is a Japanese

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Comedy career

Nishikawa trained to be a comedian under Kin Ishii, and became a student at Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (a comedy troupe run 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 ...

) in 1964. In 1966, he formed a

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 with Yasushi Yokoyama, and rose to fame, the pair eventually becoming one of the leaders of the manzai boom of the early 1980s. The pair won the Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize three times in 1970, 1977, and 1980.

Political career

Nishikawa served in Japan's

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

for three terms between 1986 and 2004 as an independent, representing the Osaka district. He came first all three times he stood for office, with more than one million votes. Nishikawa resumed his entertainment career after 2004.

Personal life

Nishikawa's wife is Helen Nishikawa. They married in 1967 when she was a top actress in Yoshimoto Shinkigeki and he still an up-and-coming comedian.

Filmography

Film

*''The 47 Ronin in Debt'' (2019)

Television

*''

Massan is a Japanese television drama series, the 91st Asadora (morning drama) broadcast daily on NHK from September 29, 2014, until March 28, 2015. ''Massan'' is based on the lives of Masataka Taketsuru and his Scottish wife Jessie Roberta "Rita" Cowa ...

'' (

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 terrestri ...

, 2014–15) *''

Warotenka is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 97th ''asadora'' series, following ''Hiyokko''. It premiered on October 2, 2017 and ended on March 31, 2018. The main character is based on Sei Yoshimoto, the co-founder of Yoshimoto Kogyo ...

'' (NHK, 2017–18)

Honours

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

(2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishikawa, Kiyoshi 1946 births Japanese comedians Living people Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Japanese male actors People from Kōchi, Kōchi Japanese actor-politicians Persons of Cultural Merit