Where I attempt to explain Manzai...

As I have stated in my earlier post, Yoshimoto has popularized manzai attributed to their successful appearances in television programs.  However, manzai as a oral art form existed since long before.  It is believed that manzai started in the Heian period as a celebratory performance during new years.  During that period, manzai was a duo performance which involved one playing a small drum as the other danced to the beat.

The current form of manzai began to form in the Meiji period.  As the older form began to mix with the two-person rakugo form and as well as kodan (translated, recitation), it gradually became the two-person, conversational manzai (shabekuri manzai) that is popular today.  Tamago-ya Entatsu and the duo Sunagawa Sutemaru and Nakamura Haruyo are known to be the founders of modern manzai, and the duo Yokoyama Entatsu and Achako are known to be the comedians that introduced today's standard form, the shabekuri manzai.

In the 1930s, Yoshimoto began to popularize shabekuri manzai by introducing Western clothings and songs to this form of comedy.  The ubiquity of this comedy as a result of the success of Yoshimoto's promotion has solidified it as the modern manzai form.  This modern manzai that developed, while carrying many common elements, is different from comedy found in other countries.  The most typical form is described by Joel F. Stocker in "Manzai: Team Comedy in Japan's Entertainment Industry":

"[The manzai duo] engaged in a friendly, complementary antagonism, formally divided between the two of them: the tsukkomi played the kashikoyaku, the role of the smart one, and the boke played what in Osaka dialect is called the aho no yaku, or more generally the role of the fool. . .  The conversation is structured for a battle of words and worldviews in which the tsukkomi attempts to "correct" the boke's errant interpretations, oftentimes using one hand to tap or strike him on the shoulder, back, or head. . . The implicit rules of the genre are that the tsukkomi nods and says filler words in response to the boke's relatively normal-sounding statements, but, more importantly, he also "digs into" (tsukkomu) the boke--to criticize, to correct, and to point out the illogic or stupidity of the boke's movements.

manzai of Yasushi Kiyoshi
 

Manzai may appear as though two people are simply engaging in a humorous conversation on stage.  However, it is a rehearsed performance.  The duo often performs the same story in different venues, while some parts are ad-lib.  The rehearsed nature of manzai is what makes manzai an art; for the comedian, it is an delicate form requiring the correct timing, tempo, volume, and other elements of speech.  In order to praise those who are skilled at this art form, large competitions are held every year.  The most televised and now considered the most success-inducing is the Autobacs's M-1 Grand Prix.  Other prestigious competitions include NHK Kamigata Manzai Contest and Kamigata Manzai Taisho.

M-1 Grand Prix began in 2001 and has grown to last year having 4629 duos that entered the competition.  It is a tournament with the first round beginning in early September, and the final held at the end of December.  The final is heavily advertised and televised as a huge event.  The event is restricted to manzai duo that formed within ten years prior to the tournament year and is opened to professionals as well as amateurs.  However, professionals have always won due to the amount of time they have spent in their life practicing and gaining experiences in theaters and other venues.  The winner of this event takes home 10,000,000 yen (approximately, 100,000 US dollars) and becomes the center of media attention immediately after the competition.  Many of the past winners were unknown until the competition and arose to stardom following the competition.  Some winners have stated that their salary the following year as well as the number of media appearances increased by thirty fold.  For the geinin, winning this competition is a symbol of guaranteed success (at least for a year).

Because of the popularity of M-1 Grand Prix, manzai has begun to increasingly gain recognition as an art form consisting of high standards and practice.  As a result, other media has become interested in manzai and the lives of geinin, and they have become the center of films, books, and comics.  The advertisement poster for the 2009 M-1 Grand Prix shown above features characters from the manga series Beshari Gurashi, a manga that portrays two protagonists trying to become a successful owarai star.