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Talking Contemporary Japan - Comedy
28/11/2008
Participants watching an example of Japanese comedy
Participants watching an example of Japanese comedy

November saw the latest instalment in our Talking Contemporary Japan series, in which 17 participants sought to throw off the winter blues by learning about Japanese comedy. There were four two-hour sessions, all conducted entirely in Japanese, and enthusiastically led by Keiko Kelly, a teacher of Japanese at SOAS.

The first session aimed to introduce the participants to traditional culture originating in the Edo era and the following weeks saw classes on Rakugo, Haiku and Senryuu, before finishing with comedy in contemporary Japan. The sessions included history, information about the various art forms, discussions and practice. The members of the group often found themselves transformed into professional comedians, entertaining the rest of the group with rakugo skits and haiku poems - even dressing-up in traditional costume!

The sessions were all warmly received and very positive feedback was given by the participants. One member of the class commented, "These courses are such a great idea - Thank you!!" and another wrote "Keiko-san is a great teacher!"

Please look out for updates on our website regarding future Talking Contemporary Japan sessions and other exciting events!