An ongoing collaboration between a distinguished bilingual rakugo artist and a University of Cambridge professor is resurrecting popular culture from Japan's Edo Period (1603-1868) never before seen by contemporary audiences.

By doing so, the pair hope to expand the repertoire of rakugo, a traditional form of comedic storytelling, making otherwise obscure aspects of Japanese literary and cultural heritage more accessible to the general public.

In February, Tokyo-based rakugo master Tatekawa Shinoharu held an online performance in Japanese for students at the university's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and his Japanese fans.