Asakusa Engei Hall

Asakusa Engei Hall is one of only four permanent rakugo yose theaters in Tokyo. Here, you can enjoy rakugo performances 365 days a year.
The street on which Asakusa Engei Hall stands is known as Asakusa Rokku, or the Asakusa Sixth Entertainment District, once a major entertainment quarter lined with movie theaters and a wide variety of performance venues.
Before World War II, the site of the present-day Asakusa Engei Hall was home to a movie theater called Sanyukan.
After the war, the venue was transformed into a strip theater known as Asakusa France-za. During this period, Kiyoshi Atsumi—who would later become nationally beloved for his role as Tora-san in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo film series—rose to fame performing comedy sketches during the intermissions.
Later, when the venue operated as the Toyo Theater, presenting light theatrical entertainment, performers such as Hachiro Azuma and Kinichi Hagimoto became popular there.
In August 1964, it was reborn as Asakusa Engei Hall, a permanent rakugo yose theater, and has continued in that role ever since.
In addition to rakugo, audiences can enjoy a wide variety of performances, including manzai, comic storytelling, magic, paper cutting, and acrobatics.
A permanent rakugo theater is also called a yose. The word is said to derive from a term meaning "a place where people gather." As seating is generally unreserved, one of the great attractions of a yose is the freedom to drop in whenever you like. Why not stop by and enjoy the performances at your own pace for as long as you wish?