Japanese Cultural Expressions Seen in English Rakugo Scripts

Abstract

Rakugo is a Japanese traditional performing art which consists mainly of verbal communication between the characters in the stories. The conversations involve strong Japanese cultural elements, at times rendering translation difficult. In order to introduce Rakugo to the outside world, the author has translated many classical Rakugo stories since 1997. At the same time, the author has been trained to perform Rakugo and has trained some professional performers to perform it in English. Throughout this time, translation has been a challenging process. To what extent can Japanese expressions be translated? For example, names of people, places, denominations and titles are not translated. Titles and prefixes such as “-san”, affiliated with names, are used in Japanese to express the positions of people in the society. Also, onomatopoeia which is a common tool for Japanese communication produces sensitive sound effects in English Rakugo performance. These expressions come from Japanese values and such Japanese English makes Rakugo fun, interesting, exotic, and even informative. Part of the significance of English Rakugo is to introduce Japanese humor, communication style, and culture. Therefore, Japanese cultural expressions in English Rakugo scripts seem indispensible.