Photo: 文部科学省 / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
For a lot of us his voice was the sound of Sunday evening ending. On Shoten he traded barbs like a man who enjoyed being disliked, then took over as host and became the one holding the whole room together, which is the harder job by far. Born in Yokohama in 1936, into rakugo as a teenager, later head of the Rakugo Geijutsu Kyokai and decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun. What stays with me is the end: short of breath, oxygen line in place, still climbing onto the cushion to work. He died in 2018, aged 81.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Katsura Utamaru
- Name (Japanese)
- 桂歌丸
- Born
- August 14, 1936 – July 2, 2018
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Rat
- Origin
- Maganechō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- rakugoka / television presenter / comedian
2. Background
- High school
- Yokohama Municipal Yokohama Commerce High School
Awards & achievements
- The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A1%82%E6%AD%8C%E4%B8%B8
Frequently asked questions
When was Katsura Utamaru born?
August 14, 1936 – July 2, 2018.
Where is Katsura Utamaru from?
Katsura Utamaru is from Maganechō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
What does Katsura Utamaru do?
Katsura Utamaru works as rakugoka, television presenter, comedian.
Television presenter — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-27
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.