- What is ‘Owarai’ and ‘Owarai Geinin’ in Japan
- Categories of ‘Owarai’ in Japan
- Famous ‘Owarai Geinin’ in each categories
- Brief comment by webmaster
- Who are interested in Japanese culture
- Who want to enjoy Japanese entertainment
- Who lough a lot !

SHINTA+ / Japanese blog writer, born and raised in Japan, visited more than 20 countries, introducing Japanese culture to the world, with both domestic & international experiences.
What is ‘Owarai’ in Japan
‘Owarai’ is Japanese culture of comedy show. ‘Owarai Geinin’ means comedian who deliver ‘Owarai’ to people. ‘Owarai’ is very popular culture in Japan.
We can watch TV program of ‘Owarai’ almost every day. And we see ‘Owarai Geinin’ on TV, and various media.
In this article, I would like to introduce ‘Owarai’ and ‘Owarai Geinin’, as very popular culture, which is supported by people from children to elders.

I really respect ‘Owarai Geinin’ very much !
Manzai by Manzai-si
quotation source : https://twitter.com/m1grandprix/status/1268131737663463424?s=21
Manzai is a kind of comedy by Manzai-si. It’s mainly with two persons, ‘Boke’ and ‘Tsukkomi’ on the stage. ‘Boke’ says funny things, then, ‘Tsukkomi’ correct it. The contest of Manzai, ‘M-1 grand prix (M-1) is held yearly.
Famous ‘Manzai-si’ in Japan
- Down Town (Since 1982, Mr. Matsumoto is Founder of M-1 Grand Prix)
- Nakagawa-ke (1992-, M-1 champion in 2001)
- Sandwichman (1998-, M-1 champion in 2007)
- Knights (2000- 3rd place of M-1 in 2008)
- Milkboy (2007-, M-1 champion in 2019)

I’m looking forward to watching ‘M-1 Grand Prix’ every year !
Konto by Konto-si (Conte-si)
quotation source : https://twitter.com/iizuka03/status/1289463097724297218?s=21
Konto-si is comedians who make short comic play, called ‘Konto/Conte’ on stage with some small properties. It’s mainly by two or three persons. The contest, ‘King of conte’ is held once a year.
Famous ‘Konto-si’ in Japan
- Tokyo 03 (Since 2003, King of conte 2009)
- Robert (1998-, King of Conte 2011)
- Viking (1996-, King of Conte 2012)
- Chocolate Planet (2006-, 3rd place in King of Conte 2018)

My favorite ‘Konto-si’ is ‘Tokyo 03’ !
Rakugo by Rakugo-ka
quotation source : https://www.shinbashi-enbujo.co.jp/contents/repo20181129.html
Rakuto is traditional entertainment in Japan. Rakuhoku-ka is an entertainer providing Rakugo, telling interesting story alone, with wearing Kimono as traditional item, and sitting on ‘Zabuton’.
Famous Rakugo-ka in Japan
- Katsura Bunsi (Honored Order of Rising Sun)
- Shofukutei Tsurube (also Actor / TV presenter)
- Tatekawa Shiraku (also TV presenter)
- Sanyutei Enraku
- Shunputei Shota

‘Rakugo’ is traditional entertainment in Japan !
Various entertainment by Pin Geinin
quotation source : https://twitter.com/akira100p/status/1273574627416010752?s=21
‘Pin Geinin’ is a person who provide entertainment on stage alone, imitating, funny actions, picture cards, puppet, etc. it’s generally separated from Rakugo-japan.
Famous Pin Geinin in Japan
- Degawa Tetsuro (Humorous Reaction)
- Akira 100% (Funny Action)
- Hori (Imitation)
- Gekidan Hitori (drama action)
- Kano Eiko (Airhead)

‘Akira 100%’ is super !! I can’t do that !
Summary
In the end, I would like to summarize the points of this article as follows
- ‘Owarai’ is culture of comedy
- ‘Owarai Geinin’ means ‘Comedian’ in Japanese
- Mainly 4 categories
- Manzai by Manzai-si
- Konto by Konto-si (Conte-si)
- Rakugo by Rakugo-ka
- Various entertainments by Pin-Geinin
- Contests are held in each categories, yearly
Postscript
That’s all today.
How was the content today ?
I really like Owarai Geinin, especially Manzai. My favorite ‘Manzai-si’ is ‘Knights’. If you have a opportunity to come to Japan, I would like to recommend you to try to see ‘Owarai Geinin’ in media.

thank you very much for your reading and see you again.
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