Street Performing Pioneer Brian Hulse on Juggling, Japanese and the Art of Bucking the System

Life in a Second Language with Spring Day

Spring Day, an American comedian brushing up on her Japanese skills during the pandemic, interviews people from all walks of life about their experience living, working, traveling, studying and loving in a second language—often in adult language so this podcast may not always be appropriate for young ears.

This week’s guest is one of the pioneers of Western-style street performing in Japan, Brian Hulse. A jack of all trades, this bilingual juggler and film producer originally from Indiana was the location manager for The Last Samurai and production assistant for the recent Amazon reality show series Making the Cut. Brian has extensive experience both in front of and behind the Japanese and English camera. Brian details how he learned to speak Japanese touring with some of Japan’s most famous and successful comedians and why even though he has learned to say exactly what he wants to express in his second language, it’s probably best he doesn’t.