Kamaitachi (かまいたち) is a Japanese comedy duo consisting of Kenji Yamauchi and Ryūichi Hamaie. The duo has been operated by Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainment group since May 2004. The Chinese characters for this duo, originally written as 鎌鼬, were switched into hiragana from April 28, 2009.
| Kamaitachi | |
|---|---|
| Native name | かまいたち |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Employer | Yoshimoto Kogyo |
| Genres |
|
| Members | Kenji Yamauchi, Ryūichi Hamaie |
| Website | Official Website |
Members
editKenji Yamauchi (山内健司), not to be confused with a playwright and film maker sharing the same name, was born in Honjo, Matsue City, Shimane prefecture on January 17, 1981. He graduated from Shimane Prefectural Matsue Higashi High School in 1999 and the Nara University of Education in 2003. He holds a junior high school teacher's license in social studies. His hobbies include shogi and horse racing and also has an Instagram and YouTube channel dedicated to domestic cats.[1] In February 2017 he married and in June of the following year his first son was born. In 2021 he served as a judge in the TBS Television "King of Conte" contest and his second child was born that same year.[2]
Ryūichi Hamaie (濱家隆一) was born in Osaka on November 6, 1983, and attended Osaka Prefectural Ibaraki Higashi High School. In junior high school, he was unruly and repeatedly disciplined. In high school he dyed his hair and neglected to wear his school uniform at times. During his early years as a comedian, he changed partners five times. However, he met Kenji Yamauchi in 2002 and has been with him for over a decade.[3] [4] His hobbies include magic and cooking. Magic is incorporated into some of his performances and his talent has been acknowledged by some professional magicians.[5] According to SakuSaku, since 2009 he has been active in the Sōka Gakkai organization.[6] Hamaie married in 2017 and in 2019, his first daughter was born.[7]
History
editBoth Yamauchi and Hamaie joined the Osaka NSC entertainment school in the 26th class session in 2002 along with other entertainers such as Wagyu, Fujisaki Market, and Tenjiku Nezumi. Yamauchi used to show off new material every class, but he was in the lowest class. By contrast, Hamaie was at the top class at first yet later demoted to its bottom. He met Yamauchi soon after entering that class and the two exchanged phone numbers.[8]
After graduating from the NSC in 2004, Hamaie broke up with his fifth partner. He then saw Kenji Yamauchi perform well as a single comedian in an audition. Hamaie contacted Yamauchi and they agreed to become a comic duo. The partnership has been rewarding for both of them. They made a lot of TV recordings together in which other famous talents such as Chidori and Gin-Shari have also appeared. In 2012 they won the 33rd ABC Owarai Grand Prix contest sponsored by Asahi TV.[9] In 2015, they became runners-up in the prestigious M-1 Grand Prix competition. In 2017, they won first place in the King of Conte Comedy Tournament. In 2018, they appeared regularly in seven TV shows in the Osaka area. Finally, they moved to Tokyo.[10] In 2019, they entered the M-1 Grand Prix entertainment championship and earned second place.[11] Until 2020, Kamaitachi was the only team to get first place in the "King of Conte" contest and second place in the M-1 Grand Prix contest.[12]
In February 2020, they made a YouTube account named "Neo-Milk-Boy DX." Shortly after that, they changed the name of that account to the "Kamaitachi Channel." As of February 2022, that channel had about 1.59 million subscribers.[13] Around the same time, they decided to create separate YouTube accounts, which became known as the "Hamaitachi Channel" and "Kouchi-san's House of Nyan-Tuber" respectively. In April 2020, their first regular main TV program, dubbed "Kamaitachi’s Castle of Pie in the Sky" (かまいたちの机上の空論城) hit the airwaves.[14]
Acting Style
editThis comic duo mainly performs manzai, with some conte now and then. Their most common style follows the standard shabekuri manzai convention of separating roles into a boke and a tsukkomi foil. Yamauchi generally plays the role of boke, often a quarrelsome crazy man, and Hamaie rebuffs him.[15]
Since 2010, they have done many comic performances. During their conte performances, stories frequently blur, and there are many slapstick incidents. At one point during their performances, Yamauchi dressed as a Chinese man and struck a gong while screaming.[16]
Both Yamauchi and Hamaie have been fans of the Japanese rock bank Radwimps for some time and they used their music in their appearances. Later, an exchange on Twitter led to a friendship with lead vocalist Yojiro Noda, and a joint event was held in 2019.[17]
References
edit- ^ Yamauchi, Kenji (2020-12-22). Negurushī yoru no neko 寝苦しい夜の猫 [Sleepy Night Cat] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Fusosha Publishing. ISBN 9784594086794. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Kamaitachi Yamauchi Kenji no gakureki" かまいたち山内健司の学歴 [Kamaitachi's Kenji Yamauchi's Educational background] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie Ryūichi no gakureki" かまいたち濱家隆一の学歴 [Kamaitachi's Ryūichi Hamaie's Educational background] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie | Moto yankī de jikka no binbō seikatsu ga sōzetsu-teki! Yome ya kodomo purofīru mo!" かまいたち濱家|元ヤンキーで実家の貧乏生活が壮絶的！嫁や子供・プロフィールも！ [Ryūichi Hamaie: Family profile of a former poor hoodlum!] (in Japanese). Pica Media. December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie, chō-nando no majikku ni chōsen sono tetsuki ni 'sekushī' no koe mo" かまいたち濱家、超難度のマジックに挑戦 その手つきに「セクシー」の声も [Kamaitachi's Hamaie undertakes some super-difficult magic]. Fumumu (in Japanese). Excite Japan. August 4, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie Ryūichi wa Sōkagakkai-in! Haha-oya ga shinja de Yamauchi to Seikyō Shinbun ni keisai mo" かまいたち濱家隆一は創価学会員！母親が信者で山内と聖教新聞に掲載も [Kamai-tachi Ryūichi Hamaie is a member of Soka Gakkai! His mother is a believer and Yamauchi has published in the Seikyō Shimbun] (in Japanese). Saku Saku Magazine. November 11, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie Ryūichi-san ronguintabyū 'aikata, dōki, okusan. Sūpārakkī ga kasanatte koko made koreta'" かまいたち・濱家隆一さんロングインタビュー「相方、同期、奥さん。スーパーラッキーが重なってここまで来れた」 [An extended interview with Kamaitachi's Ryūichi Hamaie "My partner and wife are the same person. Super-lucky they overlapped and I am here."]. Kodomoe (in Japanese). Hakusensha. November 13, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Kamaitachi | Nakayoshi guai ga sugoi! Deai ya konbi-mei yurai geireki mo!" かまいたち|仲良し具合がすごい！出会いやコンビ名由来・芸歴も！ [Kamaitachi | Their friendship is amazing! Encounters, origins of duo's name and their artistic history!] (in Japanese). Pica Media. December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Dai 33-kai ABC O-warai Guranpuri" 第33回ABCお笑いグランプリ [33rd ABC Owarai Grand Prix] (in Japanese). ABC TV. January 29, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Yamauchi no daigaku ya gakureki wa? Kyōin menkyo-mochi? Jikka ya shusshin ni tsuite mo!" かまいたち山内の大学や学歴は？教員免許持ち？実家や出身についても！ [What is the educational background of Kamaitachi's Yamauchi? Does he have a teacher's license? Also about his parents' home and origin!] (in Japanese). Carat Woman. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "2019-nen M-1 de Kamaitachi ga zessan sa reta riyū wa!? Manzai ni daijina sankakkei to wa!?" 2019年M-1でかまいたちが絶賛された理由は!? 漫才に大事な三角形とは!? [Why was Kamaitachi acclaimed at the 2019 M-1 Contest!? What's are the 3 cornerstones of comedy!?] (in Japanese). Owarai Laboratory. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Web Za-Terebishon (April 25, 2019). "Tarinai no wa 'kenkyosa' dake!? Jitsuryoku-ha konbi kamai-tachi, hatsu no zenkoku tsuā ni shutsujin!" 足りないのは「謙虚さ」だけ!? 実力派コンビ・かまいたち、初の全国ツアーに出陣！ [The only thing missing is "humility"!? The talent-combo Kamaitachi goes on their first national tour!]. Goo News (in Japanese). Kadokawa. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi chan'neru" かまいたちチャンネル [Kamaitachi Channel] (in Japanese). YouTube. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Kamaitachi no kijō no kūron-jō" かまいたちの机上の空論城 [Kamaitachi's desk-top castle] (in Japanese). Kansai Television. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Hamaie no miryoku wa nani? Jippu ni shutsuen de majikku no udemae wa! Burēku-go no nenshū wa?" かまいたち濱家の魅力は何？ジップに出演でマジックの腕前は！ブレーク後の年収は？ [What is Kamaitachi Hamaie's charm? Appearing in a zip, his magic skills! What is his annual income?] (in Japanese). Evry. August 24, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Chūgokujin kyara de burēku sezu 'kekka-teki ni yokatta' 'dai 56-kai kamigata manzai taishō' taishō jushō de" かまいたち山内：中国人キャラでブレークせず「結果的に良かった」「第56回 上方漫才大賞」大賞受賞で ["It was good as a result" [Yamauchi comments on] keeping a Chinese character] (in Japanese). Mantan. April 10, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kamaitachi Yamauchi ni noda yōjirō 'chotto yamete yo' Hamaie 'hazukashī na, omae'" かまいたち山内に野田洋次郎「ちょっとやめてよ」 濱家「恥ずかしいな、お前」 [Yojiro Noda to Yamauchi "Knock it off" Hamaie responds "You are embarrassing"]. Teach Insight Japan (in Japanese). Excite Japan. June 21, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022.