Hi-Hi is a
Japanese comedy
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word ''owarai'' is the honorific form of the word ''warai'' (by adding o- prefix), meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". ''Owarai'' is most common on Japanese variety shows ...
(
manzai
is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy or stand-up comedy.
usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a double act, funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes ...
) duo ''(
kombi)'' from
Saitama prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
consisting of as
boke and as
tsukkomi
The following glossary of words and terms (generally of Japanese origin) are related to ''owarai'' (Japanese comedy). Many of these terms may be used in areas of Japanese culture beyond comedy, including television and radio, music. Some have be ...
under the entertainment agency,
K Dash Stage
is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 and focuses on talent management for actors, comedians, musical artists and ''tarento'' alongside its subsidiary . The main K Dash agency consists of mainly a ...
. Formed in 1998, they are best known for their
stand-up
Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
acts and TV ''
tarento
Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...
'' activities in variety shows. The duo was selected as one of the four finalists among 1,515 professional comedy groups in a televised competition called ''
THE MANZAI 2011'', broadcast by
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
on December 17, 2011.
Biography
Ueda and Iwasaki first met while they were students at
Kawaguchi Seiryo High School in
Saitama prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
. After graduation, they formed a musical band with two other members. Two years later, following the break-up of the band, Ueda and Iwasaki joined the entertainment company
Yoshimoto Kogyo
is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai (comedy) talent, produci ...
in 1993. In a Yoshimoto event called "Risutora event" (restructuring event), however, the duo was selected as a group that would let go from Yoshimoto due to incompetent performance, after only two years since they joined. Although the company management told them they could come back after a while, Ueda and Iwasaki lost confidence and motivation and left Yoshimoto, and gave up their careers as comedians.
They made a living as truck drivers and gamblers at
pachinko
is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
slot games. In the meantime, they restarted their activities as a band man. Ueda and Iwasaki played the bass and drums respectively in a band that was initially called "Zari Killer" and performed punk rocks. Later, the band renamed itself "Gum gum 3 channel" and performed a pop music inspired by
Mr. Children
, commonly referred to by their contracted nickname , are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of t ...
(a Japanese popular pop band).
After three years of this stint, they passed a comedian audition held at K Dash Stage, Ueda and Iwasaki came back to the career as a comedian in 1998. However, they had not succeeded in raising their profile in the show biz world for 13 years until they earned the finalist position in the
manzai
is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy or stand-up comedy.
usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a double act, funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes ...
competition mentioned above. Soon after this event, Hi-Hi gained more than 100 offers from a variety of media including +50 offers from TV programs.
Performance
Ueda has made all their manzai dialogues. In manzai, Ueda is characterized as a sloppy, fickle and silly one while Iwasaki as a reasonable one. Their performance usually starts with Ueda's hail "Domo-ne! Waratte-ne! Kii-tsukatte-ne! Saikin Doh?" (Hi guys! Please laugh! Please be nice to us! How are you guys!?) followed by his totally meaningless line such as "Do you twirl pasta lately?", "Do you zip lately?", "Do you close curtains lately?", etc. Then, usually Iwasaki warns him "Too friendly (to the audience)! What are you saying..." and moved on to a main dialogue, saying "Listen, I am thinking I would like to...(i.e. travel abroad, buy a pet, ride a motorcycle, etc.)." Ueda does not respond properly, acts as if dropping things that has just popped up in his mind, and keeps shooting silly comments. In the end, Iwasaki closes their dialogue saying "Mo i-ya!" (Enough!).
Members
;
* Manzai Role: ''Boke''
* Date of Birth:
* Birthplace:
Hatogaya (currently
Kawaguchi),
Saitama
;
* Manzai Role: ''Tsukkomi''
* Date of Birth:
* Birthplace:
Ōmiya, Saitama was a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
On May 1, 2001, Ōmiya was merged with the cities of Urawa and Yono to create the city of Saitama.
Since April 1, 2003, the area of former Ōmiya City has been divided into 4 wards: Kita-ku, Mi ...
. Grew up in
Kashiwa
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 433,436 in 194,216 households and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
The name of the city is written with a si ...
,
Chiba
Chiba may refer to:
Places China
* (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei
Japan
* Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture
** Chiba Station, a train station
* Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
Media
TV
Past Appearance
*THE MANZAI 2011--
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
*Guru Guru Ninety-Nine –
Nippon Television
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
*Bakusho Red Carpet –
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
*Bakusho On-Air Battle –
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
Radio
Past Appearance
*Hi-Hi no All Night Nippon R –
Nippon Broadcasting System
, or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Yurakucho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, next to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Founded in 1954, it is together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, the flagship station of the National Radio Network. Nippon Broa ...
*January 6, 2012
*
Audrey
Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and ''þryð'' "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Aud ...
no Shampoo Ojisan –
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo which broadcasts to the Kanto area. It is one of the two flagship radio stations of National Radio Network (NRN) (the other station is ) and is a member of the Fujisankei Communications Group.
History
The ...
*January 18/25 2012
*Yompachi 48 hours –
Tokyo FM *January 12, 2012
*Hi-Hi no Gyara-kun—Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
*Yoshida Terumi no Yaruki Man Man—Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
External links
Hi-Hi official website provided by K Dash StageKojiro Ueda's blogKazunori Iwasaki's Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hi-Hi
Japanese comedy duos
Living people
1973 births
People from Kashiwa