Shijaku Katsura II
Katsura Shijaku II was a Japanese rakugo performer of the late 20th century, who often performed in English. He was born Tōru Maeda in Kobe, the son of a brick-maker. In 1960 he entered the tutelage of the rakugo performer Katsura Beichō III, and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name Katsura Koyone X. He changed his stage name to Shijaku Katsura in 1974.
Katsura studied English in the early 1980s, and gave his first English-language rakugo performance in 1983. For the rest of his career, he often performed rakugo in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, making an otherwise inaccessible form of comedy accessible for non-Japanese speakers.
He also assisted in launching the career of Bill Crowley, the non-Japanese professional rakugo performer.
Katsura died of heart failure on April 19, 1999, after a suicide attempt at his home in Suita, Osaka. He was discovered by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.
