漫才 Manzai!

Sunday I was invited to see some manzai in Sasayama. Manzai is usually a two-man comedic act in which a straight man and his idiot partner discuss this or that. The idiot gets hit upside the head a lot and the straight man is always astounding by his friend's stupidity. Manzai has expanded to include lots of different styles. Some are more physical and full of slapstick, while others drop the straight man/idiot set up, and still other acts may have up to four members.

There were 20 acts in all (although there were also magic acts and a musical performance by my neighbor, Maestro Adachi) and of them I really only understood one well enough to honestly laugh a bit. Still, I didn't think I'd understand even that much.

The audience was mixed; everyone from 2-year-old tots to 90-year-old crones showed up. Being the inaka and Japan being an aging/aged society, there were definitely more of the latter. Perhaps that accounts for the audience response, as the performers were usually a lot younger than the audience. Some of the non-manzai acts actually got more laughs than the manzai acts.

Or maybe Japanese comedy is just like Japanese sweets - not too overwhelming. There was no knee-slapping or rolling in the aisles or having to wipe tears away. Goofy? Yes. Clever? Yes. HILARIOUS? No. But then, I don't speak Japanese.

Here is Somei Yoshino, the one group I did manage to understand (though they performed a different piece).