is a Japanese folktale and is one of the most famous stories in rakugo

Rakugo

is a Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on the stage, called the . Using only a paper fan and a small cloth as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story...

, a form of Japanese spoken entertainment. It has a simple storyline, with the most humorous part being the repeating of a ridiculously long name. It is often used in training sessions for Rakugo entertainers.

In the tale, a couple could not think of a suitable name for their newborn baby boy, and so the father went to the temple and asked the chief priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 to think of an auspicious name. The priest suggested several names, beginning with Jugemu. The father could not decide which name he preferred and, therefore, gave the baby all of the names. One day, Jugemu fell into a lake, and his parents barely arrived in time to save him as everyone who had to pass along the news had to spend a lot of time reciting his entire name.

Jugemu's full name is as follows:

Jugemu-jugemu

Gokōnosurikire

Kaijarisuigyo-no Suigyōmatsu

Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu

Kūnerutokoroni-sumutokoro

Yaburakōjino-burakōji

Paipopaipo-paiponoshūringan

Shūringanno-gūrindai

Gūrindaino-ponpokopīno-ponpokonāno

Chōkyūmeino-chōsuke

寿限無寿限無

五劫の擦り切れ

海砂利水魚の　水行末

雲来末　風来末

食う寝る処に住む処

やぶら小路のぶら小路

パイポパイポ　パイポのシューリンガン

シューリンガンのグーリンダイ

グーリンダイのポンポコピーのポンポコナーの

長久命の長助

The recitation from memory of these names is a feature of the NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 children's TV program Nihongo de Asobo ("Let's play with Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

").

The story of Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo is a story set in ancient China that provided the basis for a 1968 book by Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent. According to the story, it was custom in ancient China for parents to honor their firstborn sons with long, elaborate names that everyone was obliged to say...

, which is told in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 under the auspices of being a Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

folktale, is very similar, and may have been directly copied from Jugemu.