Arakawa School

Arakawa School
Japanese Name	阿良川一門
Romaji Name	Arakawa Ichimon
Affiliation	Rakugo Federation
Occupation	Rakugoka
Leader	Issho Arakawa

Arakawa School (阿あ良ら川かわ一いち門もん, Arakawa Ichimon^?) is the most important Rakugo School and the main Rakugo School in Akane-Banashi series. It is run by Issho Arakawa and Shiguma Arakawa.

The school is part of the Rakugo Federation.

Etymology

• The surname Arakawa means "corner/nook" (阿) (a), "good/skilled" (良) (ra) and "river/stream" (川) (kawa).

History

After Kiroku and his disciples, Rokuen and Kisoba were expelled from the Kashiwaya school, Kiroku would decide to change his name since he could not continue carrying it after being expelled from his school, so he would choose a new name opting for a Myoseki and follow the legacy of the last bearer of the name, so from now on he would be known as Shiguma Arakawa and together with him and his disciples the Arakawa school would be born.

Years later, a group of 4 individuals known as the Arakawa Arch Four helped Issho Arakawa become head of the Arakawa School.

After the incident in which several rakugoka were expelled at the hands of Issho Arakawa, its influence has grown making its a name among the rookie rakugoka.

Since the incident, no rakugoka has been able to rank up except for Kaisei Arakawa who managed to rank up from Zenza to Futatsume in just two years.

Ranks

As in other schools, in the Arakawa School the rakugokas are classified using the 3 ranks:

• Zenza
• Futatsume
• Shin'uchi

Being the Shinuchi rank, the highest rank that can be aspired to in the school. Until now, the existence of 4 Shinuchi rank rakugokas in the school is known.

Ranks Promotion

Unlike other schools, in the Arakawa School you can reach various ranks by obtaining the necessary requirements. Below are the necessary and known requirements to achieve the ranks:

Zenza Requirements

• Be accepted and officially join as a student through a Shin'uchi rank.

Futatsume Requirements

• Have 50 rakugo performances.
• Know Kodan (Historical Stories).
• Have knowledge about music and dance.
• Play the taiko drums.
• Earn a recommendation from any member of Arakawa Arch Four who isn't the applicant's mentor.

Shin'uchi Requirements

• Take the Shin'uchi rank promotion exam.
• Be approved by Shin'uchi rank rakugoka.

Secondary Schools

It is known as a school whose members are the pupils of a Shin'uchi rank rakugoka. These secondary schools are given the name of the group's master and his pupils.

Known Secondary Schools are:

Shiguma School

Shiguma School (志しぐま一いち門もん, Shiguma Ichimon^?): The group led by Shiguma and his pupils. Because Shiguma is hospitalized, the other rakugokas decided to dismantle the school by sending all his pupils to different guardians.

Currently Shiguma pupils

• Shiguma Arakawa (Leader)
• Koguma Arakawa
• Kyoji Arakawa
• Guriko Arakawa
• Akane Arakawa
• Maikeru Arakawa (Former)
• Shinta Arakawa (Former)

Issho School

Issho School (一いっ生しょう一いち門もん, Isshō Ichimon^?): The group led by Issho and his pupils.

• Issho Arakawa (Leader)
• Kaisei Arakawa
• Kaichi Arakawa
• Akane Arakawa
• Ikken Arakawa (Former)

Ikken School

Ikken School (一いっ剣けん一いち門もん, Ikken Ichimon^?): The group led by Ikken and his pupils.

• Ikken Arakawa (Leader)
• Kendama Arakawa
• Hikaru Arakawa
• Koguma Arakawa

Zensho School

Zensho School (全ぜん生しょう一いち門もん, Zenshō Ichimon^?): The group led by Zensho and his pupils.

• Zensho Arakawa (Leader)
• Yuzen Arakawa
• Zenmai Arakawa
• Kyoji Arakawa
• Taizen Arakawa (Former)

Taizen School

Taizen School (泰たい全ぜん一いち門もん, Taizen Ichimon^?): The group led by Taizen. With the designation of Guriko Arakawa as his pupil, the Taizen school was officially founded.

• Taizen Arakawa (Leader)
• Guriko Arakawa
• Taison Arakawa

Members

Known members of the Arakawa School are:

Shin'uchi Rank
Issho Arakawa	Shiguma Arakawa	Ikken Arakawa	Zensho Arakawa	Taizen Arakawa
Maikeru Arakawa	Kiroku Arakawa (Former)

Futatsume Rank
Shinta Arakawa (Former)	Koguma Arakawa	Kyoji Arakawa	Guriko Arakawa	Kaisei Arakawa
Yuzen Arakawa	Kenbishi Arakawa	Akane Arakawa	Hikaru Arakawa

Zenza Rank
Kendama Arakawa	Kaichi Arakawa	Zenmai Arakawa	Taison Arakawa

Trivia

• Since it was founded by a member of the Kashiwaya School, the Arakawa school could be said to be a branch of the Kashiwaya school.