Category: Forum
on
Labor,
Social Policy,
and Gender
“To Make a Square Society Round through Triangle Rakugo,
Part2,” a
Rakugo (storytelling) Oral
Presentation
and Workshop
was organized
by
NPO Participation
Planet on
February 27, 2014.
Senkin Tei Ataisenkin talked about the “gender
equality”
through fun and easy-to-understand
form of storytelling known as
Rakugo at Tsunagaretto NAGOYA, making this the second time that a Rakugo Oral Presentation and Workshop had been
held.
Senkin Tei Ataisenkin was originally a
staff of Saitama Tsurugashima City
Office. During his tenure at the community center, he has organized courses and events dealing with
the topic of natural
environment, home education, stage entertainment, community welfare and
development to
education
courses for the
elderly and
planning business projects.
He is a unique oral performer, who
says that having chosen separate surnames when he got married further enhanced his interest in gender
equality.
On this day, with lively musical
accompaniment flowing in the
Rakugo Hall, Ataisenkin appeared in the lounge where the workshop participants
waited.
The topic
at this time was
“media
literacy.” Through comical
storytelling, he talked about how expressions and films exposed in media
frequently imply ideas such as
“men should be this way,” “women should act that way,” “men should be leaders,”
and “it’s natural for women to be supportive.” He also pointed out how natural
these nuances get imprinted in the viewers’ consciousness.
However, Senkin Tei
Ataisenkin added that the media is describing “a man and a woman” in general and
not “how a man or a woman should be” so it is import for us to empower
ourselves with the ability to decipher the difference.
While laughing and
being drawn into the story, the participants became aware that our lives are in fact controlled
by silent
compelling force. It is the aim of Senkin Tei Ataisenkin to emphasize the importance of
knowing these facts as well as
stressing the fact that a chance to participate in
planning or participating
equally in joint activities is the right for
both man and woman.
During the workshop
the participants got in pairs
and talked about the daily problems they face, the pain they incur, how our
society is neglecting gender equality, and how the situation can be improved.
In addition, Senkin Tei Ataisenkin renamed
the hit song of
the 1990s sang by
Airi Hiramatsu titled, My Room,
White Shirt and Me to Me, My Room and
White Shirt
and changed some of the wording to make it into a
parody. He used his real
name of Shinichi
Sakamoto as the composer of
the changed lyrics which are pointed out as follows.
1) “I have a request, my last name will be same as yours” →
“There’s an exception, I will
not change my family name to yours”
2) “Please discuss it with me first and I
can be content anywhere if I’m with you” → “Please discuss it with me later and
I will go ahead and decide
my own
destination”
And so on. He sang with passion, reciting the
lyrics rich in humor. On
top of his great singing, his lyrics depicted the current situation of
men and women in a society where the
issue of equal participation of men and women is currently in progress.
After he had gotten the audience all excited, many participants with a big smile voiced out their wish to participate in more of these fun events.
Senkin Tei Ataisenkin says “This type of story is unnecessary to tell in a
society where men and women have
equal participation,” which made us
feel anxious about the
big problem the
Japanese society of today is
facing.
By Setsuko Nakamura
Translated and
adapted by M. Doioka from Japanese website: http://wan.or.jp/group/?p=3213
