Chōba Yoshihara (4th)

There's something quietly impressive about a rakugo performer who's been at it long enough to carry a generational name — Choba Yoshihara is the fourth to hold this title, which means he didn't just build a career, he stepped into a lineage with all the expectation that comes with it. Born in 1949 in Chiba, he's well into his seventies now, and in rakugo terms that's when the really interesting stuff happens: decades of story-telling compressed into a single performer on a cushion, conjuring full scenes with nothing but a fan and a cloth. I love how unforgiving the art form is — no co-stars to lean on, no edits, just you and the audience, live. The Taurus-and-Ox double earth-sign energy feels right for someone who's clearly been playing a long game, building craft the old-fashioned way, slow and steady, high sitting after high sitting.

Chōba Yoshihara (4th generation) is a Japanese rakugo storyteller born on May 18, 1949, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He carries the distinguished hereditary stage name Chōba Yoshihara, a lineage passed down through generations of rakugo artists. Details of his agency, debut, and personal life are not publicly disclosed.

Name (English)

Chōba Yoshihara (4th)

Name (Japanese)

吉原朝馬

Reading

よしわら ちょうば

Born

May 18, 1949 (age 77)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Ox (丑)

Origin

Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

Rakugo performer

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E5%8E%9F%E6%9C%9D%E9%A6%AC%20(4%E4%BB%A3%E7%9B%AE)

Tags

• From Chiba Prefecture
• Rakugo performer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.