Toshiaki Kasuga
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese owarai
Owarai
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word owarai is the honorific form of the word warai, meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". Owarai is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as owarai geinin or owarai tarento...

 (comedian) best known as the boke half of a popular owarai duo Audrey
Audrey (owarai)
, is a Japanese owarai duo of as boke and as tsukkomi, formed in 2000. The duo has won 2nd place in the M-1 Grand Prix 2008 competition. As of February 2009, the duo belongs to the management company K Dash Stage Co., Ltd.- Biography :...

 (オードリー) alongside Masayasu Wakabayashi (若林 正恭). He is 176 cm tall and weighs 84 kg according to the Audrey's official website provided by their agency K Dash stage. However, he has been gaining weight lately. On stage, he usually wears a pink vest and white pants.

Though he was also a K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...

 fighter in 2007, he retired after two fighting matches suffering a ruptured eardrum.

Bio

  • 1979 - Born in Tokorozawa, Saitama
  • 1991 - Graduated from Meiho Elementary School, Tokorozawa, Saitama
  • 1993 - Met Wakabayashi as a classmate
  • 1994 - Graduated from Nihon University
    Nihon University
    Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....

     Dai-ni Junior High School in Tokyo
  • 1997 - Graduated from Nihon University Dai-ni High School in Tokyo
  • 1997 - Entered Nihon University majoring in commerce in Tokyo
  • 2000 - Formed owari duo "Nice Middle" with Wakabayashi
  • 2005 - Changed the duo's name to "Audrey", taken from Audrey Hepburn
    Audrey Hepburn
    Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...

  • 2007 - Defeated by Wang HongXiang at K-1 Tryout
  • 2008 - Won 2nd place at Autobacs M-1 Grand Prix
    M-1 Grand Prix
    , was an annual Manzai competition planned by Shinsuke Shimada and run by Yoshimoto Kogyo. The supporter Asahi Broadcasting Corporation broadcast the final live throughout Japan via All-Nippon News Network in December.-The way to be the Champion:...

     2008
  • 2009 - Won 1st place at Shinshun Owarai Taisho - New wave awards (won 76,009 votes out of total 212,036 from TV audiences)

Early life

Kasuga was born in Kasukabe, Saitama. He has a younger sister that, according to him, resembles Ayumi Tanimoto
Ayumi Tanimoto
born August 4, 1981 in Anjo, Aichi, is a Japanese female judoka. She was coached by Toshihiko Koga, who is a gold medalist at the BarcelonaOlympics and a silver medalist at the Atlanta Olympics Men's Judo....

, a judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 athlete. His parents met at their work place. He was liberally raised, called "the cute one" in a privileged family.

With excellent reflexes, he learned swimming from his early childhood through his junior high school years. He attended a private junior high school in Tokyo, Nihon University Dai-ni Junior High, and met Wakabayashi there when they were 8th graders. Wakabayashi, a trouble-making kid sitting just behind Kasuga, played with him, sneakily cutting his hair from behind without telling him. In spite of Wakabayashi's misbehavior, Kasusga's first impression on Wakabayashi was that he was a "cute boy", and they got along. They also attended the same high school, Nihon University Dai-ni High School and joined the American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 Club. Kasuga was chosen as a member of the Kanto
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

's all-star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

 American Football Team as a defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

. However, a penny-pincher, Kasuga did not want to buy outdoor shoes for astro turf that players were suggested to wear for the all-star game, and improperly wearing indoor shoes, was replaced soon after the game had started.

After his high school years, Wakabayashi invited Kasuga to be his manzai
Manzai
is a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers —a straight man and a funny man —trading jokes at great speed...

 partner. However, Kasuga decided to attend Nihon University instead. He spent his university years by taking part time jobs such as a sales clerk position at Seibu Dome
Seibu Dome
is the home field of the Saitama Seibu Lions professional baseball team located in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.The stadium has a roof over the field and the stands, like other indoor ballparks. However, it lacks a wall behind the stands so that natural air comes into the field. This makes it...

. He mentioned that one day a Glay
Glay
Glay is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru in high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel...

 concert was held there while he was working, and he was very moved after ten years when he was invited to Glay vocalist Teru
Teru (musician)
Teruhiko "Teru" Kobashi is the vocalist of Japanese rock band GLAY. He married singer Ami Onuki from pop group PUFFY in April 2002, and she gave birth to their daughter in March 2003...

's birthday party as his favorite aspiring comedian.

Attending mass communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...

 seminars, Kasuga initially planned to be a TV producer while Wakabayashi kept inviting Kasuga to start a comedy career. Finally Kasuga accepted his offer, and they formed a comedy duo, "Nice Middle", in 2000.

Dark days to M-1 Grand Prix 2008

Although they happily jumped into a comedy career, they stayed unsuccessful for several years. One day, six years since their debut, a TV play writer called Wakabayashi in person and told him "Kasuga has no talent as a tsukkomi. If you want to play a boke, you'd better look for another partner." Wakabayashi, then the boke of the duo, relayed the comment to the then tsukkomi Kasuga, but he initially thought Wakabashi was just joking around and did not believe him at all. They eventually swapped their roles, went through a trial-and-error process, and finally they made the first appearance on terrestrial TV on New Year's Day of 2008. On December 21, 2008, the two made it all the way into the final round of the M-1 Grand Prix of the year from the consolation
Consolation
Consolation is the name of a former Dutch death metal/grindcore band from the Zaanstreek that formed in 1989. They released three full-length albums through Displeased Records and were called the Dutch "Gods of Grind"; at their peak, in the late 1990s, they were one of the highest rated metal...

 match. During the first session in the final, they were temporarily in the top position above the other eight duos, but eventually ended up 2nd behind NON STYLE
NON STYLE (owarai)
, is a Japanese owarai duo of as boke and as tsukkomi, formed in 2000. The duo has won the championship title in the M-1 Grand Prix 2008 competition. The duo belongs to the management company Yoshimoto Kogyo.- External links :* *...

.

Rise to popularity

Shaving his sideburns
Sideburns
Sideburns or sideboards are patches of facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to below the ears and worn with an unbearded chin...

 (a hair style called a "techno-cut"), wearing his hair parted "80/20" (80% of the hair is combed to the right and the rest to the left) and a pink sweater vest, Kasuga, a unique arrogant character, has been broadly accepted by audiences since the M-1 Grand Prix. Now, many female Japanese tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

s i.e. Akina Minami
Akina Minami
is a Japanese gravure idol and tarento signed to Free Style Company.-Movies:*Wanna be Free!: Tokyo Girl as amateur model*Chorus-tai: Kanojotachi no Kiseki as Aki*Buraburabanban...

, Anna Tsuchiya
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model.Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. In her earliest years, she spoke English and Japanese...

, Miho Kanno
Miho Kanno
is a Japanese actress and J-Pop singer. Her nickname is Kanchan . She was born in Sakado, Saitama, Japan.- Biography :In 1992, Kanno made her debut as a member of a group called Sakurakko Kurabu Sakura Gumi after passing the orientation for the TV variety show Sakurakko Kurabu...

, Nozomi Ohashi
Nozomi Ōhashi
is a Japanese child actress and singer attached to the Central Kodomo Gekidan talent agency.-Career:She made her drama debut at the age of three. On December 5, 2007, she debuted as a singer with the theme song for the animated film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.-Personal Life:Nozomi Ōhashi is the...

, Emi Suzuki
Emi Suzuki
is a Japanese fashion model and retired occasional actress. Widely known by her nickname Emichee, she has often been described as a "charismatic model" and is particularly popular among gyaru teenagers.-Early life:...

, and Nana Eikura
Nana Eikura
is a Japanese model, actress, and occasional radio show host.She was born in Izumi, Kagoshima, Kyushu island and grew up in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. She was scouted in front of 109 in Shibuya, Tokyo when she was in junior high school...

 have commented that he is one of their favorite comedians. His stingy character has also gained huge attention from audiences; his apartment and life style have appeared on a number of TV variety shows. Given his popularity as a member of Audrey, he has appeared with Wakabayashi on TV commercials for major companies such as Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

, Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...

 and Kaunet (a subsidiary of Kokuyo).

Given Audrey's popularity, 81% of the TV audience voters at the TV program "Surprise" (broadcast on 5/1/2009) indicated that they believed Audrey's popularity was at the peak at the time.

In October 2009, Kasuga was chosen with Wakabayashi as a new regular member for "Waratte Iitomo
Waratte Iitomo
is a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show is hosted by Tamori and has run since 1982. The show is produced in the Studio Alta building located in Shinjuku, Tokyo...

", the nation's most popular afternoon TV show, and a radio personality for "All Night Nippon
All Night Nippon
All Night Nippon is a Japanese radio program broadcast by Nippon Broadcasting System and other radio stations from 1–5 am . It preempts broadcasts from TBS Radio's programming.The highest ratings were achieved on the night of October 1, 1967.-DJs:...

", one of the longest-running radio programs in Japan.

Arrogant character on stage

Kasuga walks heavily and slowly with his proud 101 cm chest expanding toward the center of the stage. At the opening, he drops a bossy comment to female audiences such as "Would you like to deliver Kasuga's baby?" In manzai, he tries to shoot tsukkomi and each time it turns out to be terribly off-the-line boke. Also, he interrupts Wakabayashi's talks with delayed responses and frequent gags.

In manzai and talk, he responds back saying "Oui" (which he means "Yes"). Holding up his index finger
Index finger
The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...

, he yells "Toose!" meaning "Hey!" or "I did it!" This comes from a common pose or call of American Football players.

Penny pincher

His stingy life style has been introduced in many variety shows. He says that he wants to save as much money as possible to buy a single-family home
Single-family home
A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family dwelling.- Definitions :...

 in the future.

Clothing: Visiting his senior colleagues' home and offering to clean their room, Kasuga gets their old shirts and pants in return. So far, he has succeeded in getting more than one hundred items.

Food: He takes home brown bag lunches left by others in backstage rooms. Also, taking candies from those rooms, he makes his own original juice by dissolving those candies in tap water.

Housing: Kasuga lives alone in a one-room/no-bath rental apartment (¥39,000, approx. $400 p/m) located in Minami-asagaya
Asagaya
, a suburb of Tokyo located in the Suginami ward west of Shinjuku. Main access to Asagaya is via the Chūō-Sōbu Line, 12 minutes out from Shinjuku station.-Geography:...

, Suginami-ku, Tokyo. Most of his belongings were originally garbage or given to him by others. He collects discarded furniture, electronics items and books from the street and is now looking for a digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

. His apartment windows are covered by sheets of cardboard by himself to keep cold air out. To keep his body clean, he uses baby wipes or staff shower rooms in the gallery or office building of broadcasting companies.

Though he is stingy, according to Wakabayashi, Kasuga appears to resolve trouble simply through money to avoid physical fights. On a Candid Camera
Candid Camera
Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...

-like Japanese TV program, Kasuga agreed to help Wakabayashi, who faked getting involved in an argument over a traffic accident, by spending all of Kasuga's savings of ¥3 million. However, Kasuga pretended not to know Wakabayashi when a yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

-looking counterpart of the accident showed up in front of him.

Personal life

He is described as reserved, polite and modest, contrary to his character on TV. Wakabayashi has said he has never heard Kasuga speaking bad about others. Mikio Date, a member of owarai duo Sandwichman has also said Kasuga had neither spoken ill of others nor agreed with other comedians' bad comments on others at their joint live rehearsals.

His father has been very supportive of his career, making original DVDs of Kasuga to distribute to the family's neighbors, and frequently giving him advice by e-mail. Though initially against his comedy career, his mother is also supportive, distributing to neighbors the Playboy
Weekly Playboy
also known as or WPB is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966.This magazine is not a regional edition of the American Playboy magazine; the Japanese edition of that magazine was published as Monthly Playboy by Shueisha until its cancellation in January 2009.-People in...

 magazine when one of the issues carried an article on Kasuga. According to Kasuga, all of his family members are big-boned. His mother used to be a softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 player.

Kasuga had a fanatical female fan called "Ochimusha" (stray samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

) when he was a football player in high school. From the age of 20, he had a girlfriend (called "Dogu
Dogu
are small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan. Dogū come entirely from the Jōmon period and do not continue into the Yayoi period. There are various styles of Dogū, depending on exhumation area and time period...

" (clay doll) by Wakabayashi) for five years. When he dated her, his friends called him "Moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...

" due to his big head, and named the two "the mysterious couple." She later said on the TV program "London Hearts
London Hearts
London Hearts is a Japanese television show hosted by London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go. It features ordinary members of the public who are 'set up' using actors and hidden cameras. It also features celebrities....

" that he was gentle, but she separated from him because she did not like his indecisiveness. On the show, unexpectedly meeting her at a bar, he got very nervous and passed her once but looked back at her repeatedly. (He just looked like he was "spinning around.")

As of August 2011, Kasuga is single and has never been married.

Interests

Kasuga's interests include American football, motorcycles, swimming, gourmet
Gourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...

 program watching. He likes chubby older women in their 40s-50s such as Kumiko Mori, Yuri Takano, and Nobuko Ochiai. He is a big fan of the Seibu Lions
Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...

, a Japanese professional baseball team, and Denki Groove
Denki Groove
is a Japanese technopop group influenced by YMO and Kraftwerk, founded in 1989. It is a part of Sony Music Japan's Ki/oon Records sublabel. Current members are Fumitoshi Ishino and Masanori Taki...

, a Japanese technopop band.

Trivia

Kasuga has passed the second level of the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test
Kanji kentei
The , also known as , or , is a test of kanji ability.There are 12 levels with level 10 being the easiest and level 1 the most difficult. The test examines ability to read and write kanji, to understand their meanings and use them correctly in sentences, and to identify correct stroke order...

. He also won the second place in the "Freediving (dynamic apnea
Dynamic apnea
Dynamic Apnea covers two of the eight categories recognised by the International Association for the Development of Freediving. That of Dynamic Without Fins and Dynamic With Fins...

 without fins) Championship of Japanese Show Business on the TV program "Q-sama!!", with a record of 92 meters, then fifth place on the all-time list in Japan.

TV

Regular
  • Campus Night Fuji (キャンパスナイト・フジ) -- Fuji Television
    Fuji Television
    is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

    /CX (4/10/2009-)
  • School Kakumei (スクール革命!) -- Nippon Television
    Nippon Television
    is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

     (4/5/2009-)
  • Merengue no Kimochi (メレンゲの気持ち) -- Nippon Television (4/25/2009-) *Every three weeks
  • Zenbu uso (ぜんぶウソ) -- Nippon Television (10/3/2009-)
  • Morita Kazuyoshi Hour Waratte Iitomo! (森田一義アワー笑っていいとも!) -- Fuji Television (10/9/2009-) *Every Monday


Irregular
  • Kaito Shinobi-na (快盗!!シノビーナ) -- TV Asahi
    TV Asahi
    , also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

     (1/17/2009-)
  • Quiz Presen Variety Q-sama!! (クイズプレゼンバラエティ Qさま!!) -- TV Asahi
    TV Asahi
    , also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....


Radio

  • Audrey no Shampoo Ojisan (オードリーのシャンプーおじさん) -- Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
    Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
    is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo which broadcasts to the Kanto area. It is one of the two flagship radio stations of National Radio Network and also has a relationship with JOLF and Fuji Television....

     (4/7/2009-) *Every Tuesday
  • All Night Nippon (オールナイトニッポン) -- Nippon Broadcasting System
    Nippon Broadcasting System
    , or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo. Together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting it is a flagship station of the National Radio Network...

     (10/10/2009-) *Every Sunday from 1:00 am

Internet TV

Regular

CM

  • Nintendo
    Nintendo
    is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

     "Nintendo DSi
    Nintendo DSi
    The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...

    " (2/14/2009-)
  • Kaunet (3/2/2009 - )
  • Kentucky Fried Chicken
    KFC
    KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...

     (3/5/2009-)
  • Sapporo Brewery "Draft One" (7/2009-)
  • DHC
    Daigaku Honyaku Center
    is a Japanese manufacturer dealing in cosmetics and health food supplements headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1972. Their flagship brand name is "Virgin Olive Oil"....

     "Men's Drug Wax" (9/19/2009-)
  • Toyota Motor "Ractis
    Toyota Ractis
    The Toyota Ractis is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automakers Toyota and Kanto Auto Works. It is a five-seated vehicle based on the Vitz, and was introduced in October 2005 as the successor of the Yaris Verso. The name "Ractis" derives from "Run", "Activity" and "Space"...

    " (10/2009-)
  • Benesse Corporation "Shinken Zemi Chugaku koza" (11/2009-)
  • Ajinomoto
    Ajinomoto
    Ajinomoto Co. Inc. , is a Japanese food and chemical corporation which produces seasonings, cooking oils, TV dinners, sweeteners, amino acids and pharmaceuticals...

    "No Mikata" (11/2009-)

External links

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