Rakugo Tennyo Oyui 落語天女おゆい episode 1/?: In Florrid Edo,Tennyo Dance

These are my favourite images from the anime Rakugo Tennyo Oyui. Yay another anime with loasds of notes so i can learn things as i watch.

OP - Sakura Saku - Little NON. Underaverage not keen on art style.

ED - Hana Fubuki. Koi Fubuki - Hiromi Kashima not the voice for me, overly warbling.

Rakugo is the traditional Japanese art of storytelling, also called hanashi. The narrators of which are termed rakugoka or hanashika. The building where the stories take place is called the yose.

A rakugo is typically a humourous story with a punchline. Otoshibashi is the eighteenth century term for stories with a punch line. The subjects of rakugo are sometimes dramatic, about everyday people, ghost stories or parodies of kabuki. The history of rakugo lies within buddhist teachings.

Some words that need explaining:
kotodama: chant to focus your will.
Hajaraka Mokuren Kyuuraisu: 'Crush Evil and Spread the Truth Arhat Mokuren of Ages Past.
Mokuren: Japanese name for Maudgalyayana, disciple of Gautama Buddha - title arhata proof of his enlightenment.
Haja Kenshou: the part 'Haja' gives the sense of 'crushing evil and spreading the truth'.
Tekeretsu no Han: command phrase 'Foe Splittling Judgement'.
Tennyo: celestial maiden.
Tennyo no Houji: Celestail maiden jewels.
Youma: spirits uusally evil.
Youkai: monsters, spirits, ghosts from Japanese folklore.
Gongen sama: short for Tosho Dai Gongen, another word for Tokugawa Ieyasu 1st, shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Hijikata-sama: Toshizou Hijikata, leader of Shinsengumi group of swordsmen who fought to defend the Tokugawa Shogunate against the Meiji Restoration.
Kuniyoshi: one of the last creators of the traditional Japanese woodblock printing art Ukiyo-e.
Katsuhara Utamaru: this man is president of the Rakugo Geijutsu Kyoukai or Rakugo Artist Association. The Rakugo Geijutsu Kyoukai backed the creation of Rakugu Tennyo Oyui, and Katsura Utamaru voices his character in the anime.

And by this point, I thought i wasn't going to be able to understand anything in the anime at all, but it was suprisingly simple to follow!

The fight scene with the Youma was entertaing enough, but the chracter design bugged me. Was thinking this was a bit of a let down, till they flash forward in time to modern day, and Miyaba gets paranoid that Yui is having 'personal experiences'. That made me giggle! It was also pretty funny when Yui shrunk the kimono made of habutae silk.

Monjayaki: varient of okonomiyaki, thin savory pancakes widely available in restaurants in the chou-ku district of Tsukishima in Tokyo. Scrapping your food of a grill seems like such a novel way of eating food, that changes taste as you eat more. i must try this when i eventually go to Japan (or set fire to kitchen again trying to do something myself).

Seems my viewing is turning into cooking lessons. I'm enjoying learning from this anime it's just a shame about the character design. I can't wait to see the panda boy though, KAWAI!