Masatoshi Hamada and Hitoshi Masumoto make up probably the most famous and prolific comedy duo in Japan, together they are known as Downtown.

They are most famous for their manzai acts as well as hosting a number of variety shows and television specials.

Many of you won’t be familiar with the term manzai, it is a Japanese style of stand-up comedy that is very popular. It consists of two performers, a tsukkomi (Hamada), or straight man and a boke (Masumoto), the funny guy. The two performers play off of each other and deliver fast paced jokes and puns. The tsukkomi often butts in and corrects the boke and it’s common for the boke to receive a smack round the head, Hamada is well known for this.

Downtown are the most respected and admired manzai acts among their younger piers and other comedy acts.

They met at school growing up in Amagasaki, Hyogo where they both joined the schools broadcasting club and often joked about becoming a comedy duo. Once they went to high school they went to different schools but remained in touch.

After graduating Matsumoto convinced Hamada to join him as a comedian and in 1983 they made their major debut as Downtown (a name chosen from a magazine).

Their early years were tough, sometimes, not even being able to give free tickets away but despite the hardships, they gradually increased their fan-base and status and in April 1987 (four years after their debut) they began hosting a local television show called Yoji Desu Yōda (“It’s Four O’Clock”) which immediately raised them to idol-like popularity in the region, and since then they never looked back.

There next step was to move to Tokyo and after a few low ranking TV shows they hit their big break again with variety show ‘Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!’

It is notable that Downtown never had a mentor (it was common for younger comedians to be “trained” by older, more experienced comedians). It is thought that this was what made Downtown so unorthodox and popular as their style was different from the mainstream.

Another important aspect of Downtown’s comedy is their willingness to make themselves the butt of the joke. While many popular manzai comedians become elevated to the level where poking fun at them is out of the question, Downtown has always taken ridiculous roles in shows, even after becoming popular.

This is particularly evident in the show ‘Gaki No Tsukai’ where they endure countless physical and mental punishments, such as their punishment games. Generally, these roles are reserved for younger, less popular comedians, but Matsumoto and Hamada relish these roles even after becoming part of the elite of Japanese entertainment.

Downtown has not performed Manzai since 1991 but the duo are still together and are regarded as the greatest of the genre.

Despite their talent and performances together they are actually not that close in their personal lives and they don’t even have each other’s phone numbers, they travel to studios separately and never visit each other’s houses. This does not mean, however, they do not get along outside of work. Though they do not consider each other to be friends, their deep business relationship and respect for each other is evident.

There are lots and lots of YouTube videos of the pair with subtitles so you should really check them out if you are into Japanese gameshows and comedy. I especially like the show ‘Gaki No Tsuaki’ where they are joined by other fellow comedians. There is a link below and this will lead to many other videos.

Also if you want to learn more there is a really good Netflix drama based on a Manga called Hibana: Spark which follows the ups and downs of a young up and coming Manzai act and is similar to the Downtown story.

An old Japanese legend tells of a young man named Sen No Rikyu who yearned to learn the elaborate custom of the ‘Way of Tea’. He went to tea-master Takeeno Joo, who tested Rikyu by asking him to tend the garden. Rikyu cleaned up debris and raked the ground until it was perfect, he stood back took a look and then scrutinized the immaculate work he had done. Before presenting his work to the master, he shook a cherry tree, causing a few flowers to spill randomly onto the ground.

To this day, the Japanese revere Rikyu as one who understood to his very core a deep cultural thread known as wabi-sabi.

Wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection. It celebrates aging, it loves chips and cracks and embraces rot. It is everything that modern day mass produced, sleek culture is not.

Wabi by itself means things that are fresh and simple. It denotes simplicity and also incorporates rustic beauty. It includes that which is made by nature, and that which is made by man. It also can mean an accidental or small flaw which gives elegance and uniqueness to something.

Sabi means things where its beauty stems from age. It refers to the patina of age, and the concept that changes due to use may make an object more beautiful and valuable. This also incorporates an appreciation of the cycles of life.

To discover wabi-sabi is to see the singular beauty in something that may first look decrepit and ugly.

Wabi-sabi reminds us that our bodies, as well as the material world around us, are in the process of returning to the earth.

Nature’s cycles of growth, decay, and erosion are embodied in frayed edges, rust, wrinkles and cracks . Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace both the happyness and the sadness found in these marks of passing time.

You have most probably seen how people modify their cars to make them more sporty looking but did you know that in Japan there is a whole craze of people decorating and modifying their trucks, from delivery vans to full blown juggernauts these trucks are insanely cool!

Owners sometimes spend upwards of $100,000 and years of their life tricking out their trucks with chrome, flashing lights, paintings and that’s just the outsides, it doesn’t stop there. The cabins are also done up with chandeliers, furry seats and I have even seen faux Louis Vuitton panelling.

It all started in the 1970s after the release of a movie called ‘Torakku Yaro’ or ‘Truck Guys’ that featured a trucker who drove his garishly decorated truck all over Japan. This movie was a hit with both old and young, and the dekotora fad swept the country.

While dekotora were present throughout the 1970s, before the movie they were restricted to the north-eastern fishing transport trucks. In those days, ready-made parts for trucks were not easily available, so these trucks took parts from sightseeing buses or American military vehicles.

Since the late 1990s, dekotora have been heavily influenced by the art of Gundam. Other decorations are more akin to modern art and retro designs that closely resemble those found in the movie.

Check out the video below to find out more.

Created by designer Nobuhiko Kitamura in 1984, Hysteric Glamour is a Japanese fashion brand based on American casual style and American pop culture from the 1960s to 80s. From rock music, comics, art, pornography to mass products. Kitamura was one of the forerunners to introduce collections that integrated rock music and fashion.

His love of rock and his talent has brought him close to stars such as Sonic Youth, Primal Scream, Patti Smith, and Courtney Love. His artistic sensibility and attraction to vintage pornography and contemporary art is expressed through Hysteric Glamour t-shirts, which have become the forerunner of the brand.

Hysteric glamour make everything from denim, workwear, t-shirts, outdoor wear as well as every accessory imaginable. There are ranges for men, women and children.

They base their designs on vintage pieces and use research and modern craftsmanship to bring the designs to the modern era.

One of the main focus points of the label is its branding, including bold logos and graphic works which make the brand so unique. They continually collaborate with various musicians, artists and other brands such as Playboy, Sex Pistols and Andy Warhol, to name a few.

There are currently around 50 stores in Japan in areas like Harajuku, Aoyama, Shibuya and Shinjuku. International stores exist in Hong Kong, London and Paris, although there are no stores in the United States.

I personally love the brand but it is not cheap! With t-shirts starting at around $200nz it’s a bit pricey but the items are unique and great quality so defiantly nice to own a few items and browse their website once in a while.

Check out the link below

https://www.hystericglamour.jp/

Since dropping his amazing verse at the end of Korean artist Keith Apes (it G Ma) in 2015 (the song that took the internet by storm hitting over 42 million hits on YouTube) Japanese rapper KOHH is becoming one of Japans fastest rising hip-hop artists and is getting noticed internationally as well.

Gaining influence from American hip-hop artists such as Young Thug and Travis Scott as well as grunge and punk which is a popular music scene in Japan paired with his many tattoos and gold grill he defiantly looks the part

Since ‘It G Ma’ dropped KOHH has released two full length albums, a mixtape as well as featuring on many other artists’ tracks and videos, non-more so than stateside featuring on Franck Ocean’s album Blonde and with American hip-hop artist OG Maco. As well has his music he is an established artist as well as fashion icon on the catwalk.

So where did it all begin…..

Born Yuki Chiba on April 22 1990, KOHH grew up in Oji, Kita, Tokyo. He was raised by a single mother along with his younger brother. His younger brother is also an up-and-coming rapper. His father committed suicide by jumping off an apartment building while high on drugs when he was just 3 years old; his mother struggled with an addiction to methamphetamine so he was mainly brought up by his grandparents.

He grew up around violence and drugs along with his crew of local friends, The Riverside Mob. This tough environment inspired them to create music rather than continue the trend of addiction and violence.

KOHH and his friends hooked up with experienced hip-hop producer 318, who became interested when he realised they grew up in the same projects. He became a father figure for KOHH and worked with him from the beginning.

First performing live at the age of 18 at a local venue, he then went onto producing and recording music while making various mixtapes, he started releasing material under the label Gunsmith Production. He saw an early underground success within the sub-urban Japanese scene when he made the song “Young Forever” with his younger brother ‘lil kohh’ whose music video went viral in Japan.

In 2014 KOHH released his studio album MONOCHROME. The album was a fair success among the urban acts with its stand out track ‘I don’t mind if I’m poor’ gaining a big reception on YouTube.

Back to now………………

With the release of Dirt II in Japan last year, the limited edition album contained not only a ticket to see KOHH in concert but also access to his art gallery, created especially next door to the venue where he was performing. His two passions – art and music – are rarely disassociated.

From his paintings and art displays along with his music it seems the sky is the limit for this kid from the Tokyo housing projects.

Even though I am not a Japanese speaker, just knowing some words and phrases, I am a big fan of KOHH and recommend checking out his music on YouTube starting at I’d say the track ‘Dirt Boys’ as well as the ‘It G Ma’ track. I regularly listen to his music and have two of his albums on my phone playlist.

Check out this short documentary done by VICE below for more on this story

Based in Fukuoka City, the company Samurai Age produces a variety of fashion items and lifestyle goods that borrow their aesthetic from Japan’s legendary warrior class – The Samurai. Given the recent surge in enthusiasm for both history and cosplay among people in Japan, the company’s designs attract plenty of attention, and now your pet can look the part too.

Samurai’s Pet Armor (or “Pet Yoroi,” as it’s called in Japanese) line allows your pet cat or dog dress in feudal period-style outfits.

However, in modern, peaceful Japanese society, the odds of being attacked by rival samurai or a shadowy shinobi assassin are slim. Because of that, this Pet Armor is more about looking cute/cool than protecting your pet from melee attacks.

The outfits are made out of lightweight foam resin to allow the animals to maintain their mobility, and instead of having to be tied on by armour-assisting servants, the pieces attach to one another with snaps, making it, well, a snap to put the costume on or take it off.

My dog defiantly needs one of these

Check out the Samurai Age website to place your order now!

ZOZOTOWN is the best apparel site for young generation these days in Japan. They have the new concept of fashion for young people.  They recommend us to wear clothes in very cool manner.

They provide both for men’s and women’s wear on line. They are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the market value around 1 trillion yen. Shinsaku Maezawa, CEO of the company has bought the art work in amount of $105 million at Christie’s Auction.