People :
A city councilor, a student, and a rakugo (comic story) teller
Mr. Sanyutei Ranjou

Sanyutei Ranjou was born in Machida City, Tokyo, in 1959. He is a graduate of Machida Metropolitan High School and is currently in the fourth year of the School of Sociology, where he is a member of Professor Okubo's Seminar. Mr Ranjou became a disciple of Sanyutei Enjou after obtaining a Masters Degree in the School of Literature in Rikkyo University. He was promoted to Shinuchi (a position for the best storyteller) in 1996. In 2002, he added to his academic achievements when he graduated from the School of Economics in Rikkyo University. Then, in 2005, Mr Ranjou transferred to the School of Sociology in Waseda University. Following this transfer, he became a Machida City councilor. One of his pleasures is writing haiku poems. And, as a good citizen, he often donates blood, so far having made 105 donations [URL] http://ranjo.jp

This spring, Mr Ranjou has been engaged to take up his third active position as a member of the City Assembly Committee. His daily life is really busy and he is fully occupied attending his classes during Congress breaks and making his audiences laugh when performing as a story teller. He muses with a smile that “sometimes the Congress proceedings continue until midnight and I'm left with no time to prepare for my tests coming up!”

Mr Ranjou initially wanted to be a teacher, but one night, just before graduating from university, he changed his mind and became a story teller. Ever since he was a boy, he has loved story telling and has often enjoyed attended story telling performances. He mentions that one of the factors that makes story telling very attractive to him is the atmosphere it creates in which people become relaxed, even those who are down on their luck and having a bad time. He goes on to say that “I think humor is a solution and a salvation for people who are suffering. While it is a really joyful experience in itself, it has a tremendous capacity also to cure the unhappiness of people.”

A turning point in Mr Ranjou's life came when he had a car accident seven years ago. At the time, he was performing his story telling all over the country as a Shinuchi (principal performer), and was, unfortunately, hit by a car. This broke his right leg and while he was hospitalized, he could not sleep because of the pain. This gave him an opportunity to think of how his life was at the time and how it will be in the future. He remembered the words of the thinker Kanzo Uchimura: “When we die, let's leave a better world behind us, a better place to live.” He decided then and there to return to studying at a university in order to expand his views on the world.

As Mr Ranjou tells us, “at this point, knowing my goals, my daily life is much fulfilled and attending the school is a lot of fun.” He pays his tuition fees from the income received for his performances at nights, and he still has the time to read many books. The reason why he chose to learn home rule and finance is because when he came back to his home town on crutches after the accident, he realized that Machida City is not really very friendly towards the needs of disabled people. Mr Ranjou's return to his home town also came after his brother had passed away, and he has been continuing his activities, such as volunteer story telling performances, since then.

Mr Ranjou aims to go on to a graduate school, while continuing to be engaged in three jobs at the same time. His current goal is, as he puts it, to “declare and demand the right to avoid being involved in war as a community.” His interests never wane, and as he says, “I am the one who is the most surprised about how much I can do. I'm really looking forward to what I will be doing in ten years' time.” Sanyutei Ranjou is still developing as an individual and a citizen.