Japanese comedy has a long and illustrious record which I find to be an amazing topic to explore. And, as you might assume, the nation has spawned many distinct 'categories' of comedy over the previous several centuries. In The united states, where I now live, there are parallels to this. We possess many various varieties of comedy as well, some of which are dependent on locations, such as hillbilly, or redneck humor. Japan's 'humor' types are also regionally based, the perfect illustration being Manzai.

For this article, I am going to focus on Manzai, because it's my preferred flavor of Japanese comedy.

Manzai is really a traditional type of stand-up comedy in Japanese society, that generally involves two performers: a straight man (tsukkomi) and a humorous man (boke) exchanging jokes at high speed. Most of the jokes center around mutual misconceptions, double-talk, puns and other spoken gags. People in america may compare Manzai to those fabulous Abbot and Costello routines from the 1930's and 40's. In the event that the names of Abbott and Costello do not sound familiar to those of the younger generation, perhaps you've heard their famous gag: 'Who's on First?' Manzai comedy is very comparable to Who's on First in many ways.

Manzai can trace its roots back to the area of Osaka, where the comics would carry out their witty and funny dialogue speaking in the Kansai vernacular. Yoshimoto Kogyo, a big entertainment conglomerate based in Osaka was the driving force behind manzai, and was a key player in introducing it to Tokyo audiences way back in 1933. According to some sources, it has now become the most common flavor of Japanese comedy within the Land Of the Rising Sun.

To uncover the origins of manzai, we need to dive into Japanese history. The beginnings of this comedy style could be attributed to an ancient New Year event held during the Heian period. The pattern of the straight man and funny man is performed by the entertainers apparently delivering communications from the gods. Opposition is the name of the game as 1 comic spoils the party of the other.

Ultimately the Edo time period came in to existence as the Heian time period faded into history. At this point the style shifted with much more emphasis on the comic facet of stand-up. In addition there were newer variances and more varied styles.

Now we fast forward to the twentieth century. The Taisho period was coming to an end, and the foundation of Yoshimoto Kogyo was about to take place. It was 1912 to be specific, when these events paved the way for a fresher, more contemporary version of manzai.

The change proved to be a good one as the brand new style started to propagate further into Japan which included Tokyo. The popularity of Manzai was boosted with the introduction of communications technologies for example radio, and ultimately television. Yes indeed, manzai has survived the passing of the ages, and is well established even these days in our high technology world.

I hope you enjoyed this short look into Japanese Comedy. Perhaps you feel as I do that comedy, when performed well, can help to make the planet a better place. And Japanese comedy is no exception!