is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

trio consisting of , and . They are graduates of the

Yoshimoto NSC The Yoshimoto New Star Creation, commonly called NSC or Yoshimoto Academy, is the comedy school established by Yoshimoto Kogyo in Japan. History There are currently two campuses, the original ''NSC'', established in 1982 in Osaka and the Tokyo br ...

Tokyo 12th generation and employed by

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 ...

. They are mostly active in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Members

* Shinji Saitō (斉藤慎二) Born October 26, 1982 in

Yachiyo, Chiba 270px, Keisei Rose Gardens is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 202,071 in 91,092 households and a population density of 3900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yachi ...

. Plays the '' boke'', but has recently transitioned to also playing the ''

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 b ...

''. He aspired to be an actor before becoming a comedian and graduated with a degree for acting at the

Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music is a junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occu ...

before joining

. * Hirohisa Ōta (太田博久) Born December 10, 1983 in

Toyota, Aichi , formerly known as Koromo, is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 426,162 and a population density of 464 people per km2. The total area was . It is located about 35 minutes from Nagoya by way of the Meite ...

. Plays the '' boke''. He is the main writer of the group's material and skits. His wife is the

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

, Chihiro Kondo. * Otake (おたけ) Born December 2, 1982 in Chūō, Tokyo. Plays the ponkotsu role, a persona that has become synonymous with Otake's character. He is currently a member of the comedy-focused

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

group, ''

Yoshimotozaka46 is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. It was created on February 21, 2018. It is Nogizaka46's second sister group, after Keyakizaka46 (now split between Sakurazaka46 and Hinatazaka46). This was named after the Osaka-based enter ...

''.

Career

The unit formed at a banquet party right before the 12th generation graduation when Ōta and Otake decided to partner up, with Saitō joining afterwards to form the trio. At first, Ōta was not thrilled to team up with Saitō.De☆View 2013 April Edition (Oricon Entertainment) The name ''Jungle Pocket'' is named after the famous racehorse

Jungle Pocket Jungle Pocket ( ja, ジャングルポケット, link=no, 7 May 1998 – 2 March 2021) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from 2000 until 2002 he won five of his thirteen races and ¥704,258,000 in p ...

by Saitō who is a fan. Jungle Pocket made several appearances on ''King of Conte'' for their conte and '' M-1 Grand Prix'' and ''The Manzai'' for their

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 funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve aro ...

. They reached the semi-finals for ''King of Conte'' 6 years in a row until 2015, when they made it to the finals for the first time. Since then, the group gained popularity and make frequent appearances on television.

Achievements

King of Conte

* 2008 - 2nd Round * 2009 - Semi-Finalist * 2010 - Semi-Finalist * 2011 - Semi-Finalist * 2012 - Semi-Finalist * 2013 - Semi-Finalist * 2014 - Semi-Finalist * 2015 - Finalist (4th Place) * 2016 - Finalist (Runners-up) * 2017 - Finalist (4th Place) * 2018 - Semi-Finalist

M-1 Grand Prix

* 2007 - 2nd Round * 2008 - 3rd Round * 2009 - Semi-Finalist * 2010 - Quarter-Finalist * 2015 - Quarter-Finalist

The Manzai

* 2011 - 2nd Round * 2012 - Certified Manzai Comedian * 2013 - 2nd Round * 2014 - Certified Manzai Comedian

References

External links

Official Profile on Yoshimoto
* * * {{Authority control Japanese comedy troupes Japanese YouTube groups