“Akubi Shinan” (Yawning Lesson) is a number from traditional “rakugo” comic storytelling that starts something like, “There are all sorts of lessons you can take as a hobby, but here’s one for people who really want to learn something they’ve never tried before.”

In this zany tale, there is an institution where people are taught how to yawn by professional instructors.

A young man visits it, and an instructor gives him a demonstration: He mimes boarding a ship lazily, muttering, “I am bored silly.” He then makes a spectacular........

© The Asahi Shimbun