"My Chinese classmates were always kind-hearted and willing to offer me help, and that made me feel at home," he says.

Komatsu became obsessed with clapper talk after watching a TV show, so he bought himself a pair of bamboo clappers and practiced the art by himself.

"I like music with a strong sense of rhythm. This is why clapper talk attracted me the first time I heard it," he says.

In 2015, Ding Guangquan, a late Chinese cross-talk artist and mentor, was looking for foreign apprentices at a Beijing-based university, and Komatsu happened to be there.

Ding thought he had great potential and recommended him to famous clapper talk artist Yao Fushan.

Komatsu grabbed the opportunity and worked very hard.

"I spent over three hours a day practicing, but to be a clapper talk artist, performers must first memorize the lines, talk with rhythm, and gradually increase speed," he says. To fully understand the lines, foreign performers have to learn a lot about Chinese culture.

After graduating from the university in 2016, Komatsu first tried his hand at business but failed. So, he worked as a Japanese teacher in a language training school.

Despite the pressure of work and life, Komatsu performs clapper talk with his teacher and fellow senior apprentices in theaters, communities, campuses and parks, though most of the performances are free.

Now, in his team, there are performers from Japan, Germany, Sweden and Britain.

In August 2018, Komatsu decided to go back to Japan. However, he returned to Beijing half a year later.

Explaining why he came back, he says: "I missed my friends, Chinese culture and food too much, and life would be boring without them."

Komatsu has now decided to spend the rest of his life in China and continue with his hobby.

He says: "I hope more Japanese will visit and learn more about China, so as to strengthen the friendship between the two countries."

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