OSAKA -- Traditional comic storyteller Koharudanji Katsura will be participating in an international festival in Edinburgh this month, reciting a "rakugo" piece in Japanese.

It is the first time ever that rakugo, traditional comic storytelling -- subtitled in English -- is performed in the Edinburgh International Festival.

Entertainers from around the world will be presenting art and performances during the three-week event. The rakugo show of Katsura, 42, runs from Aug. 7 to 12 at St. Augustine's Studio, and is one of the festival's fringe events.

"While many comedians will be participating in the festival, I would like to emphasize that rakugo is different from other genres because it is a traditional Japanese performing art, developed among the common people," Katsura said.

"I would define it as a comedy performed only by one seated person without any elaborate stage setting."

In rakugo, which originated in the 1600s, the performer sits on a cushion in front of an audience, telling comic stories and playing different roles using gestures and various vocal and facial expressions. The performer -- remaining seated throughout the skit -- uses only a fan and a piece of cloth to describe the various activities.

In "kamigata rakugo," Osaka-style rakugo, background music using drums and flutes as well as the shamisen usually make up sound effects that accompany the storytelling.

Katsura entered the world of rakugo in 1977, before graduating from a university in Kyoto. He won several prizes after hard work under the supervision of his master -- whose name he inherited last year.

The story he will perform in the Edinburgh festival is called "Otama-ushi." It is about a young man who tries to sneak into the room of a woman named Otama at night -- not knowing that her father has replaced her with a cow -- as he knew about the arrival of the unwelcome visitor.

Katsura said he chose this particular story because it is not very complicated and includes many actions that allow people in the audience to use their imagination.

After some trials in Japan, including a performance for a non-Japanese audience, he decided to explain about rakugo and the musical instruments before the performance, so the audience would understand it and enjoy it more.

Although he had initially thought the language barrier would be a hurdle for a non-Japanese audience to fully appreciate the value of rakugo, Katsura said he now believes it might work fine -- just like people enjoy subtitled foreign movies.

A native English speaker translated the script for "Otama-ushi" and wrote the subtitles to be displayed on a screen behind Katsura. However, he said the trials have shown that he will have to speak more slowly than usual to give the audience time to read the subtitles.

He wants to use subtitles not only because he feels uncomfortable performing rakugo in English but also because this method would enable him to perform rakugo in non-English-speaking countries.

As his enthusiasm shows, his participation in the upcoming festival is the first step toward other shows around the world. Katsura said he thinks it is important to make cultural exchanges with other people in the world to let them understand more about the Japanese.