### Memories of bitter words and tours - The voice of Hikoroku Hayashiya (late 1970s)

### Memories of bitter words and tours - The voice of Hikoroku Hayashiya (late 1970s)

In 1977, the world of rakugo was at a crossroads due to the spread of television and the decline of the yose theater. Shozo Hayashiya VIII, later Hayashiya Hikoroku, said, "The lack of yose is a fatal wound in the world of rakugo," and admonished the younger generation to "endure poverty like a cloud water. At the time, the number of comedians who wished to become TV personalities was increasing, and the entertainment world as a whole was becoming more and more variety oriented, but Hikoroku insisted that "one who pursues two hares cannot catch a rabbit" and urged them to concentrate on their art. He also warned his disciple Harufutei Koasa, who was at the height of his popularity, that he did not have a reflective mind, and pointed out the danger of drifting off to other arts, reflecting the pride of the last major performer to protect the mainstream of classical rakugo.

Meanwhile, in 1979, at the age of 85, Hikoroku continued to tour the country, recalling performances in Hakodate and Obihiro, which he had visited at the invitation of the Labor Ministry. The audiences he met there were serious people who studied rakugo on records and tapes, and he was impressed by the seriousness with which these people took rakugo. At a time when Tokyo was seeking a lighter side of entertainment, rakugo was being accepted as a cultural art form in the provinces. For Hikoroku, touring was not just a business, but a place to share the life of the art with his audience, and his testimony echoes today as the voice of an old master who tried to preserve the essence of rakugo despite the turbulence of the TV era.