Downtown (owarai)

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Downtown's Matsumoto (left) and Hamada

Downtown (ダウンタウン) is a Japanese comedy duo (kombi) consisting of Hitoshi Matsumoto (松本人志) and Masatoshi Hamada (浜田雅功). Downtown is probably the most influential kombi to come from Yoshimoto Kōgyō, and is arguably the most popular kombi in Japan today. While best known for their stand-up act and their role as host of numerous Japanese variety shows (including the long running HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP), they also occasionally perform in movies and television drama, and in the past have even released music singles.

Starting out as a manzai unit from Amagasaki, Hyōgo in 1983, it is now said that as a result of their massive popularity and the relative domination of their employer, Yoshimoto Kōgyō, the Kansai dialect (in which both performers usually speak) has come to be associated with Japanese comedy (owarai) as a whole.

1 History
2 Kansai Dialect
3 Boke and Tsukkomi
4 Now Showing
5 Movies
6 See Also
7 External links

[edit] History

Matsumoto and Hamada attended the same elementary school in Amagasaki, Hyogo( suburb of Osaka). Though they didn't become friends until junior high, they went their separate ways in senior high. After high school, Hamada had an unsuccessful try at becoming a motorboat racer. By chance he met his old friend and eventually this led Hamada to getting caught up in Matsumoto's long-held dream of becoming a comedian and the pair joined Yoshimoto Kōgyō in 1982. During the time there they trained and spent almost ten years working their way up the ladder within Yoshimoto.

Not seen so much anymore are the menagerie of weird characters that Downtown used to create on Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji (Downtown's Feelin' Good!). Matsumoto dressed up in a huge afro wig as Dansu Sensei (Dance Teacher), as the fecal filled underwear wearing Aho Aho Man (Moron Man) or as a fairy named Exciting; or more recently Hamada as Eccentric Shonen Boy. The pair performed the weirdest sketches, sometimes bordering on the masochistic, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes just baffling (such as the repeated tokusatsu parodies on Gottsu Ee Kanji). But these days, they appear mostly as presenters of comparatively tame variety or talk shows, relying mostly on their sarcastic, short-tempered stage personas for laughs.

[edit] Kansai Dialect

Yoshimoto Kōgyō is very much a Kansai operation, although it's not limited to people from Osaka and its surroundings. Most of its comedians speak Kansai-ben, the strong, earthy dialect that developed among the merchant classes of Osaka, as opposed to the more elegant tones of Kyoto or the standard language of the Edo (now Tokyo) aristocracy.

Matsumoto and Hamada have never lost that dialect and have actually used it to their benefit. They use it in the titles of their TV shows - you won't find translations of Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende (This Is No Job For Kids!) or Gottsu Ee Kanji in a standard dictionary. But Downtown's massive popularity have turned these expressions into common vocabulary.

[edit] Boke and Tsukkomi

On television, Matsumoto often goes by the name "Matchan" (松ちゃん), and Hamada by "Hama-chan" (浜ちゃん). As with many owarai kombi, there exists a boke and a tsukkomi. Matsumoto is the boke of the two and often puts up with light physical abuse (it is common for the tsukkomi to slap the boke upside the head whenever he says something rude or ridiculous) from Hamada, the tsukkomi. Hamada is also known to attack other tarento and celebrities (such as Ayumi Hamasaki) when they give boke-like responses to Downtown's questions.

[edit] Now Showing

Downtown are currently listed as hosts of the following programs:

リンカーン (Lincoln) on TBS (Since 2005)
HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP on Fuji Television (Since 1994)
ダウンタウンDX (Downtown DX) on Yomiuri TV (Since 1993)
ダウンタウンのガキの使いやあらへんで!! (Downtown's Gaki No Tsukai Ya Arahende!) on Nippon Television (Since 1989)

[edit] Movies

Both members of Downtown played major roles (Hamada was a main character) in the popular 2001 movie, 明日があるさ (There's Always Tomorrow, Ashita-ga aru sa).