, born , was a

Japanese author This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language. Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names—family name followed by given name—to ensure consistency, although ...

and

rakugo is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
T ...

performer of the late Edo and early Meiji eras. He was the founder and head of the of rakugo, and is considered a pioneer of the rakugo revival. Notable works of his include Japanese

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

kaidan is a Japanese language, Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative". Overall meaning and usage In its broadest sense ...

") classics: ''

Kaidan botan dōrō (Peony lantern kaidan) is a story inspired by the Chinese influenced kaidan Botan Dōrō. Published as a stenography narrated and created by the rakugo artist San'yūtei Enchō and written with the aid of both Sakai Shōzō (酒井昇造) and Wa ...

'' (based on , and ''Shinkei Kasane ga fuchi'' (on which many Japanese horror films such as ''

Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi (''Ghost Story of Kasane Swamp''), also known as ''The Depths'', or ''The Ghost of Kasane'', is a 1957 black-and-white/ Scope Japanese horror film directed by Nobuo Nakagawa for Shintoho Films. The screenplay was based on a story called ''Shink ...

'' are based).

Career

As a

rakugoka is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in ''yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
The ...

, San'yūtei Enchō differed from the predominantly comedic style of storytelling of his predecessors in favor of a more serious approach, his school coming closer to

Kōdan is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and e ...

in methodology. In addition to this, his school worked to implement use of subtle background instrumentation and altered stage lighting to accompany his ghost stories, a trend which would become standard today. One of his most well known instances of such would be during performances of . Some of San'yūtei Enchō's peers would at times work to undermine his performances by performing their own versions beforehand of stories he was expected to, thus seeing to hinder the impact his might have. would act as one such rival. Despite this, he felt as though the manner in which he told stories could not be replicated by anyone else, bearing many traits unique to himself. In addition, he would work to create many new pieces of his own that nobody had seen before.

References

External links

Texts of Encho's works
at

Aozora Bunko Aozora Bunko (, , also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousand works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-of-copyright books or works that t ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanyutei, Encho 1839 births 1900 deaths 19th-century Japanese writers Theatre of Japan Rakugoka Japanese male writers 19th-century male writers 19th-century storytellers 19th-century comedians Japanese art collectors