Overview
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 funny man—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings, double-talk, puns and other verbal gags.
In recent times, has often been associated with the Osaka region, and comedians often speak in the Kansai dialect during their acts.
In 1933, Yoshimoto Kogyo, a large entertainment conglomerate based in Osaka, introduced Osaka-style to Tokyo audiences, and coined the term "" (one of several ways of writing the word in Japanese; see below). In 2015, Matayoshi Naoki's manzai novel, , won the Akutagawa Prize. A mini-series adaptation was released on Netflix in 2016.
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