Sanyutei Enraku's Timetable: The Daily Routine of Not Watching Television (circa 1970)

Sanyutei Enraku's Timetable: The Daily Routine of Not Watching Television (circa 1970)
Around 1970, the center of entertainment in Japan shifted completely to television, and household time schedules were strongly influenced by programming. In the final phase of Japan's rapid economic growth, the number of TV sets per household increased from one to several, and the reputation and popularity of celebrities was based on whether or not they appeared on TV. Sanyutei Enraku's comment that he does not watch TV because it is his working time frankly illustrates the lifestyle of rakugo storytellers at that time.

Enraku's daily life moved at a rhythm opposite to the time when ordinary viewers watched television. During the day, he rehearses and travels, and in the evening, he holds yose and solo performances, standing on the stage during the so-called "prime-time" hours. He is on stage as a performer during the time when television has the most influence. Therefore, his statement that he does not watch TV was not a rejection, but a natural consequence of his profession.

What this narrative shows is the discrepancy between the time of television-centered society and the time in which rakugo performers live. At a rakugo theater, the audience is different every day, and the atmosphere changes even for the same story. The audience at a rakugo theater changes every day, and even the same story is performed in a different atmosphere. For Enraku, who lives his life with this sense, television time, in which he watches the same program at a fixed time, could not be the core of his life.

The irony of the TV era also permeates Enraku's sense of life. Although appearing on television increases one's workload, this busyness conversely takes away from one's time to watch television. This reversal, where the more one is a performer, the less one is a viewer, was a reality of the entertainment industry around 1970.

Sanyutei Enraku's narrative quietly reflects a rakugo performer who, even in the age of television, continues to build his time and polish his art around the koza. In his single statement that he does not watch television, he plainly expresses his sense of distance from the times and his determination to make his art the core of his life.