Yoshimoto Kogyo
Encyclopedia
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
conglomerate, with its headquarters based in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. It was founded in 1912 as a traditional theatre
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...
, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai
Owarai
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word owarai is the honorific form of the word warai, meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". Owarai is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as owarai geinin or owarai tarento...
(comedy) talent, producing and promoting the shows they appear in, and even maintaining its own amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
.
Yoshimoto is said to be almost single-handedly responsible for the development of Japanese 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...
after World War II and, in fact, the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
that are now used for the word manzai were introduced by Yoshimoto in 1933, spelling a new era for the comedy style. Although pure manzai is no longer the dominant form of entertainment in Japan, Yoshimoto's influence remains and the spirit of manzai lives on in modern Japanese comedy, as can be seen by the prevalence of the Kansai dialect in many owarai productions.
The current director of Yoshimoto is Isao Yoshino, who replaced the long-standing ex-senior director Masao Kimura in January 2005. Kimura had been part of the company since entering in 1969, and in the 35 plus years that Kimura worked with Yoshimoto, it expanded greatly and its reputation as a successful company grew enormously. Fresh out of university, Yoshimoto is still the goal for many young comedians, and many of them hope to be accepted into the 'New Star Creation' school in Osaka, or one of others across Japan.
Yoshimoto now boasts more than 650 entertainers, possibly the most famous being the owarai kombi (duo) Downtown
Downtown (owarai)
is a Japanese comedy duo from Amagasaki, Hyōgo consisting of and . Formed in 1982, they are one of the most influential and prolific kombi in Japan today...
, successors of the manzai duo Yasu-Kiyo in the 1980s. As in much of Japanese culture, there exists a strong bond between sempai (senior) and kōhai (junior) members of the entertainment industry. Many lower level employees of Yoshimoto do not receive full salaries but rather benefit from the advice and guidance of senior members of the company.
Some other popular acts under Yoshimoto's direction are:
Solo
- Sanma AkashiyaSanma Akashiyais a Japanese TV comedian and actor simply known as Sanma. His real name is . His talent agency is Yoshimoto Corporation.Together with Beat Takeshi and Tamori, Sanma is said to be one of the "Big Three" tarento of Japan. Sanma's nickname is . He is known for his ability to endlessly carry a...
明石家 さんま - Shimada Shinsuke 島田 紳助
- Kōji Imada 今田耕司
- Koji Higashino 東野 幸治
- Masaki SumitaniMasaki Sumitaniis a Japanese comedian, retired professional wrestler and tarento , best known under his performing name of , which he adopted the name from the original wrestler Razor Ramon...
住谷正樹 (aka Razor Ramon HG レイザーラモン HG) - Takashi FujiiTakashi Fujii, born March 10, 1972 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese comedian and singer who belongs to the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo and is the popular host of Matthew's Best Hit TV , born March 10, 1972 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese comedian and singer who belongs...
藤井隆 - Hanako Yamada 山田花子
- Shoji Murakami
Duo
- DowntownDowntown (owarai)is a Japanese comedy duo from Amagasaki, Hyōgo consisting of and . Formed in 1982, they are one of the most influential and prolific kombi in Japan today...
ダウンタウン (Masatoshi HamadaMasatoshi Hamadais a Japanese comedian best known as the tsukkomi half of the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Hitoshi Matsumoto. His nickname is Hama-chan , and is married to Natsumi Ogawa...
and Hitoshi MatsumotoHitoshi Matsumoto, or Matchan as he is commonly known, is a Japanese comedian best known as the boke half the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Masatoshi Hamada...
) - Ninety-nineNinety-nine (Owarai), or is a Japanese comic duo from Osaka working for the entertainment conglomorate Yoshimoto Kogyo. The duo , consisting of Takashi Okamura as boke and Hiroyuki Yabe as tsukkomi , formed in 1990....
ナインティナイン (Takashi OkamuraTakashi Okamura (comedian)is a Japanese comedian and one half of the owarai duo Ninety-nine , playing the "comic stooge" or boke of the group. His nicknames range from "OkatakaLeader" to "Okachan"...
and Hiroyuki YabeHiroyuki Yabeis a Japanese comedian.He is one of the popular duo Ninety-nine with Takashi Okamura, who are one of Yoshimoto Kogyo's most successful acts. Yabe is considered the straight man in the duo. Yabe also plays Luigi in the Japanese Hot Mario Bros advert campaign.Born in Osaka, Yabe played soccer in his...
) - RozanRozan (owarai)is a Japanese comedy duo from Osaka consisting of as boke and as tsukkomi under the entertainment agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo. Formed in 1996, they are best known for their stand-up acts and TV tarento activities in variety and quiz shows...
ロザン (Fuminori UjiharaFuminori Ujiharais a Japanese comedian best known as the tsukkomi half of a popular owarai duo Rozan alongside Hirofumi Suga . Given his 146 IQ score, bachelor degree in law from Kyoto University , and championship titles from a number of TV quiz shows, he is also widely known as one of the most intelligent...
and Hirofumi SugaHirofumi SugaHirofumi Suga is a Japanese comedian best known as the boke half of a popular owarai duo Rozan alongside Fuminori Ujihara . Born in Takaishi, Osaka Prefecture, he usually speaks in the Kansai dialect. He is 162 cm tall and weighs 51 kg.- External links :*...
) - King Kong キングコング (Akihiro Nishino and Yuuta Kajiwara)
- London Boots ロンドンブーツ1号2号 (Atsushi TamuraAtsushi Tamurais a famous Japanese comedian from Hiko Island near Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.He and his partner, , form the known as . Though the two share the same surname, there is no family relation. The pair started their career by performing comedy on the streets of Tokyo.-Early life:Before...
and Ryō Tamura) - Chutorial チュートリアル (Yoshimi Tokui and Mitsunori Fukuda)
- KirinKirinKirin may refer to:People*Ivica Kirin , politician, former Interior Minister of Croatia*Kirin Kiki , Japanese TV and film actressCompanies* Kirin Brewery Company, a Japanese brewing company...
麒麟 (Akira Kawashima and Hiroshi Tamura) - Harisenbon ハリセンボン (Haruka Minowa and Haruna Kondou)
- Penalty ペナルティ (Hide and Wacky)
- Regular レギュラー (Kōta Matsumoto and Akihiro Nishikawa)
- Jichō KachōJicho Kachois a Japanese comedy unit consisting of two , and . Sometimes also known as , they are one of the most popular owarai kombi coming from Yoshimoto Kōgyō in Tokyo. Their name literally means "Vice manager, Section manager", and is a reference to the titles of two visitors at the bar in which they...
次長課長 (Junichi Kōmoto and Satoshi InoueSatoshi InoueSatoshi Inoue is the name of:* Satoshi Inoue , jazz guitarist* Satoshi Inoue * Satoshi Inoue * Satoshi Inoue , Japanese politician and member of the House of Councillors for the Japanese Communist Party...
) - 130R (Hon Kon and Itsuji ItaoItsuji Itaois a Japanese comedian and actor. He is a member of the comedy duo 130R and former cast member of one of Downtown's previous shows. He usually appears in their batsu games.-Movies:*2001 Desert Moon ... Interviewer*2002 The Blessing Bell ... Prisoner...
) - $10 (owarai)$10 (Owarai)is a fairly well known comedy duo under the company Yoshimoto Kogyo. The group consists of the boke, and the tsukkomi, , both from Osaka Prefecture. Hamamoto is known for his half-hearted apology of and often plays female characters in konto skits. Shirakawa is known as a skilled hand in the...
- CocoricoCocoricoCocorico may refer to:* The Brazilian TV program, Cocoricó* The French art magazine, Cocorico * The Puerto Rican soda drink, Coco Rico* A Japanese comedy act, Cocorico...
(Shōzō Endō and Naoki Tanaka)
Yoshimoto has been expanding its business in recent years, due to the so called
Otaru, Hokkaido
is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination...
and have begun signing the likes of musicians, producers, athletes and singers alongside business with the Japanese owarai industry.
Property
Yoshimoto Kogyo is the owner of a number of corporate offices and stages, most situated in the downtown areas of Osaka and Tokyo. The company has two headquarters, Osaka HQ (大阪本部) and Tokyo HQ (東京本部) and a number of stages, namely Lumine the Yoshimoto (ルミネtheよしもと), 5 up Yoshimoto (5upよしもと), NMB48NMB48
NMB48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group performs at NMB48 Theater on the basement of Yes-Namba Building in Namba, Osaka.-About:...
Theater (NMB48劇場), Nanba Grand Kagetsu (なんばグランド花月), and a new stage in the popular Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
district of Tokyo, Yoshimoto Mugendai Hall
Yoshimoto Mugendai Hall
is a public indoor stage owned by the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kōgyō situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. The stage opened on March 25, 2006 and has since staged the Yoshimoto Mugendai event hosting daily owarai performances and live broadcasts on television and over the internet...
(ヨシモト∞ホール). Yoshimoto also has an amusement park in downtown Osaka called Yoshimoto Shōtengai (吉本笑店街).
External links
- Yoshimoto Kogyo - Official site in Japanese
- Fandango - Small English Yoshimoto profile