, also known as , is a Japanese comedian and television and radio personality. He rose to fame in the 2000s as one half 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 ...

'' comedy duo The Nankai Candies. Outside Japan he is best known as one of the commentators on the reality television series ''

Terrace House In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

''.

Life and career

Yamasato is a member of the 22nd graduating class of

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 ...

New Star Creation 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 ...

school of comedy in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. His first known ''

owarai 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 shows ...

'' comedy duo was together with Tomio Nishida from 1999 to 2003. Yamasato played the role of the '' boke'' or "funny man" to Nishida's ''

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 be ...

'' or "straight man". He then formed the with Shizuyo Yamasaki in June 2003. However, in this duo Yamasato plays the ''tsukkomi'', while Yamasaki is the ''boke''. The Nankai Candies took second place in the 2004

M-1 Grand Prix , formerly known as , is an annual Manzai competition planned by Shinsuke Shimada and run by Yoshimoto Kogyo. The supporter Asahi Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts live throughout Japan via All-Nippon News Network. it is the most prevalent m ...

, leading to many television appearances and subsequently moved their base from Osaka to Tokyo. That year they also won the 25th ABC Newcomer Comedian Grand Prix Newcomer Award. In 2005 they received the 40th Kamigata Manzai Grand Prix Newcomer Award and the 43rd Golden Arrow Newcomer Award. They competed several more times in the M-1 Grand Prix; coming in ninth place in 2005 and eighth in 2009, and being eliminated in the semifinals in 2008, 2016 and 2017. Beginning in 2007, the Nankai Candies were not active much while Yamasaki competed as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. She even became a women's middleweight champion before retiring from the sport in 2015. Beginning with season 3 of '' Terrace House: Boys × Girls Next Door'' on April 12, 2013, Yamasato became a studio commentator on the reality TV series ''

''. He has continued this role on each installment of the franchise, where he is known as the cynical one who enjoys highlighting the house members' flaws. In 2015, he was given his own spin-off on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Japan's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel titled ''Yama Channel'' where he comments solo. Yamasato co-authored two books that were both released on June 25, 2013. ''News no Yomikata Oshiemasu!'' explains recent political and economic words in an easy-to-understand manner, while ''Yamasato Ryōta no 'Tarinai' Eigo'' teaches simple English for communication. Yamasato played the villain in the 2016 '' Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger the Movie: Ninja in Wonderland''. Since October 2016, Yamasato and his fellow ''Terrace House'' commentator

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

have co-hosted the puppet show ''Nehorin Pahorin'' on

NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also sh ...

. They each voice mole puppets who co-interview the non-famous guest represented by a pig puppet. The anonymity afforded via the puppets and voice modulation allows the guests to talk candidly about topics not usually covered on mainstream TV, such as

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 ...

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

host club A hostess club is a type of night club found primarily in Japan. They employ primarily female staff and cater to men seeking drinks and attentive conversation. The modern host club is a similar type of establishment where primarily male staff atte ...

addiction. Yamasato voiced the character Karasutengu in the 2017 anime film '' Pretty Cure Dream Stars!''. He released ''Tensai wa Akirameta'', a completely revised and updated version of his 2006 autobiographical book ''Tensai ni Naritai'', on July 6, 2018, and it sold 100,000 copies in two months. A fan of ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

'' since its beginning, Yamasato voiced the character Donald Moderate in the 2019 '' One Piece: Stampede'' film.

Personal life

On June 3, 2019, Yamasato married actress

Yū Aoi is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film ''All About Lily Chou-Chou''. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in ''Hana and Alice'' (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in ...

. The two first met through Shizuyo Yamasaki, who co-starred with Aoi in the film ''

Hula Girls is a Japanese film, directed by Sang-il Lee and co-written by Lee and Daisuke Habara, and first released across Japanese theaters on September 23, 2006. Starring Yū Aoi, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Shizuyo Yamazaki, Ittoku Kishibe, Eri ...

'' (2006), and began dating in April 2019. In episode six of '' Terrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020'', Yamasato credited his job on the show for the marriage, as Aoi is a fan and wanted to talk to him about it. On February 10, 2022, the couple announced that Aoi was pregnant with their first child and

due Due or DUE may refer to: * DUE or DNA unwinding element, the originating site for splitting the DNA helix * DÜE (''Datenübertragungseinrichtung''), German for “data communications equipment” * Due (surname), including a list of people with ...

in the summer. On August 10, 2022, Yamasato revealed that Aoi had given birth to their daughter.

Selected filmography

Television

*''Nihiiro Jean'' (2008–2015) *''Sukkiri'' (2009–present) *''Hirunandesu!'' (2011–2020) *''Out×Deluxe'' (2012–present) *'' Terrace House: Boys × Girls Next Door'' (2013–2014) *'' Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City'' (2015–2016) *''Nehorin Pahorin'' (2016–present) *'' Terrace House: Aloha State'' (2016–2017) *''Shin Shock-kan'' (2017–present) *''Tōdai-ō'' (2017–present) *'' Terrace House: Opening New Doors'' (2017–2019) *''Gyakuten Jinsei'' (2019–present) *''Made in Japan!'' (2019–2020) *''Hinekure 3'' (2019–2020) *'' Terrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020'' (2019–2020) *''ReAL eSports News'' (2019–present) *''Yamasato Ryota no Masaka no Berserker'' (2020) *''Doyō wa Nanisuru!?'' (2020–present) *''Azatokute Nani ga Warui no?'' (2020–present)

Live-action films

*'' Tomica Hero: Rescue Force Explosive Movie: Rescue the Mach Train!'' (2008) - Doctor Mad/Matarou Madono *'' Terrace House: Closing Door'' (2015) *'' Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger the Movie: Ninja in Wonderland'' (2016) - Dark Doctor Mavro

Animation

*'' Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear'' (2008) *''

Aoi Bungaku is a twelve episode Japanese anime series featuring adaptations inspired by six short stories from Japanese literature. The six stories are adapted from classic Japanese tales. Happinet, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, McRAY, MTI, Threelight Hold ...

'' (''

No Longer Human is a 1948 Japanese novel by Osamu Dazai. It is considered Dazai's masterpiece and ranks as the second-best selling novel ever in Japan, behind Natsume Sōseki's ''Kokoro''. The literal translation of the title, discussed by Donald Keene in his ...

'') (2009) *'' Kikansha Tōmasu Dīzeru 10 no Gyakushū'' (2012) *'' Pretty Cure Dream Stars!'' (2017) *'' One Piece: Stampede'' (2019)

Bibliography

* * – editor * – co-authored with

Akira Ikegami is a Japanese journalist and author. Life and career Ikegami was born in Matsumoto, Japan. He attended and graduated Keio University in economics, and worked for NHK from 1973 to 2005, ultimately serving as the host of the network's news pr ...

* – co-authored with Mita Masaki * – co-authored with Masato Honma * *

Championships and accomplishments

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as i ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamasato, Ryota People from Chiba (city) Japanese male comedians 1977 births Living people Kansai University alumni Japanese television presenters Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions