Where I conclude this blog...

This blog is certainly not enough to cover every detail and the whole depth of Japanese comedy.  Certainly, the roots of Japanese comedy goes back much further than the introduction of manzai in the Heian period.  There are thousands of geinin that are not mentioned on this blog and of those, hundreds that are successful today.

However, I hope you got a taste of the rich geinin culture, and the long history of Japanese comedy and the comedians.  The Japanese game shows you see are the product of this long tradition that developed over time.  It is not as simple as ridiculous people doing ridiculous things.  As I have tried to explain, the majority of Japanese comedy is not the end result of ridiculous, exotic behaviors.  Just like manzai and konto, most of owarai shows are rehearsed and perfected over time.  Every time a geinin falls into the water, it reflects his experiences and skills as a geinin.  Most of them are always conscious about the timing and the tempo of delivery of their actions; in their term, they "read the atmosphere" (kuki wo yomu).  And they are always fighting against the fear of suberu.  Owarai geinin is a more difficult job than it appears, requiring emotional strength, wit, and comedic skills to survive among thousands of geinin.

So finally, let's take a look at a seemingly ridiculous performance.


This is a comedy genre called reaction performance.  The "reaction geinin" use skills to overly react to seemingly painful situations.  It is a performance that is mastered, and on this video, the guy in the pink vest (Kasuga) is learning the art of this performance genre from the guy in tuxedo (Degawa).  These people are aware of what is going on; for example, the hot bath is actually a room temperature bath.  Japanese game shows are the same way.  The ridiculous, funny moments do not come from coincidence and accidents; rather, they are performances.  Geinin are almost always aware, and they are always thinking about the next move.  And they will do (and sometimes, pressured to do) whatever it takes to make people laugh.