Comedian Danna Matsuoka (Shingo Matsuoka), 55, is a comedian. Comedy enthusiasts may recognize him from the duo names Sakamichi Korokoro or Nose Engine. Danna Matsuoka became popular for his appearances on “Bokyabura Tengoku” (Fuji Television) and “Bakusho On Air Battle” (NHK), which triggered the comedy boom of the 1990s. However, he suffered from a series of troubles and was sometimes called the “death note” of the comedy world. …… In this issue, we look back on his tumultuous life. (This is the first of a two-part article.) ⇒[Photo] He is currently working as a husband-wife duo with his wife, Akapuru.
Moved to Tokyo to become a comedian and found himself in “Sakamichi Korokoro
–How did you become a comedian? Matsuoka: My father told me, “You are funny, so you should do comedy,” so I enrolled in Shochiku Entertainment’s training school in Osaka. Then I thought it was strange because I didn’t do any stories and read scripts, but it turned out to be the acting department. In the end, I quit the office and went to Tokyo. –So that’s how you decided to pursue comedy in earnest? Matsuoka: Yes, I did. We formed a duo, had an audition, and joined Horipro. At that time, if you weren’t a terrible person, you would have passed the audition (laughs). Our seniors were the wanderers and folk dancers DE Narikozaka. In Osaka and Tokyo, the way of greeting before going on stage was different, and when I greeted Samaraazu by saying, “I will study first,” he said, “What are you going to study? –How did you decide on the name of the duo, Sakamichi Korokoro? Matsuoka: At first, we called ourselves “Endless Finish,” and the office was very angry with us because it was hard to understand. A scary person at the office told us, “We’ll think of a name for the duo before we go on stage,” and when it was our turn to perform, we were introduced as “Sakamichi Korokoro. I thought, “Wow, we are Sakamichi Korokoro. –You didn’t think of changing the name of the duo? Matsuoka: I couldn’t. I was scared to death. But in terms of the name change boom, “Wandering” changed their name from “Bacardi” and it sold well. The big man at the office liked “Shakariki Columbus,” a lyric from Hikari Genjii, and he told us, “You guys should be Sakamichi Columbus. It’s also an order there (laughs). (Laughs.) Even in “Vocabula Heaven,” Hiromi told us, “You guys should have a more cheerful name,” so we became a duo called “Enyakorasa. We changed our name to “Enyakorasa” because of adult circumstances. –The highest household rating for “Bokyabura Tengoku” was 24.5% (according to Video Research), making it a very popular program. How did you decide to appear on the show? Matsuoka: There were no more slots left for “Vocabula” because Narikosaka, Ant to Grasshopper, and Tsubuyakishiro were all from the same agency. Still, I didn’t give up and faxed about 20 stories to the production company every week. After repeating the process many times, I finally got a call a couple of months later. –So it was a chance you grabbed on your own. Matsuoka: At the time, many of the staff members were very scary, and it was really already hell (laughs). (Laughs) But when I performed my material in front of the staff, I got a lot of laughs. (Note: In the show, anyone ranked 11th or lower was treated as a challenger.) I was lucky because I didn’t have to send in any material from the following week. When I started appearing on TV and checked my bank book, I was surprised to see the amount of money that had been deposited. I was surprised at how much money I received.