is a Japanese

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 ...

duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Reiji (礼二) and Tsuyoshi (剛). Reiji and Tsuyoshi are actual brothers and their last name is Nakagawa, hence their unit name Nakagawake (Meaning ''House of Nakagawa''). They are 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 ...

, and are mainly 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, ...

. They have appeared in many television shows and are the winners of the 1st M-1 Grand Prix in 2001

Members

* Reiji (礼二), Real name Reiji Nakagawa (中川礼二) Born November 19, 1972 in

Moriguchi, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 142,655 in 73353 households and a population density of 11,000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Moriguchi borders the northeast ...

. Plays 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 ...

'' and writes all 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 ...

material. He is the younger brother of the two and is referred to as just ''Reiji'' by Tsuyoshi. * Tsuyoshi (剛), Real name Tsuyoshi Nakagawa (中川剛) Born December 12, 1970 in

. Plays the '' boke'' and writes all their

Conte Conte may refer to: * Conte (literature), a literary genre * Conte (surname) * Conté, a drawing medium * Conte, Jura, town in France * Conté royal family, a fictional family in Tamora Pierce's Tortallan world * Conte, the title of Count in Italy ...

material.. He is the older brother of the two and is referred to as ''Onii-chan'' by Reiji.

Life and career

Reiji and Tsuyoshi both attended the same elementary school and both graduated from ''Kaji Junior High School''. Comedian Hidehiko Masuda of Masuda Okada was Tsuyoshi's senior at the same elementary and middle school by one year. Tsuyoshi went on to graduate from ''Osaka Prefectural Moriguchi Higashi High School'' and Reiji graduated from ''Kinki Joho Specialist High School''. Both brothers were

salarymen In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

after graduation for a while until Tsuyoshi invited Reiji to form a comedy duo, and entered 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 ...

as the 11th generation class. (Classmates included Tomonori Jinnai, Harigane Rock,

Kendo Kobayashi is a Japanese comedian and actor.''Mokuyō Junk Zero: Kendo Kobayashi no Temeoko''. TBS Radio. 18 Jun 2009. His real and former stage name is . He is nicknamed , , and . He is represented with Yoshimoto Creative Agency of Yoshimoto Kogyo in Tokyo ...

, Kenji Tamura and other) Reiji and Tsuyoshi's

was well received in the academy and they performed their Manzai on television as ''The Nakagawa Brothers'' and later as ''Nakagawake''. In 1996, the duo won the ''17th ABC Comedy Newcomers Grand Prix - Newcomer Excellence Award'' and gained popularity in the Kansai region, appearing on variety shows such as ''Sunge! Best 10''. In 1997, Tsuyoshi developed a

panic disorder Panic disorder is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, short ...

, causing difficulty for their career as their multiple regular programs dropped to only one radio program. The duo suffered a slight setback but bounced back after Tsuyoshi overcame the disorder.Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ), Aired 2019-03-02 Nakagawake went on to appear in programs outside of the Kansai region, and became popular nationwide, particularly in Tokyo. In 2001, the M-1 Grand Prix was established and Nakagawake became the first winner of the Manzai competition, gaining the duo popularity and allowing them to move to Tokyo to focus on developing their careers in the metropolis. This move marked them as one of the first comedy duos of that era to move activities to Tokyo, sparking many others to follow suit, such as Kirin,

Shinagawa Shoji is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Hiroshi Shingawa (品川祐) and Tomoharu Shōji (庄司智春) who have featured in a number of television shows. They are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo. They gr ...

Jichō Kachō is a Japanese comedy unit (''kombi'') consisting of two , and . Sometimes also known as , they are one of the most popular ''owarai'' ''kombi'' coming from Yoshimoto Kōgyō in Tokyo. Their name literally means "Vice manager, Section manager", ...

Penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

Ogi Yahagi Ogi may refer to: People * Adolf Ogi (born 1942), Swiss politician *, Japanese football player *, Japanese actress and politician *Darko Ostojić (born 1965), nicknamed Ogi, Bosnian musician and actor *, Japanese football player *Ogi Ogas (born 19 ...

and more. They continued to flourish on television and comedy, with their main focus on Manzai. Reiji became one of the regular judges for the M-1 Grand Prix from 2015 onward. They won two Kamikata Manzai Awards in 2010 and 2019 (45th and 54th) as well as becoming a certified Manzai comedian for ''The Manzai'' in 2012.

References

External links

Official Profile on Yoshimoto Kogyo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakagawake Japanese comedy duos People from Osaka