Please note that the start time of this lecture is 7pm, Ann Arbor time.

Each culture has its official side and popular side. Beneath the serious Japan of the tea ceremony and Zen lies a hidden laughing Japan represented by rakugo, a comical monologue. As a pupil of a rakugo performer and as a novelist, I also have been a Rabelaisan from a young age. This presentation will show you how Japanese humor could be married with the western carnivalesque tradition.

Anna Ogino is Professor of French literature at Keio University. A specialist in the French 16th century, she earned her PhD from Sorbonne University. Her thesis on François Rabelais’s satirical eulogy has been published in Japan. As a novelist, she won the 105th Akutagawa Prize and is author of more than thirty books, sadly none of which is translated in English. She is also a disciple of rakugo master, Kingentei Basho 11th of this name. She once asked Basho in how many years she could be promoted to the rank of master. The answer was… in thirty years.

This event is cosponsored by the U-M Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

This colloquium series is made possible by the generous support of the U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant.

Zoom registration is here: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6Rrx24yNRIWRXWVEOey9zA

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.