is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 (manzai

Manzai

is a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers —a straight man and a funny man —trading jokes at great speed...

 or sketch comedy) duo

Double act

A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...

 (kombi) from Sapporo consisting of a.k.a "Taka" as boke and a.k.a "Toshi"as tsukkomi under the entertainment agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo

Yoshimoto Kogyo

is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate, with its headquarters based in Osaka. It was founded in 1912 as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai talent, producing and promoting the shows they...

. Formed in 1994, they are best known for their stand-up

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

 acts and as TV tarento

Tarento

is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

s in variety shows.

Sketch comedy

As the boke, Taka is prone to silly comments, while Toshi is the more reasonable of the two, often criticizing Taka's remarks, shooting tsukkomi saying "such-and-such ka!" (i.e. "Obei ka!"), and hitting Taka on the head for his silly response.

"Obei ka!" is their most known tsukkomi gag. It literally means, "You are neither American nor European!" or "You're not a Westerner!"

One example of their skits has the following lines:

Toshi: Let's have a drink. I'll have a beer.

Taka: Then I'll have a Diet Coke.

Toshi: You're not an American! Have a beer! And what would you like to eat?

Taka: I'll have a cherry pie.

Toshi: You're not an American!

Taka: A meat pie.

Toshi: You're not an American!

Taka: A chocolate bar.

Toshi: You're not an American!

Taka: Sushi and tempura! (with an American accent).

Toshi: You're not an American!

Biography

The comedians first met in 1990 at Nishioka-kita Junior High in Sapporo when they were both in the 8th grade. In 1994, they passed an audition held by Yoshimoto Kogyo. Initially working in Sapporo, the two moved to Tokyo in 2002 to work nationwide.

Members

• Date of Birth: April 3, 1976
• Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido
  Sapporo, Hokkaido
  is the fourth-largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan....
  
  
• Manzai Role: Boke

• Date of Birth: July 17, 1976
• Birthplace: Asahikawa, Hokkaido
• Manzai Role: Tsukkomi

Awards

• Nationwide Yoshimoto Young Manzai-shi Awards presented by Television Shizuoka (テレビ静岡主催 全国吉本若手漫才) 1st place (1997)
• The 10th Warai no Kin-medal - Neta Battle (笑いの金メダル - ネタバトル) Gold medal (2004)
• M-1 Grand Prix
  M-1 Grand Prix
  , was an annual Manzai competition planned by Shinsuke Shimada and run by Yoshimoto Kogyo. The supporter Asahi Broadcasting Corporation broadcast the final live throughout Japan via All-Nippon News Network in December.-The way to be the Champion:...
  
   (M-1グランプリ) 4th place (2004)
• The 7th Bakusho On-air Battle Championship (爆笑オンエアバトルチャンピオン大会) 1st place (2005)
• The 8th Bakusho On-air Battle Championship (爆笑オンエアバトルチャンピオン大会) 1st place (2005)
• The 45th Golden Arrow Awards, Broadcasting Award (Variety Section) (2008)
• The 8th Beat Takeshi's Entertainment Awards, Japan Show Biz Award (2008)

TV

Regular

• Monday　
  • Otameshika!! (お試しかっ!) -- TV Asahi
    TV Asahi
    , also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
    
    
  • Hoko x Tate (ほこ×たて) -- Fuji TV
• Tuesday　
  • Waratte Iitomo!
    Waratte Iitomo
    is a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show is hosted by Tamori and has run since 1982. The show is produced in the Studio Alta building located in Shinjuku, Tokyo...
    
     (森田一義アワー 笑っていいとも!) -- Fuji TV
  • Jimoto Oen Variety Konohen!! Traveler (地元応援バラエティ このへん!!トラベラー) -- HTB
    Hokkaido Television Broadcasting
    is a TV station in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is affiliated with All-Nippon News Network and TV Asahi Network.-About HTB:*the head office: 10-7, Hiragishi Shijo Jūsanchōme, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan*Date and year founded: December 1, 1967...
    
    
  • Gyoten Quiz! Chin Rule Show (仰天クイズ! 珍ルールSHOW) -- TV Tokyo
    TV Tokyo
    is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
    
    
• Wednesday　
  • Futtonda (フットンダ) -- Chukyo TV
• Thursday
  • Iknari! Ogon-densetsu. (いきなり!黄金伝説。) -- TV Asahi
• Friday
  • Game & Quiz Variety Peke x Pon (ゲーム&クイズバラエティ ペケ×ポン) -- Fuji TV
  • Gekkan Soccer Earth -- Nippon TV *Every 4th Friday
• Saturday
  • Tensai! Shimura
    Ken Shimura
    , is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show "Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama"....
    
     Dobutsuen (天才!志村どうぶつ園) -- Nippon TV
• Sunday
  • Waratte Iitomo! Zokan-go (笑っていいとも!増刊号) -- Fuji TV
  • Doda! Presents Takatoshi Bokujo (どぉーだ! Presents タカトシ牧場) -- Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting
    Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting
    is a TV station affiliated with Fuji News Network and Fuji Network System serving in Hokkaido, Japan, headquartered in Sapporo, established 1972/4/1.- External links:*...
    
    

Semi Regular

• SmaSTATION -- TV Asahi *Saturday
• SMAP×SMAP
  SMAP×SMAP
  SMAP×SMAP is an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it airs from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday...
  
   -- Kansai TV
  Kansai Telecasting Corporation
  , often called or , is a TV station affiliated with Fuji News Network and Fuji Network System in Osaka, serving the Kansai region of Japan...
  
  , Fuji TV *Monday
• Tunnels
  Tunnels (owarai)
  The are an owarai duo with a long history composed of Tokyo born and . Both of them attended where Ishibashi, the taller of the two, participated in baseball, and Kinashi participated in soccer....
  
  no Minasan no Okagedeshita (とんねるずのみなさんのおかげでした) -- Fuji TV *Thursday

Irregular

• Taka Toshi & Nukumizu ga Iku Chiisana Tabi Series (タカトシ&温水が行く小さな旅シリーズ) -- Fuji TV
• Special Program Bakusho Sokkuri Monomane Kohaku Utagassen Special (爆笑そっくりものまね紅白歌合戦スペシャル) -- Fuji TV

External links

• Taka and Toshi official website provided by Yoshimoto Kogyo
• Taka and Toshi's videos that Yoshimoto Kogyo officially presents at Youtube