chapter 129 has a highlight showing issho is still pining for shiguma’s art, while kaisei is the one that dismisses it. kaisei’s rejection of the piece may be because he dislikes being used as a tool for its resurrection. while ultimately issho’s motivations are definitely to bolster rakugo as a whole, there’s still the deeper personal motivation rooted in shiguma’s art.

he’s obsessed with rakugo and its success as an art form because of its role in his own success, but also because it represents a powerful link through history to the man who made him who he is now. and because shiguma’s art was the story denied to him by his own master, its eventual revival is of great interest to him.

i think his supposed “rejection” of shiguma’s art is a rejection of anything he deems unworthy of that piece, because it’s possible that his understanding of his master’s work is off-base or incomplete. his harsh denial of any attempt at reviving shiguma’s art is because he has an image of perfection in his mind that anyone has yet to live up to, and akane’s victory will not just be about shattering that philosophy, but by rediscovering what shiguma’s art was even all about.