Yakumo Yurakutei

Yakumo Yurakutei (有楽亭八雲 Yuurakutei Yakumo ) is the name taken by a rakugo master. Currently, the 8th Yakumo is the only living rakugo master, although the 7th has been seen in the series as well and the 6th has been mentioned.

The 8th Yakumo is the master of Yotaro Yurakutei, by the ex-con's request. His ward is Konatsu. He is known as the "Showa Final Master [of Rakugo]". He has forgotten his real name (the one given to him at birth).

The 7th Yakumo is the master of Kikuhiko and Hatsutaro, the latter by request, the former because he could no longer continue dancing.

Appearance


The 8th Yakumo is a grey-haired man who normally wears dark-colored Japanese style clothes or suits. He also sometimes carries a cane for support. When he was younger, he had black hair but still had the cane. He is younger than Sukeroku. At certain times, he would wear a plum scarf with his suit. At other times, he would smoke a pipe.

His garcon (French-style waiter) outfit was a white shirt, black pants, black bowtie and black vest with a white towel.

The 7th Yakumo smokes cigarettes frequently and wears a dark yukata or a brown suit. He has an uneven bowl cut, and wears round-framed reading glasses. He is voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka.

History
The previous Yakumo passes on the name to his successor, although it is unknown how long this practice has existed. It is known that it has existed from before the war.

Hatsutaro and Kikuhiko
The 8th Yakumo used to be called Kikuhiko (菊比古) as a rakugo student (specifically, when he was a zenza and futatsume). Sukeroku used to insist he be the next Yakumo since he was better at rakugo, and he was called Hatsutaro while in training. The 7th Yakumo called him "Bon" (or "Young Master"), and owed Bon's mother something "from a few years back". Kikuhiko had previously ruined his leg, so could not continue dancing. The 7th called Hatsutaro and Kikuhiko "Hatsuta" and "Kiku" respectively. Bon's mother was a geisha, and the dances Bon was learning were geisha dances as a result.

Hatsutaro left with Yakumo to go to war, while Kikuhiko and Tomi were left in a safe place.

After the war, Kikuhiko supported the two of them doing a job as a garcon while Hatsutaro did rakugo at the theatre. It was around this time Hatsutaro gained the new name Sukeroku, and Sukeroku would drink quite heavily as well as smoke cigarettes. Kikuhiko began to worry about who he was doing his rakugo for and whether he should continue it, but came to realise his style was different to Sukeroku's and he was performing for himself. This epiphany came after participating in a play in which he played Benten Kozo, a man disguised as a woman whose disguise was ruined due to the samurai tattoos he had on his wrists.

He then gets involved in a one-sided romantic relationship with Miyokichi, and ultimately ends it on the fact that he has no feelings for her.

After Sukeroku's death, Kikuhiko takes on the Yakumo name while moving out of the Yurakutei house and into a smaller house in Asakusa. He also becomes the guardian of Konatsu.

Konatsu
Bon's relationship with Konatsu is complicated. She normally won't listen to him and they are shown arguing a lot.

Yotaro
The duo have a master student relationship that is verbally acknowledged more on the side of Yotaro than on the side of Bon.

Sukeroku
The two, having bonded over their passion for rakugo and living together, are very close, almost like brothers.Even thought it hasn’t stated,Yakumo’s unrequited love towards Sukeroku has been showed through subtext, symbolism and metaphors and it is a much discussed topic among critics.

Miyokichi
Miyokichi was Bon's girlfriend. He had shown clear lack of attraction towards Miyokichi or any other women through out the series. Bon decided to break up with her to further his pursuit of rakugo as per the suggestion of the 7th Yakumo.

Quotes

 * You just don't see how much I suffer when I'm with you. - Kikuhiko to Sukeroku, episode 8
 * His comportment's filthy, he's careless with women, he won't stop performing advanced works, his comportment's filthy, he struts around like he owns the place... - Yakumo 7th to Kikuhiko about Sukeroku, ep 8
 * ...we both chose rakugo because we love it. - Sukeroku to Kikuhiko, ep 8
 * ...I often think I live in the shadow of my name...I've carried that around my whole life. - Yakumo 7th to Matsuda

Trivia

 * The restaurant Kikuhiko worked at did not serve alcohol.
 * 6th generation Yakumo was 7th generation's father.
 * Kikuhiko knows how to play the shamisen (a three-stringed instrument that is played by geisha during rakugo performances), which is explained by his mother being a geisha.