(born 13 February 1965, in

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

) is a Japanese television host and comedian. He is known as the boke of 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 ...

duo Utchan Nanchan with

Teruyoshi Uchimura , half of the Japanese comedy duo Utchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is ''Utchan'' ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as ''Nanchan''. He was born on July ...

Career

In 1985, while attending the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, Kiyotaka was in the same class as Uchimura,

Tetsurō Degawa is a Japanese comedian. Character Representative of the so-called "reaction entertainers," he is known for his thick voice. His favorite phrase is "Yabaiyo, yabaiyo!" (やばいよやばいよ!, It's dangerous, dangerous!), which has been mim ...

and

Masato Irie Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 *Masato A ...

. He decided to perform with Uchimura as a manzai duo and was given the name "Utchan, Nanchan" by his teacher, Keiko Utsumi. They appeared on ''The Birth of a Comedian!'' show (お笑いスター誕生!!). The next year they won the competition and received the "New Duo" award. In 1992 Utchan Nanchan won the Japanese Academy Award for "Best New Actors" for their role in the movie ''Cult Seven'' (七人のおたく). In 1999 they crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

on their TV show, ''Utchan Nanchan's Urinari''. Nanbara had his first job as host in the

puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

''Ring Soul'', which lasted from April 1994 to March 2000 in

Asahi TV JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compa ...

. He initially formed a host duo with

Ken Ishiguro is a Japanese film, television and voice actor. He has appeared in more than 80 films since 1979. He is the son of Osamu Ishiguro was a tennis player from Japan. Career He played his first tournament in 1959 at the Asian Championships ...

, but had to continue the show's tenure alone due to Ishiguro's movie schedule. His popularly in ''Ring Soul'' granted him special guest appearances in the

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

''Relay'' show and the

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

''Cult Q'', where he introduced puroresu-themed quizzes. In 2001 he led the comedy musical group Happa-tai, whose song " Yatta" became an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

. After releasing the song, Nanbara became a member of Japanese musical group

Memory Cats Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is Encoding (memory), encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If Foresight (psycholo ...

. From 1998 to current day, Nanbara works as a host to the Asahi TV sports show Get Sports, along with former football player

Tetsuo Nakanishi is a former Japanese football player. He currently works on television as a football commentator. Playing career Nakanishi was born in Nagoya on 8 September 1969. After graduating from Doshisha University, he joined his local club Nagoya Gra ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanbara, Kiyotaka 1965 births Living people People from Kagawa Prefecture Japanese comedians People from Takamatsu, Kagawa