Manzai

Originally based around a festival to welcome the New Year, traces its origins back to the Heian period. The two performers came with messages from the kami and this was worked into a standup routine, with one performer showing some sort of opposition to the word of the other. This pattern still exists in the roles of the and the . Continuing into the Edo period, the style focused increasingly on the humor aspects of stand-up, and various regions of Japan developed their own unique styles of , such as , , and . With the arrival of the Meiji period, began to implement changes that would see it surpass in popularity the styles of the former period, although at the time was still considered the more popular form of entertainment. With the end of the Taishō period, Yoshimoto Kōgyō—which itself was founded at the beginning of the era, in 1912—introduced a new style of lacking much of the celebration that had accompanied it in the past. This new style proved successful and spread all over Japan, including Tokyo. Riding on the waves of new communication technology, quickly spread through the mediums of stage, radio, and eventually, television, and video games. ==Etymology==

The kanji for have been written in various ways throughout the ages. It was originally written as , using rather than the alternative form of the character, , and the simpler form for (which also can be used to write a word meaning "talent, ability"). The arrival of brought another character change, this time changing the first character to . == and ==

Similar in execution to the concepts of "funny man" and "straight man" in double act comedy (e.g. Abbott and Costello; Martin and Lewis), these roles are a very important characteristic of . comes from the verb which carries the meaning of "senility" or "air headed-ness" and is reflected in the 's tendency for misinterpretation and forgetfulness. The word refers to the role the second comedian plays in "butting in" and correcting the 's errors. In performances it is common for the to berate the and hit them on the head with a swift smack; one traditional prop often used for this purpose is a pleated paper fan called a . Another traditional prop is a small drum, usually carried (and used) by the . A Japanese bamboo and paper umbrella is another common prop. These props are usually used only during non-serious routines as traditional requires there to be no props in terms of routine and in competitions. The use of props would put the comedy act closer to a conte rather than manzai. The tradition of and is often used in other Japanese comedy, although it may not be as obviously portrayed as it usually is in . ==Notable acts==

Winners of M-1 Grand Prix Asahi Shimbun web survey 2012 The funniest duos, according to a web survey by The Asahi Shimbun in 2012 (excerpt): • Number 1: • 2: • 3: • 4: Bakushō Mondai • 5: • 6: Two Beat [ja]: One of them, Takeshi Kitano became a Japanese film director and television host. • 7: Nakagawake • 8: • 9: Downtown • 10: • 14: Taka and Toshi • 16: Ninety-nine • 22: Shinsuke Shimada and • 26: Summers • 28: Tunnels • 29: and File:Entatsu_Achako_Scan10036.JPG| File:All Hanshin-Kyojin IMG 0317-1 20200110.jpg| File:Wagyu_manzai_IMG_1474-1_20180401.jpg||alt="Wagyu", regular finalist in M-1 Grand Prix. Active since 2006. Gen Takagi is a famous manzai comedian who brought manzai comedy to Finland and even had his own competition. ==Literary associations==

• Kikaku wrote with affectionate mockery a haiku on the dancers: "The New Year Dancers / Never miss a single gate – / Millet for the crane". • Buson more positively wrote: "Yes, New Year's dancers – / Pounding good and properly, / The dirt in Kyoto". • Naoki Matayoshi's novel Spark (火花, Hibana) is set in the world of manzai comedians and deals with the main characters artistic struggles. The novel was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 2015. == See also ==