is a Japanese TV

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

program that has been continuously broadcast on Sunday evenings on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed ...

since 15 May 1966, making it the second-longest running variety TV show in Japan.

Format

The show is based on the Ogiri style of ''

rakugo is a form of '' yose'', which is itself a form of Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on a raised platform, a . Using only a and a as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a lon ...

'', a form of traditional Japanese storytelling. The ogiri system sees a host put questions to a panel of fellow rakugo storytellers who must produce a funny or witty response. Shoten's format thus sees the host—currently

Shunpūtei Shōta is a Japanese rakugo comedian best known for performing on the ''Shōten'' comedy show on Nippon TV. He is known as a master of the Japanese comic art of rakugo, in which a single performer or storyteller appears on stage and tells comedic s ...

—pose questions to six storytellers (known as "ogiri members") seated left to right (as the audience sees them) as follows: San'yūtei Koyūza (sky-blue

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimon ...

), San'yūtei Kōraku (pink kimono),

Hayashiya Kikuo Hayashiya is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Kikuō Hayashiya (born 1937), Japanese comedian *Sanpei Hayashiya I (1925–1980), Japanese comedian *Hayashiya Sanpei II (born 1970), Japanese comedian *Hayashiya Shōzō IX (born 1 ...

(yellow kimono), Hayashiya Sanpei II (beige kimono), San'yūtei Enraku VI (purple kimono),

Hayashiya Taihei Hayashiya is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Kikuō Hayashiya (born 1937), Japanese comedian * Sanpei Hayashiya I (1925–1980), Japanese comedian * Hayashiya Sanpei II (born 1970), Japanese comedian *Hayashiya Shōzō IX , ...

(orange kimono). The rules are simple. In every 15-minute ogiri contest, the host will pose the ogiri members three questions. Each question can be answered an unlimited number of times by any member, and the custom is that everyone must answer each question at least once. Should a member wish to answer a question, he should simply raise his hand and wait to be called by the host. Should the resultant answer be funny or witty, the member will receive one or more floor cushions (

zabuton A zabuton ( ja, 座布団, lit=sitting futon, links=no, ) is a cushion for sitting that is commonly used in traditional Japanese settings. Zabuton is a Japanese loanword that is also sometimes used in Western culture to describe the ''zaniku'', a ...

) - the number increasing with the level of audience response and the host's own amusement or admiration. The floor cushion is brought to the stage by hapless sidekick Takao Yamada, formerly a successful popstar with the 70s idol group Zūtorubi, but now confined to an object of ridicule in his red kimono. Should, on the other hand, a member's answer fall flat with the audience, be excessively distasteful, or be construed as insulting to the host or fellow members, the member will lose one or more floor cushions. On some extreme occasions, the host may confiscate everyone's zabuton if he deems that all the members have conspired to humiliate him. This phenomenon is often referred by the public jokingly as a "genocide", and in most cases as an "Utamaru genocide", since previous host

Katsura Utamaru was a Japanese rakugo is a form of '' yose'', which is itself a form of Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on a raised platform, a . Using only a and a as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the r ...

was the first to order a complete confiscation of the entire cast's zabuton in 2006 after San'yūtei Enraku VI (then known as San'yūtei Rakutarō), in concert with the other members, compared the elderly host to a "talking corpse". Indeed, Enraku was particularly renowned during Utamaru's tenure as host for frequently insulting Utamaru with his characteristically merciless wit and accuracy, often resulting in the confiscation of all of his zabuton. It is also noteworthy that Utamaru's last act as a host was to commit a final "genocide" after San'yūtei Koyūza jokingly asked Utamaru to have sex with him, much to Utamaru's disgust. The zabuton used are supposedly extra-heavy ones weighing 4 kg (9 pounds), so even a stack of ten or more will not topple. Should an ogiri member acquire 10 zabuton, he is entitled to that day's special prize, which is usually related to a famous quote, such as ' Boys, Be Ambitious'. Since Utamaru was notoriously keen on removing zabuton, especially from the intelligent yet arrogant Enraku, it is very rare for anyone to actually achieve the magical 10. The show is also famous for its catchy

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances ...

written by Hachidai Nakamura. This music has been continuously broadcast since 1969. The titles are written in

edomoji (or ) are Japanese lettering styles invented for advertising during the Edo period. The main styles of are , found on paper lanterns outside restaurants; , used to label and drinks like and ; , literally "cage letters"; , a thick and rectangu ...

, but were originally written to show an animated smiling face.

References

External links

Shōten
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoten Japanese variety television shows Japanese comedy television series Nippon TV original programming 1966 Japanese television series debuts 1960s Japanese television series 1970s Japanese television series 1980s Japanese television series 1990s Japanese television series 2000s Japanese television series 2010s Japanese television series

Format

See also

References

External links