Visual Humor Explained

Seigow Matsuoka spoke to a packed hall of international delegates on the theme of 'humor- the heat and the beat'. The crowd got to hear a detailed, interesting discussion and analysis of humor and what makes things amusing. By asking why we laugh when other people stray away from the conventional and ordinary, Seigow Matsuoka broke down the concept of humor into three points: Costume/Disguise, taking on the appearance of the object or person you are using to generate humor. Mimic/Imitation, the intentional copying of the action of a person or object, and Parody, the often extreme exaggeration of these copied actions.
Using an wide range of references, from 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' to well know Japanese 'Tora-san' movies, the audience was able to begin to understand that humor is a universal language we all use and enjoy no matter what cultural background we come from.
Traditional, ceremonial Japanese comic theater, which contains formalized laughter, clearly illustrated how much detail (i.e. facial expressions) matters in humor, independent of the humor's origins.
Audience members who enjoyed Seigow Matsuoka's talk were invited to continue the discussion on humor in the following session 'The tradition of humor and freshness considering traditional Japanese culture' with Koen Yanagiya in the session. (BP)

Seeing what is said

After an introduction by Seigow Matsuoka, Koen Yanagiya climbs three stairs to a four foot raised stage. Dressed in a brown kimono, Yanagiya-san sits on the white stage in front of a white background. The quietness of the set only remains so for moments. With a fan, his body and his voice, Yanagiya-san creates a rich story space. He begins with an introduction
noting his surprise at the invitation to a Design Conference and his pleasure at seeing youth in the crowd. He explains that his stories are audience appropriate and in an instant he creates an acoustic landscape of reversing cars and talking cash machines.
A point of his finger creates a mob of invisible people. The new rakugo he shares with the crowded auditorium personifies snack items commonly found in Japanese convenience stores. The scene unfolds in the minds of each audience member as the storyteller elicits specific vegetables by a simple tilt of the head or a glance in the opposing direction. The audience laughs as Yanagiya-san becomes a potato in the face of a potential consumer. The session
concludes with a lively dialogue framed by Matsuoka-san asking questions of the storyteller.
Yanagiya-san shares insights about the inspiration, structure and delivery of new rakugo stories by comparing them to the classic form. (TW)

Writer:Kosuke Ikehata/Norimitsu Korekata/Junko Sakamoto/Nobuko Shimuta/Naoko Hasegawa/Osamu Hisanaga/Sakurako Muto/Naho Yoshioka/Maggie Hohle/Brian Palmer, Jacque Lange(ICOGRADA)/Nicole Rechia/Trysh Wahlig/Gitte Waldman/Robert Zolna
Photographer:Yoshimitsu Asai/Yasuhiko Katsuta/Fumihiko Mizutani