Ichiryusai Teikyo, right, receives a black haori with her family crest worn by her grandfather Ichiryusai Teizan VII from her current master Ichiryusai Teika, who had retained the garment as a memento, during a press conference on October 5 in Tokyo.
12:00 JST, December 17, 2023
Popular kodan storyteller Ichiryusai Teikyo, who maintains a confident and dignified demeanor on stage, was promoted to shinuchi, the highest rank in her field, in October.
The rank is prestigious for the storytelling worlds of kodan and rakugo, where generational succession is not common.
Her family is said to be the first to include three generations of kodanshi storytellers, from her grandfather to her father and her.
37-year-old Teikyo is also the mother of four children.
“I want to use all my life experiences in my kodan performances,” says Teikyo, whose real name is Yasuyo Asai.
Her grandfather was Ichiryusai Teizan VII and her father was Ichiryusai Teizan VIII. Even her grandfather, Kanda Hakuryu, was a storyteller. But Teikyo said she didn’t have a chance to watch Kodan until she was 20.
The turning point came when she was 19 and studying in Canada for six months. While listening to a Korean roommate talk about things to be proud of from South Korea, Teikyo became depressed, realizing she knew nothing about her own country.
After returning to Japan, she did her best to learn and experience Japanese culture. When she found a flyer for her father’s Kodan show, she went to see it.
“I wore a miniskirt and stilettos as usual,” she said.
When she first experienced her father Teizan’s stories, she was impressed by his performance on stage.
“He was so cool and beautiful,” she said. “I couldn’t tell him about that feeling until the day he died, but I hadn’t realized how something so beautiful was so close to me.”
Takarai Kino, a pioneer of kodan stories for women, also performed in that show.
“When I realized that women can perform kodan, I decided that day that I wanted to enter that world,” she said.
She asked her father to become his disciple, but he continued to reject her.
More than a year and a half later, in December 2007, just a few months before her graduation, Teikyo was told to wear a kimono. She and her father then went straight to the home of the Living National Treasure Ichiryusai Teisui.
She remembered her father asking Teisui, “What do you think of this girl who says she wants to be a kodan storyteller?”
The living national treasure replied, “She is your daughter. It’s only natural.”
That was what her father needed to hear for Teikyo to become his disciple.
The following month, she was officially accepted as Teizan’s disciple.
“Until then, we called each other ‘Dad’ and ‘Yasuyo,’” she said. “But then we started calling each other ‘master’ and ‘Teikyo’.”
Teikyo continued her training with the determination to inherit Teizan’s style of loyalty to the grassroots. She studied works such as war chronicles and Gishid tales of the revenge of lordless samurai.
In May 2021, Teizan died suddenly at the age of 73. By this time, Teikyo’s promotion to the rank of shinuchi had already been informally decided.
“It came suddenly,” Teikyo said. “There were many stories I wanted to learn from him when I became a shinuchi. I am truly filled with endless regret.”
Since the death of her father and master, Teikyo has performed on stage, usually dressed in a black or clearly designed kimono with a family crest.
“There was a time when I wanted to wear a colorful kimono with floral patterns, but the patterns got in the way of performing kodan,” she said. “I am the only disciple of Teizan and the only one who can maintain his beautiful stage presence.”
As a kodan storyteller and mother of four children, ages 5, 3, 2, and a newborn — making her something of a two-way player in the kodan world — her life is a daily hustle, Teikyo said.
The secret to balance, she said, “is to love them both.”
Having children allowed her to realize the love she received from her parents.
“Since I was a Zenza student, my master always watched me eat, which made it difficult for me to eat,” she said. “Now I love watching my kids eat. I think that’s how my father felt about me.”
Teikyo is on tour performing at various locations to announce her promotion to Shinuchi. The tour kicked off with sold-out shows at Oedo Nihonbashitei in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on November 16 and 17, and will continue at other venues until the final performance on May 4, 2024 at the National Noh Theater in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. .
