The booms of comedy

 There are five booms of comedy roughly.
 The first happened in 1960's. This boom was cased by starting of TV program. Many performers of Rakugo appeared in TV and they became famous.
 The second boom happened early in 1980. This was the boom of Manzai. Many performers of Manzai, for example, "Two beats" and "Shisuke Ryusuke" and B&B and so on, were popular in this term. Futhermore, comedians who were popular in middle of 1980's (for example, "Tamori", "Beat Takeshi" and "Akashiya Sanma") are called  "BIG3".
 The third happened in from later of 1980's to early in 1990's. This is the term when "Tunnels", "Downtown" and "Utchan Nanchan" and others gained power. The comedians of the generation after this came out to a world without being included in the conventional teacher-student relationship. Those comedians have had very little demonstration experience what is called on a first-class stage.
 The foruth happened in later of 1990's. This is the term when a large number of comedians were produced from the TV program made and crowded.
 The fifth happend in 2000's. There were many TV programs that comedians perform their materials. Many comedians got popularity by this. But these days, there were few programs such those.

M-1

 Today's topic is M-1. M-1 is the contest to elect best performers of Manzai. As you know, the word 'M' of 'M-1' is initial of 'Manzai'. Yoshimotokogyo sponsor this contest, and Shimada Shinsuke planned this contest. This had been held for ten years(2001~2010). Every year, this was held in December. People who have had present pair name for less than 10 years can take part in this contest regardless of all, such as a pro, amateur, and nationality.

The past champions
2001 Nakagawake
2002 MasudaOkada
2003 Football-hour
2004 Untouchable
2005 Black mayonnaise
2006 Tutorial
2007 Sandwich man
2008 NON STYLE
2009 Panku bubu
2010 Waraimeshi

Boke and Tsukkomi

Boke and Tsukkomi are both important in Japanese comedy. Boke and Tsukkomi caused laughter. The following information is from wikipedia. 

 Similar in execution to the concepts of “funny man” and “straight man” in doubt act comedy, these roles are a very important characteristic of Manzai. Boke comes from the verb “bokeru” which carries the meaning of “senility” or “air headed-ness” and is reflected in Boke’s tendency for misinterpretation and forgetfulness. The word Tsukkomi refers to the role the second comedian plays in “butting in” and correcting the Boke’s errors. In performances it is common for the Tsukkomi to berate the Boke and hit them on the head with a swift smack; one traditional Manzai prop often used for this purpose is a pleated paper fan called a Harisen. Another traditional Manzai prop is a small drum, usually carried by the Boke.

The tradition of Tsukkomi and Boke is often used in other Japanese comedy, although it may not be as obviously portrayed as it usually is in Manzai.

Noritsukkomi is a kind of Tsukkomi which ride on the Boke once, and do Tsukkomi after a while (correct the Boke’s error).

These make Manzai more interesting, so these are indispensable to Manzai. Futher, these make also daily conversation interesting.

List of comedian (Tsukkomi)

・Hamada Masatoshi (Downtown)

・Date Mikio (Sandwich man)

・Tsutsumishita Atsushi (Impulse)

etc

List of comedian (Boke)

・Matsumoto Hitoshi (Downtown)

・Tomizawa Takeshi (Sandwich man)

・Itakura Toshiyuki (Impulse)

etc

Manzai

 Today's topic is about Manzai. I think Manzai is most popular comedy in Japan. The following information is from wilipedia.

 Manzai is a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers―a straight man (is called “tsukkomi”) and a funny man(is called “boke” ―trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings. It is said that Manzai was developed in Kansai district. In recent times, Manzai has often been associated with the Osaka region, and Manzai comedians often speak in the Kansai dialect during their acts. Yoshimoto Kogyo, a large entertainment conglomerate based in Osaka, introduced Osaka-style manzai to Tokyo audiences, and coined the term “Manzai” in 1933. Manzai performers is called “Manzaishi”.

History

Originally based around a festival to welcome the New Year, Manzai traces its origins back to the Heian period. The two Manzai performers came with messages from the gods and this was worked into a stand-up routine, with one performer showing some sort of opposition to the word of the other. The style focused increasingly on the humor aspects of stand-up at the Edo period. With the arrival of the Meiji period, Osaka Manzai began changes that would see it surpass in popularity the styles of the former period, although at the time rakugo was still considered the more popular form of entertainment. After World War II, riding on the waves of new communication technology, Manzai quickly spread through the mediums of stage, radio, and eventually, television.

Famous performers

・Downtown

・Bakusyomondai

・Nakagawake

・Slim club

・Sandwich man