Shoten　笑点 – Saturday Afternoons (exact times vary), TOS

Saturday Afternoon. You’ve already had lunch, but it’s still too early for dinner. You must have turned on the television and flipped through Oita’s limited channels a dozen times already, to no avail. Nonetheless you once again snatch up the remote with the slight hope of finding some distraction to waste the few hours before your nighttime adventures at some nondescript hostess club. The screen flicks to life, revealing a stage with five Japanese men garbed in gaudy kimonos sitting on small stacks of seating cushions (called zabuton). One by one, they deliver short quips followed by laughter and applause (though nobody seems to laugh louder than the performer themselves). At the behest of an authority-figure off to the side of the stage, additional cushions are added or taken away. Meanwhile, you have no idea what is going on. Welcome to the world Shoten.

Shoten is similar in spirit to the show Whose Line is it Anyway? (be it the original British version or the American version). The host presents a number of situations and scenarios, and the cast members improvise humorous or witty responses. All the Shoten members are famous performers of rakugo, a one-person narration with a tradition dating back to Tokugawa Japan. Rakugo artists depend solely on the power of their voices and upper-body gestures to hold audiences in thrall. Rakugo performances are often humorous (the kun-reading of the first character is ochi, meaning “punch line”). Performers have quick wits and an eye for humor.

Points are awarded and subtracted in the form of seating cushions. Witty and humorous responses merit additional cushions, while jokes that miss the mark can result in one or all of the cushions being swept away. Awarding of the cushions is the arbitrary decision of the host (now Katsura Utamaru, after long-time host San’yutei Enraku collapsed of a stroke. He is currently recovering in the hospital). A watermark is reached when a performer reaches ten cushions, and they receive a prize, which can range from a vacation in the tropics to a bowl of udon or a one thousand yen bill. The contestants are not interested in achieving the elusive tenth cushion; they are interested in entertaining. Cushions are awarded and confiscated in good humor, and sometimes taking away the cushion is the perfect finish to a joke.

Not everyone watches Shoten every week, but the show is a part of the collective consciousness of Japanese culture. The show began in 1966 and has run for over 2,000 episodes! If you can hum a few bars from the theme, everyone will recognize it. The clerk currently in charge of passing out the cushions is the famous “Yamada-kun.” You can amaze friends and foes alike by delivering a quick, “Yamada-kun, ichimai yatte kudasai. (Yamada-kun, give ‘em a cushion.)” for a clever remark or a, “Yamada-kun, ichimai motte ike! (Yamada-kun, take one away!)” for a joke that doesn’t quite cut it. Trust me, it works.

Shoten is also a great way to gauge your progress in Japanese language study and your knowledge of Japanese culture. Level 3 Shoten Proficiency occurs when you are able to understand the various situations/scenarios announced by the host. Level 2 Proficiency is reached when you understand the content of the performers’ extemporary. The evasive Level 1 Proficiency is only obtained by those who understand the content and the context of the comments. There is also a Level 1+ for those who not only understand the content and context, but also find the humor therein. Few people, even amongst the younger generation of Japanese, attain such a mastery of Shoten.

What is the secret to Shoten’s popularity? To me, the show seems less funny than it is just plain fun. The atmosphere is light without being frivolous, playful without being puerile. Everybody, from the performers to the audience, is either laughing or smiling, and it’s hard not to be pulled into the revelry. Even if you do not find Shoten the most hilarious show you have ever seen, and open and playful mindset can make the show as enjoyable as it is for the old men onstage.

Written by Kevin and originally appeared in The Tombo Times, March 2006.