London Boots Ichi-gō Ni-gō (ロンドンブーツ1号2号, meaning "London Boots #1 #2") are 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 show ...

duo ( kombi) that originally performed

manzai is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy. usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a double act, funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mut ...

-style stand-up, but now are mainly known for their TV appearances and as hosts of a handful of off-the-wall

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s. The two members are Atsushi Tamura (田村淳) and

Ryō Tamura is a Japanese actor from Kyoto. His father was silent-film star Tsumasaburo Bando. With his elder brothers, the late Takahiro and Masakazu, he is one of the Three Tamura Brothers. Ryō graduated from Seijo University and made his cinema debut ...

(田村亮), and though they have the same

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, there is no relation and they in fact come from very different backgrounds. Atsushi is from the

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

, and speaks with the standard accent of someone from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Ryō, on the other hand, is from

Takatsuki, Osaka 270px, Takatsuki City Hall is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 348,020 in 164,494 households and a population density of 3.300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Takatsuki is ...

and speaks in a sometimes faltering Osaka dialect.

Members

* Atsushi Tamura (田村淳) Born December 4, 1973 in

Hikoshima (also called in Nihon Shoki) is an island on the south-west tip of Honshu, Japan. Geography The island is irregularly shaped and hilly. The strait, as narrow as , separates the island from the main island of Honshu. The parts of sprawling city ...

Shimonoseki file:141122 Shimonoseki City Hall Yamaguchi pref Japan01s3.jpg, 260px, Shimonoseki city hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 248,193 in 128,762 households and a pop ...

, Yamaguchi. Plays the '' boke''. The #2 of London Boots #1 #2, he is known for his style of talking out of context and leading others off-topic to create comedic effects. Atsushi appears more often as the talkative one of the duo, and acts as the MC for numerous television programs. * Ryō Tamura (田村亮) Born January 8, 1972 in

. Plays the ''

tsukkomi The following glossary of words and terms (generally of Japanese language, 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, ...

''. The #1 of London Boots #1 #2, He is known for his docile personality and style of ''

''.

History

The two met through independent comedy groups in Tokyo, and eventually coupled and began performing on the highly populated streets of

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

. They auditioned to enter

Yoshimoto Kogyo is a 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, producing and ...

in 1994 at the same time as

Penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

and DonDokoDon and were accepted by the company. After appearing on U-tchan Nan-chan's "UN Factory Kabosuke", they quickly found fame as they were recognized as two very talented ''manzai-shi'' (stand-up comedians). Though Ryō was most passionate about creating new ''manzai'' neta and arranging manzai acts, the much louder Atsushi began to see the potential of TV and his own ability to adapt to it. By the late 1990s, London Boots, or ''Lonboo'' (ロンブー, ''ronbū'') as they are often called in Japan, had already landed a spot as the hosts of their own show.

Style

Ryo and Atsushi take very different approaches to their humor; while Atsushi will often wield his quick-witted comedic sense at his guests' expense, Ryō appears much more polite, attempting (often unsuccessfully) to correct Atsushi's behavior. (Atsushi has revealed Ryō's sexual trysts at various fuuzoku locations on the air, though Ryō is married and has children.) Ryō tends to speak with a mixed Osaka and Tokyo dialect (for example: それ、あかんだろ (''sore, akan daro''), mixing ''akan'', common in the

Kansai dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as su ...

, with ''daro'', most common in

standard Japanese is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

), which only serves to accentuate his efforts at being polite. The irony of this situation is that Atsushi is supposed to be the boke and Ryō the

, which suggests a reversal of their comedic roles.

External links

Lonboo official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go Performing groups established in 1993 Japanese comedy duos Japanese comedy musical groups