This year’s Koenji Engei Festival, the 8th of its kind, offers ten days of theatrical performances like rakugo (one-man comic storytelling), manzai stand-up comedic double acts and magic shows at diverse locations in the Koenji district such as shrines and public baths, izakayas, bicycle shops and funeral halls. The number of participating artists, venues and visitors has risen with each festival.

The festival includes “Hajimete no yose” (‘my first yose’) theatrical entertainment with easy-to-follow commentary at a public bath; “Niraku Theater in Koenji,” where the audience can get its fill of the star attraction of yose engei Japanese-style vaudeville entertainment, kamikiri paper cutting craft; and “Nagetsunage: Daikagura Kyokugei,” a traditional performing arts show featuring young members of the Daikagura Kyokugeikai group. Also, rakugo performer will take to the stage in a temple to demonstrate kobanashi comic vignettes in English-subtitled Japanese.