Chapter 1 - Kamigata, Osaka

Summary

Chapter 1 provides a framework in which to consider Kamigata rakugo. Kamigata has been portrayed as practically opposite to Edo since the latter was established as the seat of the shogunate in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and this only intensified after the center of cultural production shifted there in the 1780s. The modern outcome of the longstanding east–west binarism is that Kamigata has been rendered substandard and therefore of less consequence than Edo/Tokyo, the center of power. Chapter 1 reviews Kamigata and Osaka history with a special focus on the early modern era, Osaka chōnin identity, and a brief discussion of traditional performing arts that share qualities with Kamigata rakugo. It will be through a discussion of these subjects that one will be able to gain a clearer understanding of what Kamigata rakugo is and why it differs from Tokyo rakugo. Reconfirming Kamigata and Osaka’s historical and cultural heritage will help one see that Kamigata rakugo is a product of its environment.