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Descending Stories: Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū
Episode 12

by Gabriella Ekens,

How would you rate episode 12 of
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju ?
Community score: 4.6

I can't believe that it's over. Looking back on the show's trajectory, various moments stick out to me: the introduction, (what is “rakugo,” and can this show about a crusty old Japanese artform appeal to modern viewers?), the point when I started to catch wind of the tangled webs of desire under the surface (episode two or three), when I began to feel that the show was a modern masterpiece (around 2/3rds through the first season), and when it clinched that lofty title (the first season's conclusion). In light of all I've been through with the show, as well as the many thousands of words I've written about it, it's unfortunate that I have to end these write-ups on a low note, because Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu saved its most dubious story decision for the eleventh hour. Even under a thick layer of plausible deniability, this moment overwhelms the episode to the point where I don't think I'll be able to get past this scene unless I talk about it for a good four paragraphs first.

Point blank: I hate the idea that Yakumo could be Shinnosuke's father. I hate that this is brought up at all in the show, even on the level of a totally dubious implication. It cast a shadow over this finale, which I had to watch a few times over – minus that scene – to full enjoy. That's not to say that I'm inherently against stories that explore father-daughter desire. Plenty has been written to this effect, and much of it by women. I just can't see how this idea fits into Yakumo and Konatsu's relationship specifically. I never saw anything romantic in Konatsu's interactions with Yakumo, and I can't imagine why he would sleep with her at all. Even the faintest implication that they maybe did casts a terrible shadow over what had previously been a heartwarming story of reconciliation between parent and child. It was totally unnecessary. Their story was resolved, the lights were off, the door was locked, and we were going merrily on our way. Their relationship was already teetering on the edge of a bunch of nasty power dynamics, so there was no need to just push it off that cliff right when there's no more room to explore it. I understand wanting to preserve some storyteller's mystique in such an otherwise concrete conclusion but not like this.

My best guess is that Rakugo Shinjuu is trying to have its cake and eat it too by playing this up as an unresolved mystery. On some level, I even get the appeal of this narrative choice - there's poetry to Sukeroku and Yakumo being “united by blood” like this. They're also trying to show that Konatsu has matured as a performer by giving her a secret to keep on the level of the double suicide that Yakumo witnessed. I'm also sure that some viewers would find this sexy, for whatever reason. But none of this remotely dulls the ickiness of Konatsu sleeping with the man who raised her. This implication is so gross that it overwhelms an otherwise 100% sweet and thoughtful finale. I'm trying to restrain myself, but I can't overemphasize how much this threw me. If it had been full-on confirmed instead of just proposed, it would have ruined the show for me.

It's even a bad decision thematically! The show argues that rigid familial inheritance is an antiquated, oppressive institution, but then goes out of its way to imply that Shinnosuke is the DOUBLE BLOOD HEIR to rakugo. It also reduces Konatsu's character to a vessel through which Kiku and Suke could procreate. This runs counter to everything that Rakugo had been saying about women's autonomy – in that scenario, she would just be a body through which two men got to express themselves. I wouldn't have minded if a daddy-daughter thing had been carefully (and I mean very carefully) worked into the story from the beginning, but it wasn't. In hindsight, there are lines that could play into this possibility (Yakumo's endless “I'm sorry for what I've done to your daughter, Sukeroku”), but those are still more resonant in light of the turbulent, platonic history between these guys, not some melodramatic shame about knocking up his best friend's kid. Bringing this possibility to light at the very end still horrifically subtracted from what should have been a simple finale.

Personally, I'm sticking to Aniki as my preferred candidate in the Who's the Daddy game, although anybody is better than Yakumo. It looks like the answer is meant remain deliberately ambiguous, though. My one consolation is that there's far more evidence against Yakumo's paternity than for it. Exhibit A, why would Konatsu be taking the baby on visits to the mob boss (and look so unhappy about it) if he weren't a relative? Exhibit B, why on earth would Yakumo ever take part in this? He seems extremely uncomfortable around women in general, much less in a sexual context, and nothing about his early behavior toward baby Shinnosuke suggests that kind of connection either. Exhibit C, Higuchi has a habit of coming up with wrong (and vaguely sexist) answers to Yakumo Conspiracies. Earlier in the show, he concluded that Yakumo was completely to blame for the double suicide, reducing Miyokichi's agency in the whole ordeal and proving his lack of knowledge about the real situation. His new theory also happens to underestimate a woman so he can enhance Yakumo's mystique, so it's the exact type of sensationalism that follows all his Yakumo worship, basically. That would mean Konatsu was bluffing Higuchi by teasing him over the theory, so she could further sustain the mystery of Shinnosuke's parentage. The show might not have been going for that much subtlety, but death of the author readings exist for a reason. Speaking of death of the author, Higuchi is lucky that Konatsu didn't murder him where he stood. I certainly would have.

But that's enough of The Jerry Springer Show. For the rest of this review, I'll try to suppress the bad taste in my mouth and talk about other things that happened in this finale. You know what's good and pure? Children. This episode opens on Konatsu's children (Shinnosuke and Koyuki, a girl) as young adults. Shin-chan, now a futatsume, has grown to idolize Yakumo and even resemble him. (Whether that's genetics or a deliberate style choice on his part, I promised not to talk about it anymore.) Koyuki seems to have favored Yotaro's side of the family, combining his high energy with Konatsu's aggression. Now in his 20s, Shinnosuke is a prodigious rakugoka scheduled for a big performance over the next few days. After some reminiscing about Yakumo (who Koyuki never got to meet), the two go see their mother.

We're reintroduced to Konatsu as an awesomely crotchety middle-aged lady. She's a performer now, which is excellent and fully deserved after all the crap she's been through. There will be a celebration that day concerning Yotaro's inheritance of the name “Yakumo,” done so that Shinnosuke could inherit the name “Sukeroku.” (His current name is, of course, Kikuhiko.) The old theater has also been rebuilt, and this is its grand opening. Yotaro's in his 50s now and has achieved his full dad-bod potential, but it doesn't keep him from jumping all over the parade. His personality has changed the most overall. Yakumo's death seems to have pushed him into the position of rakugo's leader, so he's begun to display a thoughtful side. In hindsight, it's amazing how much the institution of rakugo has changed. The Association Head before Yakumo kicked Sukeroku out just for upstaging him, and now the current one is clowning around in the streets. Rakugo has become much more open, inviting, and joyous. In the next scene, there's a discussion of legacy, as Sukeroku passes on Yakumo's old fan, as the physical embodiment of rakugo's legacy.

At the climax, Yotaro signals his inheritance of the “Yakumo” name with a rendition of his master's signature routine, Shinigami. It's such a perfect imitation that it even conjures up Yakumo's spirit. The two commune for a moment, and Yakumo seems to taunt Yotaro with the end of the routine. I think this is a moment of empathy. At a point in life when he's beginning to contemplate his own death, as well as the impact that it would have on rakugo, Yotaro is now sympathetic to the burden that Yakumo was living with. It's not easy knowledge (understandably equated to a haunting) but there's solace in knowing that people have lived through it before.

There's also Matsuda, who is still alive! (It seems he ferried Yakumo's spirit to the other world by passing over briefly in a dream.) So he's like 100 years old! He's a tiny, adorable old man, and I love him. In all seriousness, Matsuda has really proven himself to be the show's secret heart over the past few weeks. From being an omnipresent background player throughout the first season, he's grown to take on an essential role in the endgame and now serves as a perspective character for reminiscing about the series as a whole. He even gets to tell his own story at the end. It turns out that he'd initially wanted to become a rakugoka himself, apprenticing himself to Yuurakutei Sr. He never had talent for it, however, so he gradually took on a job as the family handyman instead. It's from that position that he got to see Suke and Kiku grow up, blossoming into performers in his stead. Matsuda loved rakugo so much that he chose to be a part of that world, even though he was unable to join as a performer. Now he serves an essential function by bearing witness over the years.

Everything comes to an end with a conversation between Higuchi and Yotaro. Higuchi comments that rakugo has been like a weed, flourishing in spite of the obstacles. Yakumo failed to take rakugo with him into the grave simpy by giving the artform to Yotaro on a whim. Yotaro berates Higuchi for thinking so hard, saying that rakugo was never in danger because “something this good could never go away!” The show ends there, on a restatement of its artist/critic dualism, where artists are the ones who do, while critics are the ones who think, struggling to restate in bits what artists express in whole. In the end, artists – and Yotaro especially – are made out to be zen masters, innately aware of life's flow and capable of condensing that flow into metaphor. This conclusion forces us to contemplate where viewers stand in this divide – how much we know about the characters and even the show as a whole, since it's a narrative about narrative.

And that's it! The credits play to a compilation of dialogue from all the major performers – a literal version of the intergenerational dialogue that the entire show was about. I usually try to end these things on high notes, but the whole daughter-daddy thing marks the show's low point for me, so I'll have to dock from the episode grade for that. You almost made it to the end without any major stumbles, Rakugo. Almost. At least that bit can be isolated fairly easily – while I remain adamant in my opinion that it distracts more than it adds, it's not difficult to ignore either. (Although I do suspect that it'll dominate the discussion surrounding the show for a while.) My only other qualm is that they never tell Konatsu the truth about her parents' deaths, but that's more of a personal value judgment, and I can see why other people might prefer that information not be shared with her. It's just my preference that she learn the truth someday.

For all of my criticisms this week, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu remains an incredible work of art. Existing at the intersection between the performing arts, desire, and history, it stands as a remarkable achievement for its young creator, Haruko Kumota, as well as the folks at Studio DEEN, who brought this story to life with masterful direction. This show ties its various threads – the love and hatred, the critical theory and character drama, the past and present – together so tightly that it approaches a trueness to life, where all of these things feel inseparable. Thank you for all the laughs, tears, and for introducing me to this wonderful artform. Rakugo Shinjuu heads off the airwaves and onto my “best ever” lists. Feels good when that happens!

Grade: A-

Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.


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