Famous People in Japan



Down Town

Group Members Matsumoto Hitoshi, Hamada Masatoshi
Date of Birth September 8, 1963, May 11,1963
Place of Birth Hyogo

Down Town is one of the most famous comedian pairs. They appear on TV almost everyday, and make many, many people laugh.

Down Town consists of two people, Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi. They have known each other since they were children, and they formed a pair when they were high school students. They started as manzai artists. Their cross-talk comedy was recognized by many people gradually. They became the top young manzai artists in the Kansai district and won prizes in many contests. Since 1987, they have made inroads into the Kanto district, too, and they won popularity all over the country.

Their talk is very interesting. They each have their own peculiar style of humor. Usually in their talk, Matsumoto plays the fool and Hamada roars him.

Lately, they are also playing an active part in other fields. Hamada sings songs written by Komuro Tetsuya, who is a famous musician, and his CDs are million sellers. Matsumoto has written essays and published two books which are best sellers.

It is not too much to say that Down Town plays an important in the TV world now.

Reported by: Kumiko Okumura
Data verified by: Akiko Kaneshita
Date of Report: November 1995

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