Blind comic makes Osaka 'rakugo' debut

OSAKA (Kyodo) A 41-year-old blind performer of "rakugo" traditional comic storytelling has made his debut at an Osaka theater.

Slap shtick: Fukuten Katsura, a blind performer of "rakugo" traditional comic storytelling, performs on stage for the first time Monday evening in Osaka. KYODO PHOTO

"We had a good audience tonight. But to hear my master say 'good job' is my dream," Fukuten Katsura said Monday evening after performing the night's opening act before an audience of more than 200 people.

Katsura, whose real name is Akira Masukawa, lost vision in his right eye shortly after he was born due to congenital glaucoma and became totally blind while he was in high school.

He has been studying rakugo since 1996 under Fukudanji Katsura, 69, who is known for telling stories with sign language, and was allowed to claim the family name Katsura due to his advanced skills in storytelling.