Kishihachi's Opening: The Opening That Never Settles
Column 'Kishihachi's Opening,' episode 3: rakugo performer Kishihachi Ryutei looks back at the night his new piece 'Window Art' premiered at Kishibe no Uta.
Last night I performed from an outdoor stage for the first time, too. Wind changes how a voice carries, and it wasn't until my second opening line that my ears adjusted.
I've written before that my new piece, "Window Art," never settles on a single origin. But not settling on one, it turns out, is harder than settling on one. Audiences always want to know which version is true. Learning to tell every theory like it might be true, and every theory like it might be a lie, has been a year's worth of practice.
From the wings, I listened to Ms. Shirase's lullaby. Just three verses, still with no translation, and I could tell the crowd was listening in complete silence. Listening to something you can't understand, and staying with not understanding it — that may be a trick singers manage better than rakugo performers do. I was turning that thought over while I waited for my turn.
Old Mrs. Kishitani, 101, sat in the front row. Same as at the ceremony, I hear she said, "This year, I'm the one who listens" — but she laughed at my act all the same. Whether that counts as part of the listener's job, I mean to ask her next time we meet.
I plan to open with the same line next year, too, still refusing to settle on an origin. Settle it once, and the whole thing would be over in a single night.
