakugo a single performer entertains the audience with a comedic story or anecdote. 

Although the performer spoke very quickly, I was able to comprehend his speech surprisingly well. Narrating a humorous anecdote in a style that reminded me of stand-up comedy, the rakugo performer spoke about his experience with foreigners in Japan. Specifically, he described his encounter with a Spanish lady who was visiting in Japan and how he had to utilize a speech-style called hasami no housoku (ハサミの法則) to explain different concepts to the lady. Hasami no housoku (鋏の法則), which roughly translates to “in the manner of scissors,” describes a type of speech reliant on short, clear, and direct sentences to convey a message. My favorite example of this occurred partway through the video, when the performer mentioned his struggles to communicate to a Spanish lady the meaning of unagi or an eel in Japanese. After initially puzzling over how to describe the unagi to the foreign Spanish lady, the performer admitted that he eventually settled on saying, “big fish, long fish, you catch it and pound it on the head, and then you roast it.”

Being able to understand significant parts of the rakugo performance allowed me to grasp the humor much better, and I even found myself grinning at the performers wit at times. Although performances of this sort are often difficult to follow, this successful attempt to understand Japanese comedy motivates me to explore this topic in the future. Although Japanese comedy will certainly continue to challenge my comprehension, watching Japanese comedy promises me a way to improve my Japanese listening skills in an enjoyable way.