Apr 1st
Jul 21st
A rakugo performer entertaining his audience
A rakugo performer entertaining his audience (Photo: vera46 / CC BY 2.0)

National Engei Hall in Tokyo

A free exhibition celebrating 40 years of traditional entertaining

Sleiman Azizi   - 1 min read
Venue : Exhibition Room (first floor) When : Apr 1st - Jul 21st 2019, 10:00am - 5:00pm

The National Engei Hall in Tokyo is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary with a free exhibition until late July of the hall's history of engei entertainment.

Engei are traditional stage and performing arts. The most commonly known of these is rakugo, featuring a storyteller seated alone on a cushion on stage telling comic stories. Another popular engei is manzai, a stand-up comedy act that sees two performers trading tit-for-tat verbal jousts with each other at one or the other's expense. More obscure engei include kodan storytelling where the orator uses a clapper for rhythm, kijutsu sleight-of-hand magic shows and kyokugei entertainment acrobatics, often with props.

Please check the official website for opening times and holidays. Entry is free.

Getting there

The hall is a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 and Exit 6 of Hanzomon Station on the Hanzomon Subway Line or a 15-minute walk from Yotsuya Station on the JR Chuo-Sobu Line.

Sleiman Azizi

Sleiman Azizi @sleiman.azizi

I'm a Japanese Permanent Resident with over 650 published articles on Japan as well as 5 English language books inspired by traditional Japanese literature.I'm also a Japan Travel expert for Tokyo, so if you've anything to say about Japan's never ending capital - or just Japan in general - don't ...