is a member of the manzai duo Utchan, Nanchan, and is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community, after the Big Three Japanese comedians. He is the "Nanchan" of Utchan, Nanchan; Teruyoshi Uchimura is his partner, or "Utchan." He was born February 13, 1965 in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. He is the boke of the two.

History

• 1985 - While attending Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School (now Japan Cinematic School), he was in the same class as Kiyotaka Nanbara, Tetsuro Degawa, and Masato Irie. He decided to combine with Nanbara as a manzai duo, and was given the name "Utchan, Nanchan" by his teacher, Keiko Utsumi. They appeared on "The Birth of a Comedian!" show (お笑いスター誕生!!). The next year they won the competition and received "New Duo" awards over the next few years.
• 1992 - Utchan, Nanchan wins the Japanese Academy Award for "Best New Actors" for their role in the movie "Cult Seven" (七人のおたく).
• 1999 - They cross the English Channel on their TV show, "Utchan, Nanchan's UriNari."
• 2001 - Member of Japanese musical group Memory Cats.
• 2001 - He led comedy musical groop Happa-tai whose song Yatta became an internet meme.

Personality

• He has problems with speaking sometimes, and therefore is known as the "Stuttering Alien" (カミカミ星人). He is also very good at rakugo, and was in his high school's rakugo club.
• He is a huge fan of pro-wrestling.