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 by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo. They have appeared in many television shows and are the winners of the 1st M-1 Grand Prix in 2001 Members Reiji (礼二), Real name Reiji Nakagawa (中川礼二) Born November 19, 1972 in Moriguchi, Osaka. Plays the tsukkomi and writes all their Manzai material. He is the younger brother of the two and is referred to as just Reiji by Tsuyoshi. Tsuyoshi (剛), Real name Tsuyoshi Nakagawa (中川剛) Born December 12, 1970 in Moriguchi, Osaka. Plays the boke and writes all their Conte material.. He is the older brother of the two and is referred to as Onii-chan by Reiji. Life and career Reiji and Tsuyoshi both attended the same elementary school and both graduated from Kaji Junior High School. Comedian Hidehiko Masuda of Masuda Okada was Tsuyoshi's senior at the same elementary and middle school by one year. Tsuyoshi went on to graduate from Osaka Prefectural Moriguchi Higashi High School and Reiji graduated from Kinki Joho Specialist High School. Both brothers were salarymen after graduation for a while until Tsuyoshi invited Reiji to form a comedy duo, and entered the Yoshimoto NSC as the 11th generation class. (Classmates included Tomonori Jinnai, Harigane Rock, Kendo Kobayashi, Kenji Tamura and other) Reiji and Tsuyoshi's Manzai was well received in the academy and they performed their Manzai on television as The Nakagawa Brothers and later as Nakagawake. In 1996, the duo won the 17th ABC Comedy Newcomers Grand Prix - Newcomer Excellence Award and gained popularity in the Kansai region, appearing on variety shows such as Sunge! Best 10.