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This time, you can enjoy Matsukyo's 60th birthday performance in 2011. In December 2010, the "Matsukyo 60th Birthday Rakugo Performance" was held at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater in Tokyo. The curtains slid open and Matsukyo, greeted by nearly 1,500 guests, appeared from the runway looking happy and shy, and performed "Obihisa." Then, on February 10th, 2011, Matsukyo celebrated his 60th birthday. In March, the "Matsukyo 60th Birthday Rakugo Performance" was held at the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka, with the final piece being Obihisa. In December, a week-long "Matsukyo Solo Performance Final" was held, and the fourth night featured Kubichochin and Obihisa. "I want to be famous. I want to be famous so that I don't have to worry about ticket sales. I want to think only about the material for that day... That's why I want to be famous." Matsukyo's wish came true when he was diagnosed with the disease in early December 2011, when he was in the best shape of his life as a rakugo performer. Then, 10 days after his "Final Solo Performance", he was hospitalized on December 21st, and his battle with illness that lasted for one year and seven months began. Matsukyo said, "When I listen to a good rakugo story, a wonderful scene comes to my mind. Moreover, even if the same material is performed, the picture that comes to mind is different depending on the storyteller. But when a bad storyteller performs it, the scene doesn't come to mind at all..." Matsukyo, who is always thinking about something, carefully refined his material through trial and error so that there was not even the slightest bit of unnaturalness, and created Matsukyo's rakugo. "Matsukyo's rakugo is really natural," say the audience. "How can I make it look more natural?" Whether he was healthy or sick, Matsukyo was always thinking about rakugo. I believe it was this single-mindedness that made him a master. The 6th Shofutei Matsukyo Rakugo Official Channel This performance is "Obikyu." Please enjoy the show to the fullest on the stage of "Shofutei Matsukyo Solo Performance Final" at Osaka ABC Hall on December 9, 2011.