New Years in Japan brings a lot of firsts. First sunrise （初日の出）, first dream （初夢）, and first visit to a shrine （初詣）are well known, but there is also first laugh（初笑い）, which is often associated with Rakugo. Thus it seemed all too appropriate to attend another TRPG Rakugo performance by Sanyutei Rakuten organized by Gurasan!
At the same venue as before, it again consisted of four stories, two traditional and the TRPG versions created from them, as well as a talk show. Previously, the original and TRPG versions were done in pairs, but this time it was split into both traditional stories, a break, and then both TRPG stories.
The first story アイテム根問 (loosely meaning Inquisitive about Items) was adapted from 千早ふる (Chihayaburu). Both are about an inquisitive person asking a know-it-all the meaning of something the know-it-all won’t admit he doesn’t know. The know-it-all then proceeds to make up the answers. The TRPG version is about items such as, “why is it called a mace?”. The traditional version is about the meaning of a Hyakunin Isshu poem.
This is a great example of how TRPG Rakugo attracts a new audience. Continue reading First Laugh