Cyril Coppini
French Guest
Originally from Nice, Cyril started learning Japanese in high school. In the early 90s, he attended INALCO in Paris and during his university studies won a scholarship from Shinshū University which allowed him to spend a year in the city of Matsumoto.
For more than 20 years, he’s been in charge of music and contemporary dance and theater programming for the “Institut français du Japon”, the cultural center affiliated with the Embassy of France in Japan.
As a Rakugo artist since 2011, he regularly travels France and the French-speaking world to help people discover this still unknown art form in French. He also performs, among other places, in Japan, Thailand, New Zealand and Turkey.
In 1997, he settled in Japan permanently (Fukuoka, Tokyo and Osaka). In 2022, he joined the English Rakugo Association of Japan.
In 2023, he performed Rakugo for the first time in Paris, at the long established venue “Olympia” (which is like New York’s Carnegie Hall).
In 2025, he performed Rakugo at the France Pavillion of the Osaka Kansai EXPO 2025.
Cyril also translates manga and video games: Le rakugo, à la vie, à la mort (nominated for the Konishi Prize 2022 for the best translation of the year of Japanese manga into French); Detective Conan; Criminal Apprentice; The Great Passage; Danganronpa V3; Dark Souls RPG; and more.
He regularly performs on television (NHK World) and on Japanese FM band radio.