What is Kobanashi?
Kobanashi are short comic jokes told in the Rakugo storytelling style. A single performer sits on a zabuton (cushion) and uses only two simple props: a sensu (small folding fan) and a tenugui (hand towel).
They can be as brief as 2 lines and end with an ochi (punch line).
A meaningful kobanashi should not be more than a minute and include a brief introduction where the speaker shares their connection to the story as part of the opening greeting.
Meet Edo
Your Guide to the Joy and Art of Kobanashi
Edo first discovered Kobanashi in 2020 through friends in Indonesia and the Philippines. As he followed the growing Kobanashi movement in Europe, he realised that beyond the laughter, these short stories are a powerful tool for language learning and personal growth. In 2022, he started the Malaysia Kobanashi Project to share Kobanashi with Japanese language learners and teachers, connecting with educators across Asia both online and in person.
• Teaching Japanese since the late 1980s
• Retired from The Japan Foundation in 2019 after 25 years
• Part-time teacher and active volunteer with JLSM
• Author of 「風借り」 Borrowing the Wind (2020)
• Awards: Foreign Minister's Commendation and Order of the Rising Sun
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