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A Unique Comedy Culture VOL. 109 JUNE 2017 A Unique Comedy Culture 6 12 Atsugiri Jason: Character Assassin Clowning Around American comedian Atsugiri Jason has Physical comedy duo Gamarjobat’s risen to stardom poking fun at the Japanese shows transcend language barriers. language. 8 Rakugo: Enriching the Imagination Sanyutei Ryuraku has a story to tell the world. 14 What’s Manzai? Features We ask manzai-shi fall guy Stephen Tetsu. 10 Concentration and Release Actor Manzo Nomura talks kyogen. 4 22 24 PRIME MINISTER’S TOPICS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DIARY Keeping the Peace in South HIGH CO-GENERATION Also Sudan EFFICIENCY, ULTRA-COMPACT DESIGN COPYRIGHT © 2017 CABINET OFFICE OF JAPAN WHERE TO FIND US The views expressed in this magazine by the interviewees Tokyo Narita Airport terminals 1 & 2 ● JR East Travel Service Center (Tokyo Narita Airport) ● JR Tokyo and contributors do not necessarily represent the views of Station Tourist Information Center ● Tokyo Tourist Information Center (Haneda Airport, Tokyo Metropolitan the Cabinet Office or the Government of Japan. No article Government Building, Keisei Ueno Station) ● Niigata Airport ● Chubu Centrair International Airport Tourist or any part thereof may be reproduced without the express Information & Service ● Kansai Tourist Information Center (Kansai Int'l Airport) ● Fukuoka Airport Tourist permission of the Cabinet Office. Copyright inquiries Information ● Foreign Press Center/Japan ● Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan ● Delegation of the should be made through a form available at: European Union to Japan ● Tokyo University ● Waseda University ● Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University● Ritsumeikan University ● Kokushikan University ● University of Tsukuba ● Keio University ● Meiji University www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/mailform/inquiry.html ● Osaka University ● Kyushu University ● Kyoto University ● Tohoku University ● Nagoya University ● Sophia University ● Doshisha University ● Akita International University ● International University of Japan 2 | highlighting japan ISSUE 109, JUNE 2017 Theme for June: A Unique Comedy Culture 16 n this month’s Feature story The Oldest Jokes in the Book we dissect Japan’s distinctive Kagura still has the power to make them comedy culture, introducing laugh. Isome of the range of genres, both old and new, that make Japanese people laugh. We also interview two non-Japanese 20 people working in the comedy From Osaka to the World Japan’s best-known comedy production line industry, and talk to Japanese now extends into Asia. comedians and storytellers who have taken their art forms overseas. 18 Art that Wears a Smile on Its Face Japanese art has always had its humorous side. 26 28 30 SMEs OVERSEAS WASHOKU NATIONAL PARKS Concrete Improvements Sweets for All Seasons Aso-Kuju: The Power of Nature PRODUCTION The Japan Journal ON THE COVER MANAGING EDITOR Osamu Sawaji A Unique Comedy Culture EDITOR Alex Hendy Photo: KUMI AKASAKA / YOROZU KYOGEN EDITORIAL SUPPORT Hitoshi Chiba, Eriko Kiura CONTRIBUTORS Gavin Blair, Rob Gilhooly, Alex Hendy, Toshio Matsubara, Kyoko Motoyoshi, Takashi Sasaki, Akira Umezawa DESIGN Mei Imai, Hirofumi Okadome PHOTOS Yuichi Itabashi, Rob Gilhooly, Yoshifusa Hashizume, Takashi Sasaki, Satoshi Tanaka VIDEOGRAPHY Satoshi Tanaka June 2017 | 3 Prime Minister's Diary G7 TAORMINA SUMMIT rom May 26 to 27, Prime Minis- ter Shinzo Abe attended the G7 FSummit held in Taormina, Italy. About a half of the G7 leaders, including President Trump, were par- ticipating in the G7 Summit for the first time. The leaders held candid discussions on securing global peace and security and realizing inclusive growth of the global economy, amid “a time of change” for the G7, and the deepening of issues such as North Korea, countering terrorism and vio- Prime Minister Abe joins the G7 leaders for a working lunch to discuss foreign policy and security lent extremism, and refugee issues. issues Prime Minister Abe, based on his experience as the Chair of the previ- Korea, the global economy and trade, shares universal values will respond ous G7 Summit, strongly emphasized and maritime security. to the various issues they face with the significance of G7 solidarity, as The leaders deepened their rela- greater solidarity than ever before, as the first speaker, while also leading tionships of personal trust with one champions of the rules-based inter- discussions on issues such as North another, and agreed that the G7 that national community. JAPAN-ARGENTINA SUMMIT MEETING explained that in light of the 120th structure investment. Prime Minis- anniversary of the establishment ter Abe also welcomed the creation of diplomatic relations in 2018 next of a “Roadmap for strengthening year, he hopes to establish a new trade and economic relations” for the Japan-Argentina relationship. Japan-Argentina Joint Committee on As for the bilateral relations, Promoting Trade and Investment, the Prime Minister Abe explained that establishment of a bilateral dialogue as “strategic partners” that share on agriculture, livestock, fishing, for- fundamental values, he hopes Japan estry and agroindustrial sectors, as and Argentina will accumulate con- well as the progress with discussions Prime Minister Abe with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina crete outcomes through venues such on trade of agricultural products. as policy consultations, the World Prime Minister Abe welcomed the n May 19, Prime Minister Trade Organization (WTO) Ministe- signing of a memorandum of cooper- Shinzo Abe held a summit rial Conference and the G20 Summit ation on a working holiday program, Omeeting with H.E. Mr. Mau- that will be held in Argentina toward which is Japan’s first agreement of ricio Macri, President of the Argen- next year. this kind with a Latin American coun- tine Republic. Prime Minister Abe mentioned try, along with stating that he intends Prime Minister Abe expressed his that the Japan Bank for International to further advance exchanges of support for the President’s leader- Cooperation (JBIC) resumed loan nationals, including people-to-peo- ship in driving Mercosur and South operations to the government of ple exchanges, sports and tourism, America by promoting various free Argentina for the first time in twenty toward the success of the 2018 Youth and open reforms. years, and stated that he hopes to Olympic Games and the 2020 Tokyo Additionally, Prime Minister Abe continue promoting quality infra- Olympic and Paralympic Games. Photographs and text courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Government of Japan. 4 | highlighting japan Feature A UNIQUE COMEDY CULTURE A Unique Comedy Culture Photo: Courtesy of Honjo City Board of Education, Saitama Prefecture Comedy in Japan can be a hard thing to understand for those unfamiliar with the deep culture which surrounds it, irrespective of the obvious difficulties a foreign observer might have with the Japanese language itself. Japanese comedy is not however impenetrable: it is accessible with a little effort and brilliantly funny once the codes are understood. Indeed, a number of non-Japanese residents have made their name on the domestic comedy circuit, while a number of Japanese comedians have made their breakthrough overseas. In this month’s Feature, we look at Japan’s unique comedy culture, the traditions which inform it and the multi-faceted nature of the broad comedy genre today. JUNE 2017 | 5 Feature A UNIQUE COMEDY CULTURE Atsugiri Jason Character Assassin merican Jason Danielson, better known in Japan as “Atsugiri Jason,” has captured Athe public imagination with his hilarious high-energy skits ridiculing the complexities of the Japanese language. You have been living and working in Japan since 2005 as the corporate officer of a Mothers-listed IT company. How did you make the breakthrough in Japanese comedy? A few years ago I started a weekend course at Watanabe Entertainment Comedy School. I enjoyed the comedy on TV and thought I’d like to give it a try. The course lasted for a year and at the end of it a couple of TV shows picked me up for auditions. It just kind of blew up from there. Your skits have a common theme… My routines mostly point out the inconsistencies or paradoxes in Japanese kanji characters and lan- guage phrases. A character is usually made up of multiple little characters. If you take the meanings of those little characters separately and compare them with the meaning of the overall character, there often seems to be a contradiction. For exam- ple, the character for “hunting,” “狩,” comprises a character for “animal” and the character for “pro- tect.” The character for walking, “歩,” means to “stop a little.” Those are single characters; when characters are combined, it can get even more ridiculous. The character for socks, for example (靴下), means “under the shoe,” but you’d get really dirty socks if they were under the shoe. The Photo: Yuichi Itabashi 6 | highlighting japan strangeness extends to phrases. If you do some- thing bad, in Japanese as in English you “get your hands dirty.” But when you stop doing something bad, in Japanese you “wash your feet of it.” I don’t understand. Your feet were never involved. How did you hit on the catchphrase “Why Japa- nese people!”? By chance actually. At comedy school, when I was not used to performing in front of a lot of people, Atsugiri Jason strikes his famous “Why Japanese people!” pose. “Atsugiri Jason” means “thick-cut Jason,” as in the homonym I would sometimes panic and forget what I was “thick-cut bacon.” The name also plays on the comedian’s place of going to say. In one of those moments the phrase work and residence: Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture. Photo: Yuichi Itabashi just popped out. One of the Watanabe people told me the phrase in itself was funny and that I should line marking out the laugh points in the same way pay more attention to it. From then on I made it a that canned laughter is used in situation comedies point to put that phrase in every skit.
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