is a major Japanese

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

conglomerate. It was founded in 1912,

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. ...

, as a traditional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular

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) talent, producing and promoting the shows they appear in. The two main headquarters are stationed in

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Yoshimoto has been expanding its business in recent years, due to the ''warai'' boom. They now have their own comedy theme park in

Otaru, Hokkaido is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular to ...

and have begun signing the likes of musicians, producers,

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

s and singers alongside business with the Japanese ''owarai'' industry.

History

1912–1932: Establishment of Yoshimoto Kogyo-bu

On April 1, 1912, Kichibei Yoshimoto and his wife Sei Yoshimoto purchased the Second Arts Building in

. They later established Yoshimoto Kogyo-bu in January 1913 in

Shinsaibashi is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. At its center is , a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shins ...

. In 1922, they purchased two theatre establishments in January and May in

and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

1932–2005: Rename to Yoshimoto Kogyo, influence on ''manzai''

On March 1, 1932, Yoshimoto Kogyobu changed its name to Yoshimoto Kogyo and set up their second headquarters in Tokyo. In 1933, Yoshimoto Kogyo's

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

department was established. Yoshimoto helped shape 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 ...

comedic style after World War II, and the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

that used for the word ''manzai'' were introduced by Yoshimoto in 1933. In November 1935, Asakusa Kagetsu Theatre opened under Yoshimoto Kogyo in

Asakusa, Tokyo is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

. In 1941, in collaboration with the national

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

and the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved ...

, Yoshimoto Kogyo established the ''Yoshimoto Theatre Caravan'' and began tours across the nation. On February 13, 1943,

Tsūtenkaku , owned by , is a tower and well-known landmark of Osaka, Japan and advertises Hitachi. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Its total height is 103 m; the main observation deck is at a height of 91 m. History The cu ...

, a landmark tower owned by Yoshimoto, suffered a fire which severely damaged it. Rather than repairing the structure, it was disassembled with the steel and other materials used for the war effort. On March 10, 1945, Several theatres owned by Yoshimoto Kogyo were destroyed or severely damaged due to the

Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing ...

. In October 1946, the Yoshimoto Kogyo headquarters in Tokyo split off from the main company to form its own entity as Yoshimoto Kabushiki Gaisha. In November 1946, Yoshimoto Kabushiki Gaisha established the ''Oizumi Eiko Kabushiki Gaisha'', which later joined several other companies to form

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...

. On May 14, 1949, Yoshimoto Kogyo began trading on the

Osaka Securities Exchange , renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled. , the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, intro ...

. In 1959, the company established its own

comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific genre or style of comedy ...

theater group, Yoshimoto Shinkigeki. On October 2, 1961, Yoshimoto Kogyo began trading on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...

. From 1962 to 1963, the Kyoto Kagetsu Theater and the Namba Kagetsu Theater opened. In 1982,

Yoshimoto 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 ...

was established in Osaka. A second headquarters in Tokyo was established in 1995.

2005–present: Expansion

In January 2005, Isao Yoshino replaced Masao Kimura as director. Kimura had been part of the company since entering in 1969. Yoshimoto Kogyo, Faith,

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

and Intel Japan formed a strategic alliance, and established Bellrock Media in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On October 1, 2007, Yoshimoto Kogyo restructures as a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

. In 2009, Yoshimoto Kogyo establishes partnership with the

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...

. On February 24, 2010, Yoshimoto Kogyo stopped trading on all stock exchanges.

Controversies

Anti-social group scandal

In 2019, several comedians associated with Yoshimoto Kogyo admitted they had accepted money and attended parties held by the

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

in 2014 without the knowledge of the company. 11 celebrities under the company were suspended, one of whom included

Hiroyuki Miyasako is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, voice actor and plays the boke in Ameagari Kesshitai. His partner is Tōru Hotoharu. He is represented by Yoshimoto Kogyo. Miyasako won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 28th Hochi F ...

. Shinya Irie, a member of the comedy duo Karateka, was fired earlier for arranging their appearances at the party without the agency's permission. President and CEO Akihiko Okamoto also admitted that the company had found out about the connection between the comedians and the anti-social forces but pressured the comedians to stay silent. Okamoto also apologized for Miyasako and

Ryo Tamura Ryo may refer to: * Ryō, a gold currency unit in pre-Meiji Japan Shakkanhō system * Ryō (actress) (born 1973), Japanese model, actress, and singer * Ryō (given name), a unisex Japanese given name * Ryo, Georgia Ryo is an unincorporated communit ...

and decided to reinstate their contracts after initially firing them. He and chairman Hiroshi Osaki vowed to take a 50% pay cut for one year as atonement over the scandal. The celebrities returned from suspension and resumed their activities on August 19, 2019.

Artists

Comedians

;Solo *

Sanma Akashiya is a Japanese comedian, TV presenter, radio personality and actor most commonly known as Sanma-san. His real name is . His talent agency is Yoshimoto Kogyo and his shishô (master) back when he studied ''rakugo'' is Shōfukutei Matsunosuke. Tog ...

Takashi Fujii , born March 10, 1972 in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese comedian and singer who belongs to the Japanese entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo and is the popular host of '' Matthew's Best Hit TV'' (as the character , and various ot ...

Koji Higashino is a Japanese comedian and television presenter. He is represented with Yoshimoto Creative Agency (Yoshimoto Kogyo). He graduated from Hyōgo Prefectural Takarazuka High School. He is nicknamed . Filmography Current appearances ; Regular progr ...

* Tomonori Jinnai *

Koji Imada is a Japanese musician, comedian, ''tarento'' and TV presenter. His talent agency is Yoshimoto Kogyo. In the mid-1990s, Imada paired with the acclaimed Japanese record producer Towa Tei under the stage name Koji 1200. He released two albums an ...

* *

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 ...

Kazutoyo Koyabu is a Japanese TV comedian, presenter, tarento, and musician, represented by Yoshimoto Kogyo. He is the chairman of the comedy troupe and drummer for the band Genie High Genie High (ジェニーハイ) is a Japanese progressive indie band, no ...

Daisuke Miyagawa is a Japanese comedian and actor. Miyagawa grew up in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture. He is represented with Yoshimoto Creative Agency from Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditi ...

* *

Obata no Oniisan Obata (written: , , or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese rower *, Japanese-American artist *Gyo Obata (1923–2022), American architect *, general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II *, martial ...

Jimmy Onishi is a Japanese painter and comedian. His real name is , in which his given name is a combination of from daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi and means "bright" which relates to the New Year celebrations as he was born on New Year's Day. Onishi is repres ...

*Onishi Lion * Tomochika *

Naomi Watanabe is a Japanese comedian, actress, and fashion designer. She rose to fame in 2008 for her imitation of Beyoncé, after which she was given the title “the Japanese Beyoncé”. Career Watanabe does impersonations of popular artists in Japanese c ...

* Tonikaku Akarui Yasumura * Hōsei Tsukitei * - 山田花子 *

Natsuko Yokosawa is a Japanese actress and comedian from Itoigawa, Niigata. She is represented with Yoshimoto Creative Agency in Tokyo from Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theat ...

;Groups * 130R ( Hon Kon and

Itsuji Itao , is a Japanese comedian and actor. He is a member of the comedy duo 130R and former cast member of one of Downtown's previous shows. He usually appears in their batsu games. Filmography (actor) Movies *2001 ''Desert Moon'' ... Interviewer * ...

) *Aiseki Start (Kei Yamazaki and Kan Yamaso) *All Hanshin-Kyōjin (All Hanshin and All Kyojin) *Akina (Kenta Akiyama and Nobukazu Yamane) *Amakō Inter (Nagisa and Seiko) * Ameagari Kesshitai (

and Tōru Hotohara) *Bad Boys (Kiyoto Omizo and Masaki Sata) * Chidori (Daigo and Nobu) * Chihara Kyodai (Chihara Seiji and Chihara Junior) *Black Mayonnaise (

Takashi Yoshida is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He currently wrestles for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate under his real name. Professional wrestling career Cyber Kong's career started in 2006. He competed as an arm wre ...

and

Ryuichi Kosugi is a Japanese comedian who performs ''tsukkomi'' in the comedy duo Black Mayonnaise. His standing position is on the left. His partner is Takashi Yoshida. Kosugi is represented with Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglo ...

) * Cocorico (Shōzō Endō and Naoki Tanaka) *Colocolo Chikichiki Peppers (Soto Nishino and Nadal) *

COWCOW Cowcow is a Japanese comedy duo managed by the entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo who perform manzai comedy. The members, , the ''tsukkomi'' of the group, and , the '' boke'', are both from Osaka Prefecture. They have been guests on quite ...

(Yoshi and Kenji Tada) *

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

(

Masatoshi Hamada is a Japanese comedian best known as the ''tsukkomi'' half of the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Hitoshi Matsumoto. His nickname is . Hamada is married to Natsumi Ogawa, with whom he has two children. Early life Hamada was born near Da ...

and

Hitoshi Matsumoto , commonly known as , is a Japanese film director and one of Japan's most popular comedians and TV hosts. He is one half of the comedy duo Downtown alongside Masatoshi Hamada. Like Hamada, Matsumoto was born and raised in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefect ...

) *

EXIT Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

(Rintaro and Daiki Kanechika) *

Football Hour is a Japanese comedy duo ( kombi) consisting of Terumoto Gotō (tsukkomi) and Nozomu Iwao (boke), both from Osaka. They are performers for the entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo. They graduated from the Yoshimoto NSC Osaka 14th generation cl ...

( Terumoto Goto and Nozomu Iwao) *Fruit Punch (Kenji Murakami and Kentaro Watari) *

FUJIWARA Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

(

Toshifumi Fujimoto Toshifumi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshifumi can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *敏文, "agile, literature" *敏史, "agile, history" *敏郁, "agile, aroma/progress" *� ...

and Takayuki Haranishi) * Ginshari (Kazuhiro Unagi and Nao Hashimoto) *

Gokuraku Tombo , meaning ''Heavenly Dragonfly'', was a manzai comedy duo consisting of and . Members of the Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainment conglomerate, they performed on the Fuji TV variety show ''Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!'' Their main act was based on arguing and f ...

(Koji Kato and Keiichi Yamamoto) * Hanamaru・Daikichi Hakata ( Hanamaru Hakata and Daikichi Hakata) * Harisenbon ( Haruka Minowa and Haruna Kondou) * Heisei Nobushi Kobushi (Takashi Yoshimura and Kenta Tokui) *Impulse (Toshiyuki Itakura and

Atsushi Tsutsumishita is a Japanese comedian. He performs ''tsukkomi'' in the double act Impulse. His partner is Toshiyuki Itakura. Tsutsumishita is represented with Yoshimoto Creative Agency. Biography In their junior high school and high school days, Tsutsumishita ...

) *Jaru Jaru (Junpei Goto and Shusuke Fukutoku) *

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", ...

( Junichi Kōmoto and Satoshi Inoue) *

Jungle Pocket Jungle Pocket ( ja, ジャングルポケット, link=no, 7 May 1998 – 2 March 2021) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from 2000 until 2002 he won five of his thirteen races and ¥704,258,000 in p ...

(Shinji Saito, Hirohisa Ota and Otake) *

Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sick ...

(Ryuichi Hamaie and Kenji Yamauchi) *King Kong (Akihiro Nishino and Yuta Kajiwara) * Kirin (

Akira Kawashima is a Japanese comedian, ''tarento'' and actor who has featured in films, television, and radio. He performs '' boke'' and writes all the material in his comedy duo Kirin. His partner is Hiroshi Tamura. Kawashima is represented by Yoshimoto K ...

and Hiroshi Tamura) *

License A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

(Kazuhiro Fujiwara and Takafumi Inomoto) * London Boots (

Atsushi Tamura is a famous Japanese comedian from the Hikoshima area of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. He and his partner, , form the known as . Though the two share the same surname, there is no family relation. The pair started their career by ...

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 debu ...

) *Matenrō (Anthony and Otoni) *Miki (Asei and Kosei) *

Nakagawake is a Japanese comedy 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 b ...

(Reiji and Tsuyoshi) * Nankai Candies (

Ryota Yamasato , 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'' comedy duo The Nankai Candies. Outside Japan he is best known as one of the commentators on the reality t ...

and Shizuyo Yamazaki) *Morisanchū (Kazuko Kurosawa, Miyuki Oshima and Tomoko Murakami) * Ninety-nine ( Takashi Okamura and

Hiroyuki Yabe , or is a Japanese comic duo from Osaka working for the entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo. The duo ( kombi), consisting of Takashi Okamura as boke (stooge) and Hiroyuki Yabe as tsukkomi (straightman), formed in 1990. The pair met i ...

) * NON STYLE (Akira Ishida and Yusuke Inoue) *

Okazu Club ''Okazu'' ( or ; ; ) is a Japanese word meaning a side dish to accompany rice; subsidiary articles of diet.''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', They are cooked and seasoned in such a way as to match well when eaten with rice, and ar ...

(Ocarina and Yui P) *

Oriental Radio Oriental Radio (オリエンタルラジオ), also known as Ori Raji (オリラジ), is a Japanese comedy duo consisting of Atsuhiko Nakata and Shingo Fujimori under the entertainment agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo. Atsuhiko and Shingo met while worki ...

(Atsuhiko Nakada and Shingo Fujimori) *

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

(Satoshi Mukai, Ryotaro Kan, Takahiro Ogata) *Peace (

Naoki Matayoshi is a Japanese comedian, screenwriter, and novelist who won the Akutagawa Prize in 2015 for his book ', which was adapted into the Netflix series '' Hibana: Spark''. Matayoshi is the '' boke'' of his comedy duo ''Peace'' alongside his partner Yu ...

and Yuji Ayabe) *

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) * Penalty ...

(Hide and Wakki) *Razor Ramon ( HG and RG) * Regular (Kōta Matsumoto and Akihiro Nishikawa) *

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

(Shigeo Takahashi and Masumi Yagi) *

Shimofuri Myojo is a Japanese comedy duo ''(Glossary of owarai terms#kombi, kombi)'' consisting of Seiya (せいや) and Soshina (粗品). They are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo and Osaka. Although they did not attend Yoshimoto NSC ...

(Seiya and Soshina) *

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 ...

(Hiroshi Shinagawa and Tomoharu Shoji) *Super Maradona (Kazuhiro Tanaka and Takechi) *

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(Ryuji Akiyama, Hiroshi Yamamoto and Hiroyuki Baba) * Rozan (Fuminori Ujihara and Hirofumi Suga) *

Taka and Toshi is a Japanese manzai (stand-up) comedy duo ''( kombi)'' from Sapporo consisting of a.k.a. "Taka" as boke and a.k.a. "Toshi" as tsukkomi. They are under contract to the entertainment agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo. Formed in 1994, they are best know ...

(Taka and Toshi) *Trendy Angel (

Tsukasa Saito is a comedian from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He performs '' boke'' in the comedy duo Trendy Angel with Takashi. Personal life He was born in Machida, Tokyo, and raised in Aobadai, Yokohama after living in Saginuma, Kawasaki. He graduated f ...

and Takashi) *

Tutorial A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...

(Yoshimi Tokui and Mitsunori Fukuda) *Universe (Hara and Kawase Meijin) *

Wagyu Wagyu ( ja, 和牛, Hepburn: ''wagyū'', ) is the collective name for the four principal Japanese breeds of beef cattle. All wagyū cattle derive from cross-breeding in the early twentieth century of native Japanese cattle with imported sto ...

(Shinji Mizuta and Kenshiro Kawanishi) *Waraimeshi (Koji Nishida and Tetsuo) *

Woman Rush Hour A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

(Daisuke Muramoto and Paradise Nakagawa) *Yasei Bakudan (Cookie and Rossy)

Recording artists

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is base ...

Yoshimotozaka46 is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. It was created on February 21, 2018. It is Nogizaka46's second sister group, after Keyakizaka46 (now split between Sakurazaka46 and Hinatazaka46). This was named after the Osaka-based enter ...

* Radio Fish * Re:Complex * Kawachiya Kikusuimaru *

Run&Gun Run&Gun (stylized as RUN&GUN) is a Japanese boy band and performance troupe associated with Yoshimoto Kogyo. The group was formed in 2001 by Antinos Records. The members consist of Yuya Miyashita, Kosuke Yonehara, and Akira Nagata; Ryuji Kami ...

Fayray , (born April 18 1976) stylized as FAYRAY, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She made her debut in July 1998 with the single "Taiyō no Gravity". She grew up in the United States and speaks English. Biography Fayray is the middle child of a fam ...

Jealkb Jealkb (ジュアルケービー ''juarukeebii'') is a Japanese visual kei rock band made up of seven members, all of them comedians including London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go's Atsushi Tamura. History Their debut single ''Metronome'' hit number 1 o ...

The Boom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

JO1 is a Japanese boy band formed through the reality competition show '' Produce 101 Japan''. The group is composed of eleven members: Issei Mamehara, Ren Kawashiri, Takumi Kawanishi, Shosei Ohira, Shion Tsurubo, Ruki Shiroiwa, Keigo Sato, Syoya Ki ...

* INI *

Yoyoka Soma , known mononymously as , is a Japanese drummer from Ishikari. In 2018, at age 8, she gained international attention for an online video in which she covered Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times", which was uploaded to Vimeo as her entry for the ...

* *

Rocket Punch Rocket Punch (Korean: 로켓펀치; RR: ''roket peonchi''; Japanese: ロケットパンチ; RR: ''Rokettopanchi'') is a South Korean girl group, consisting of group members Juri, Yeonhee, Suyun, Yunkyoung, Sohee and Dahyun. Formed and managed b ...

* * OCTPATH

Actors/actresses

Ayumi Beppu is a Japanese actress and ''tarento'' from Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. She is chiefly known for her role as in ''Mahou Sentai Magiranger''. Filmography *''Mahou Sentai Magiranger'' - Houka Ozu/Magi Pink (2005) *''Mahou Sentai Magiranger The Mov ...

* Hirohito Gotō *

Chizuru Ikewaki is a Japanese actress. Career Ikewaki was given a Best New Talent award at the 2000 Yokohama Film Festival for her performance in ''Osaka Story''. She appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama ''Penance''. She has also appeared in f ...

Asami Kawasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress. She debuted as a pro wrestler in 2003 while also attending an acting school run by Yoshimoto Kōgyō. Wrestling for a time for JDStar, she retired from the ring in 2006, but returned again in 2009. ...

Annu Mari is a Japanese actress best known in the West for her role as the femme fatale in ''Branded to Kill is a 1967 Japanese yakuza film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Joe Shishido, Koji Nanbara, Annu Mari and Mariko Ogawa. The story fo ...

Kumiko Nakano Nakano Kumiko (中野公美子, born March 3, 1977 in Osaka, Japan) is an actress who debuted as a Japanese idol with the girl band Osaka Performance Doll from 1993 to 1997. Television *星の金貨 (''Hoshi no kinka'') *竜馬におまかせ! *B ...

Ryo Nishikata is a Japanese ''tarento'' and actress. Her real name is . She appeared in the Nippon TV series ''Koi no kara Sawagi'' as the ninth generation member from 2002 to 2003 and was nicknamed . In 2004 she started other careers other than a ''tarento'' ...

Natsumi Ogawa , better known as , is a Japanese actress and entertainer who is represented by Yoshimoto Creative Agency. Her aunt is actress Megumi Tama. Filmography Films TV series References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogawa, Natsumi Japanese ...

Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's ''Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura and in CBS's ''Hawaii Five-0'' as Doctor Max Bergman. Early life Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, to Setsuko Oka. Hi ...

Tetsuji Sakakibara Please don't delete this article because this actor or actress will play a lead or supporting role in the tokusatsu series "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" and will continue their career and make more roles, either lead or supporting, after the end of the p ...

* Sōichirō Sorihashi *

Kozo Takeda Kozo Takeda ( ja, 武田幸三 ; born December 27, 1972) is a Japanese actor and former welterweight kickboxer who was competing in K-1 MAX. He won Rajadamnern Stadium champion at welterweight in Muay Thai on January 21, 2001. He has made both ...

Others

* Ayaka Ichinose (

gravure idol A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though mo ...

) *

Toshio Okada is an anime producer, author, and lecturer. He is a co-founder and former president of the production company Gainax. He is portrayed by actor Gaku Hamada in the 2014 TV Drama ''Aoi Honō'' based on the autobiographical manga by his fellow Kazuh ...

(

Anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

producer and author) *

Masahiko Katsuya was a Japanese columnist, photographer, and pundit. After failing the entrance exams for the University of Tokyo and the University of Tsukuba, Katsuya entered Waseda University in 1980. He started working for an editor of Bungeishunjū after gr ...

(

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

and

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

) *

Shigefumi Matsuzawa is a Japanese politician and a current member of the House of Councillors for the Kanagawa at-large district in the Diet of Japan. A native of Kawasaki, Kanagawa and graduate of Keio University with a bachelor's degree in Political Science, h ...

(

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 ...

) *

Nobukazu Kuriki was a Japanese mountaineer and entrepreneur. Early life Kuriki was born in Imakane, Setana District, Hokkaido, Japan. He graduated from Hokkaido Hiyama Kita High School and Sapporo International University's Humanities and Sociology Department ...

(

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

) * Kazuyuki Ishihara (

garden designer A garden designer is someone who designs the plan and features of gardens, either as an amateur or professional. The compositional elements of garden design and landscape design are: terrain, water, planting, constructed elements and buildings, p ...

) *

Kazuhisa Ishii Kazuhisa Ishii (石井一久 ''Ishii Kazuhisa'') (born September 9, 1973) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher and current manager and general manager for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He pl ...

(baseball commentator, ex-MLB pitcher) *

Kansei Nakano is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan and the Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Lower House of the Diet of Japan, Diet. Nakano was born in 1940 in Nagasaki. At age four, he experienced the ...

(politician)

Property

Yoshimoto Kogyo is the owner of a number of corporate offices and stages, most situated in the downtown areas of Osaka and Tokyo. The company has two headquarters, Osaka HQ (大阪本部) and Tokyo HQ (東京本部) and a number of stages, namely Lumine the Yoshimoto (ルミネtheよしもと), 5 up Yoshimoto (5upよしもと),

Theater (NMB48劇場), Nanba Grand Kagetsu (なんばグランド花月), and a new stage in the popular

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

district of Tokyo, Yoshimoto Mugendai Hall (ヨシモト∞ホール). Yoshimoto also had a comedy museum in downtown Osaka called Yoshimoto Shōtengai (吉本笑店街), but it closed in 2009.

Other assets

Yoshimoto Kogyo also owns a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

YES-fm 78.1
(callsign: JOZZ7AF-FM), based in

Namba is a district of Osaka, Japan. It is located in Chūō and Naniwa wards. Namba is regarded as the center of so-called ''Minami'' ("South") area of Osaka. Its name is one of variations on the former name of Osaka, '' Naniwa''. Namba is be ...

References

External links

Yoshimoto Kogyo
- Official site in Japanese

- Small English Yoshimoto profile
Japan-zone
{{Authority control Japanese talent agencies Entertainment companies of Japan Performing arts in Japan Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Entertainment companies established in 1912 Japanese companies established in 1912