is a Japanese variety show hosted by the popular Japanese owarai duo, Downtown. This TV program began broadcasting on October 3, 1989, and is a popular comedy show in Japan.

Cast

Regular Cast

The five men that make up the cast of Gaki no Tsukai.

• Downtown ( and )
• - He has been part of the regular cast since 1995.
• Coq au Rico ( and ) - They have been part of the regular cast since 1997.

Former Regular Cast

• Jimmy ?nishi (??? ??) - He left the regular cast in 1996 to pursue a painting career. He has subsequently made several appearance in parody instructional videos that are used in the "No-Laughing" batsu games since 2005. In the videos, he either says or does things that are dumb, usually repeatedly, to make the cast laugh. His most famous appearance is in the English Lesson episode of the "No-Laughing High School" game where he pretended to have difficulties with using basic English.

Semi-regular Cast

• Kenji Suga (? ?? Suga Kenji) - Chief producer. He often appears in fake posters in the batsu games (see below), and cosplaying.
• Toshihide Sait? (?? ?? Sait? Toshihide) - Set design, assistant director. Usually referred to by his nickname, Heip? (????). Several sketches and games are based on his inability to stomach scary things (however silly they may be) and his perverted nature.
• Hiroshi Fujiwara (?? ? Fujiwara Hiroshi) - Downtown's former manager. He is often seen cosplaying as a female character.
• Ameagari Kesshitai (Hiroyuki Miyasako (???? Miyasako Hiroyuki) and T?ru Hotohara(??? Hotohara T?ru)) - A comedy duo that has occasionally joined the regular cast.
• License (Kazuhiro Fujiwara (???? Fujiwara Kazuhiro) and Takafumi Eimoto (???? Eimoto Takafumi)) - A comedy duo that works at the show and has occasionally joined the regular cast. Fujiwara is also known as "Vacuum Fujiwara" because of his eating ability, which is used as a running gag in some skits.
• Itsuji Itao (???? Itao Itsuji) - A member of the comedy duo 130R.
• Sh?hei Sh?fukutei (????? Sh?fukutei Sh?hei) -?A rakugo artist. He is also known for the ????????(Sh?hei-Hey!) phrase said in the police batsu game.
• Shoji Murakami
• Moriman
• Piccadilly Umeda
• Egashira 2:50

Other Cast

• Obachan Ichigo and Obachan Nigo (??????? and ???????, or literally, Old Lady #1 and Old Lady #2) - Two elderly women who often appear in the batsu games, dressed in strange outfits (on one occasion they dressed as t.A.T.u.) or getting the cast into compromising positions. A running gag is that of cast members being forced to French kiss Obachan Ichigo.
• Konya ga Yamada (????? - literally "Tonight Is Yamada!"; Real name: David Hossein) - He is the former manager of Thane Camus. He played a role as a ringside doctor in Dynamite Shikoku's wrestling matches (Dynamite being a character played by End?). During the "No Laughing" batsu games, he says his name over and over in different variations (sometimes singing it) while the cast try to sleep. ("Kon'ya ga yama da" means "Tonight is crucial" in Japanese, but Yamada intentionally mispronounces, breaks up, or makes strange mutations of the phrase, such as "Hon'ya ga yama da", translated as "The Bookstore is crucial", etc).
• Hosshan (??????) - Another comedian that makes appearances during the batsu games. His signature trick is sticking things up his nose and coughing it out through his mouth. This gag consistently makes the cast laugh.
• Itao's Wife - She is a foreigner (possibly Indian, as demonstrated in one episode where Itao is married to her in a fake wedding), and not Itsuji Itao's real wife. She makes appearances horribly dancing along to Madonna or other dance songs and has, as one member of the main cast remarked, "a large repertoire".
• Ayako Nishikawa (???? Nishikawa Ayako) A former Miss Japan who later became a physician. She makes a guest appearance as Heip?'s "date," as the medical examiner in the police batsu game, and as the morgue attendant in the hospital batsu game. Her roles tend to be sadistic, often used to great humorous effect.
• Chiaki (?? Chiaki) - End?'s wife, now ex-wife (they divorced in December 2007). Chiaki usually appears in the No-Laughing batsu games, doing something cute and attempting to make the cast laugh. Since the batsu games frequently have the cast stuck in a waiting room or hotel room between skits, another running gag involves End? being tricked into opening a desk drawer and finding several pictures of his wife in it. (In the No-Laughing High School batsu game, a recording of End? shouting "Chiaki! I love you!" was played twice while the cast attempted to sleep, and End?'s PE shirt had "Chiaki LOVE" written in pink letters on a pink tag in lieu of his name.)
• Takahiro Matsumoto (???? Matsumoto Takahiro) - Hitoshi Matsumoto's older brother. He makes occasional appearances in the batsu games, sometimes singing and playing guitar. Not to be mistaken for guitarist Takahiro Matsumoto of the popular rock band B'z.
• Hanako (???? Yamada Hanako) - A strange (possibly alcoholic, as she is almost always drunk) girl who often tries to talk to the cast (much to their dismay) during the No-Laughing games. She often lures them into mistakenly talking to her (such as calling them to her bathroom in the No-Laughing High School game or making them open a car, only to find her tied up and gagged in the back seat in the No-Laughing Police Station game) and will latch onto some part of their body when the victim tries to leave. Her years as a comedienne are often used as a running gag whenever she encounters End?, as she has been in the entertainment business for a longer period of time.

Segments

Batsu Games

Probably the best known Gaki episodes are those dealing with batsu games, or punishment games, in which one or more of the cast members participate in after losing bets, major games, or physical challenges.

No Laughing Games

The premise of each "No Laughing"-punishment game is, members of the cast who were not successful in completing a preliminary trial will be subjected to compromising, absurd, generally ridiculous situations for a long period of time (up to 24-hours, thus far) but must refrain from laughing at any of them. Whenever someone does so, and he is caught by A Watcher, the announcer of the game will declare that person as having just become "out" (??? or a-u-to in Japanese); immediately afterwards, the appropriate number of "hang-men" will come out to mete the rule breaker's punishment. (To date, this has been executed via single strikes on the buttocks {or somewhere in that area} with a weapon ? one which does not change mid-game.)

To keep the Gaki no Tsukai Guys on their toes, there have been occasions where other conditions besides laughing had been set that could make them out, if fulfilled; also, the "victors" of the prelim-trial can make appearances during games to wreak further mischief and potentially cause even more discomfort to the losers.

(All of these games get aired on New Year's Eve as specials, spanning an hour or even longer.)

• No-Laughing Hot Spring Inn (2003)

The first batsu game of this type, shot in Yamanashi, it served as the punishment for Matsumoto, Yamasaki, End?, and Tanaka, for losing to Hamada in a 4 vs. 1 bowling match.

Laughing during this game meant having a dart, from a blow-gun, shot into the buttocks.

Given the newness of the concept, this punishment game was carried out in a somewhat "primitive" way: the Watchers were more lenient with enforcing the rule, and the auto sound blared rough over the sound-system that was set up through the facility.

• No Laughing in Yugawara (2004)

The second spa-themed batsu game, filmed at Yugawara, Kanagawa. Yamasaki, Tanaka, and Hamada were the victims. (This batsu game features End?'s luchador character Dynamite Shikoku.)

• No-Laughing High School (2005)

Comedian Jimmy ?nishi guest stars in "English Lesson," a popular segment where he pretends to struggle with the English language.

The English-lesson portion of this batsu game might be the single best-known Gaki no Tsukai segment outside of Japan, to date. For this lesson, the cast is forced to sit in a pre-designated classroom to watch a mock-educational video, where Jimmy ?nishi is demonstrating what he had learned thus far, via reading aloud an article about Marco Polo, counting from 1 to 100, and attempting to recite the days of the week. He acted utterly bewildered by the tasks before him, feigning a sizable number of ludicrous mistakes throughout.

• No-Laughing Police Station (2006)

This batsu game premiered as a three-hour special. The players were Yamasaki, Hamada, and End?. The hang-men (some of whom were black) were especially rough when giving discipline to offenders.

• No-Laughing Hospital (2007)

This time around, all five of the Gaki no Tsukai Guys took a part of this punishment game ? and they were forced to cross-dress as nurses for this one. Yamasaki, who really had just gotten out of a hospital after being treated for enteritis, was permitted to take some absences during the game. Sonny Chiba was among the famous guests who performed here. (As a side note: it was during this game that the record for most punishment-strikes inflicted was set, with Mr. Matsumoto having received 258 of them.)

Other Batsu Games

Haunted Hotel
After Matsumoto loses a swimming match against the other four cast members, a batsu game is set at a "haunted hotel" or ryokan, where Matsumoto must remain overnight. He endures ghost apparitions, a seemingly empty-samurai suit that comes alive, and random knocks on walls among other things.

"24-Hour Tag"/Onigokko (????)
A batsu game that took place over the period of 24-hours (on 10-17-99) where all, except Matsumoto, were locked in a sports arena, playing "tag" with various Oni (demons) (who, here,?except for two or three instances {that were on film},?were men dressed in full-body black suits) that were "summoned" to attack at random moments, each with a specific type of punishment written on the suit to be inflicted whenever the victims were tagged. This batsu game is the result of Matsumoto winning the race against the 4 others in "Gaki no tsukai - 4 tai 1 100m sou Taiketsu!"

No-Reaction Pie Hell (????????????)
In this game, Matsumoto is punished for losing a bet with Hamada over the 2002 Japan Series. In their bet, Hamada picked the Yomiuri Giants while Matsumoto picked the Seibu Lions; the Giants won the series four games to none. Matsumoto's punishment was having to spend a day at home while Hamada, End?, Tanaka and Yamasaki threw pies at him and everything he touched (including a television set and a toaster), non-stop. Matsumoto had to ignore all of this while following prompts from a narrator over the sound-system.

Gakitanic (Gaki no tsukai ? Hamada L.A. de Okan to TITANIC!!)
Hamada loses a golf challenge against the rest of the cast and must go to Los Angeles with Matsumoto's mother to shoot the love scene from Titanic.

Hama-chan France Evian Trip
In July 1993, Hamada lost to Matsumoto in a running-high jump competition and has to go to Évian-les-Bains, France with the crew to get Matsumoto a bottle of Evian mineral water straight from the source.

Hama-chan New York City Mechanical Pencil Trip
Hamada loses a bet on which team (Red or White) would win the 1994-95 New Year's Singing Competition and has to go to New York City with Suga Kenji to fetch a mechanical pencil that Matsumoto lent to composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Hama-chan Vladivostok Back Hand
In October 2003, Hamada lost once again to Matsumoto on who would win the 2003 Professional Japan Baseball Series, and being unable to see the front side of things, Hamada is forced to go to Vladivostok in order to receive a back hand slap to the face as part of a batsu game. During the game, everything is done in reverse; hotel rooms have everything upside down, Hamada gets pictures of himself and the backs of statues, and many people as well as streets and objects appear during the trip with 'ura' in their names (a pun on 'back') such as former Giants baseball player Niura.

Matsumoto Family Rangers (Gaki no tsukai - Souchou Matsumoto RENJAI SHOW!!)
Matsumoto loses to Hamada in a long-jump segment and has to perform with his father, mother, older sister and brother as a Sentai/Power Ranger team.

Yamasaki's Hitori Bocchino piano concert
in "Gaki no tsukai - YAMASAKI Scalega Tiisai saiban" (which aired, in two parts, on 11-21-99 and 11-28-99), Yamasaki is brought into the Gaki no Tsukai court to stand trial for the scaredy-cat disposition he exhibits during events, games, and with co-workers. He was, of course, convicted, and had to endure the appropriate batsu gemu as a consequence; here, Yamasaki was to go to a Ryokan late at night to play a piano concert without being scared by all the traps that were set-up for him.

Silent Library

In this segment, the cast and a sixth member, usually Heipo, are in a staged library in which one of them has to undergo a punishment upon choosing the card with the skull and crossbones on it (similar to Russian roulette). Although the game requires that they remain silent during the entire segment, the members repeatedly let out bursts of muffled laughter that is loud enough for the occupants of the library to hear. Former K-1 champion Ernesto Hoost once made a special appearance.

Chinko Machine

A scene from a segment widely circulated on the Internet, featuring the Chinko Machine. In here Naoki Tanaka is preparing to recite a tongue twister (before getting whacked in the balls).

7 Henge

Shichi-henge (???, literally The Seven Apparitions) is a segment of the show where the cast and crew sit at a table while a comedian attempts to make them laugh. For each round that a person laughs, they must put 1,000 yen into a box; the collected money is donated to a charity of the comedian's choice. A variation on this, "Horror Shichi-henge," involved several members of the cast and crew ambushing Heip? with the intent of causing him to lose his composure and thus be forced to surrender money. Bob Sapp once made a special appearance on this segment in which he collected 53,000 yen, at that time the record for any comedian during this segmant.

Absolutely Tasty Series

This is a series of cooking segments in which the comedians prepare foods, either traditional Japanese dishes like taiyaki and chawanmushi or foods like pizza, with unusual ingredients to use as fillings or flavors, which is eaten later and given a score ranging from two "skull marks" to ten stars. Endo is notorious for using Frisk, a brand of very strong breath mint, in his food. Matsumoto usually introduces very unusual ingredients such as a bear's paw for takikomi gohan, tuna's head for pizza, a dried cobra for nabe, and toothpaste for pasta.

Kiki Series

This is a series of competitions where each member tastes a randomly selected product, mostly food and drink but once cigarettes, from many different brands blindfolded. After the tasting period, they must find the product they tasted. Anyone who selects correctly will receive a prize money, usually 10,000 yen, otherwise they take a variety of punishments, such as being hit in the groin by a Chinko Machine or getting slapped by a foreigner.

Goodbye, Yamasaki

An annual running gag since 2001, the audience is told that Yamasaki is leaving the show (when he really is not). This includes farewell speeches from the cast and some crew members, who give flowers to a distressed Yamasaki. Yamasaki then makes his own speech, but ends up sobbing hysterically and must be dragged off-stage.

High Tension Series

This is a series where comedians perform their special high-tension acts. There are two patterns of the show. One is in "The Best Ten" show, which is a parody of countdown shows. Hosts are Hamada and Matsumoto wearing a black tuxedo and a woman dress respectively. The other is in a team competition between Team Hamada and Team Matsumoto.

In "The Best Ten" format, three other regular casts also perform and usually present in certain places; Tanaka at the 10th, Endo, usually with greased hair and wears nothing but white underpants, in the top half, and Yamasaki at the 1st.

Genkai series

Gas Nuki

This is a series where the cast enter a restaurant and is introduced to a multicourse meal where they have to fart to achieve a single course as a meal. If they are unable to fart then they cannot get any food at all. Many characters then begin to try to fart in many ways possible including clapping air towards their butt or going upside down. Notable restaurants they have been to are: A French restaurant, and a first rate sushi restaurant.

Yamasaki vs. Moriman

This is a series of comedic fighting bouts between Yamasaki and the female comedian Moriman which parody the popularity of mixed martial arts competitions.

Technician Challenge

Shoji Murakami's Class Series

500 Quizzes

A Person is asked 500 questions, which are all asking for the opinion of the person. These questions usually begin with What is your favourite, which is the most interesting, etc. The cast of Gaki no Tsukai is then at a desk predicting the answer to that certain question. A matching answer will earn them a point. After 500 questions, either the person with the most points wins a prize or the person with the least points gets a punishment. Notable people who were questioned were: Tanaka, Hamada, Yamasaki's wife Aya, a famous makeup artist IKKO, and a famous mangaka Kazuo Umezu.

Five Rangers Game

In this challenge, all five cast members enter separate dressing rooms and each randomly dress as one of the five colors of Gorenjai (sentai characters from Downtown's other show, Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji), and they attempt to complete all five different colors in 6 hours. The chance that the five cast members choose all different colors is 120/3125 (3.84%). The challenge is based on the main running gag of the Gorenjai sketches: that the team members couldn't decide who wore which colors.

On occasion, two additional comedians join the regular cast in a Seven Rangers Game, featuring two additional colors (black and white) added to the regular Gorenjai color configuration. The other rules are exactly the same as in a Five Rangers Game.

Cosplay Bus Tour series

The bus series usually includes the main cast plus some of the producers or guests cosplaying or dressing up in drag and playing mini games in a bus going around popular Tokyo locations. When one of the players loses a mini-game, he is dropped off in a public location and forced to walk back to the studio alone and looking quite absurd. Past themes include female anime characters, kogals, SM queens, and Pink Lady (Japanese pop music idols of the late 1970s).

One memorable moment was during the Anime Bus Tour, when Yamasaki (dressed as Arale from Dr. Slump) was dropped off and told to buy take-out spaghetti for the entire cast on his way back. He attempted to walk back without buying any, but on his way, he ran into fellow contestant Miyasako of the comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai, who had also been dropped off (dressed as Kekk? Kamen). They bought the spaghetti together. Upon arriving at the studio, Miyasako revealed that Yamasaki had tried to return without buying the food. Appalled and outraged, Matsumoto ordered him to go buy spaghetti in Italy -- specifically, to go to the "very tip of its heel," referring to the country's distinct boot-like shape. A few weeks later, Yamasaki was forced to fly to Lecce, Italy to buy a plate of spaghetti from a restaurant, all the while still dressed as Arale.

Broadcasting TV stations

• Nippon TV, Sapporo TV, Aomori Broadcasting Corp., Miyagi TV, Yamagata Broadcasting Co., Fukushima Central TV, Yamanashi Broadcasting System, TV Niigata, Kitanihon Broadcasting Co., TV Kanazawa, TV Shinshu, Shizuoka Daiichi TV, Nihonkai TV, Yamaguchi Broadcasting Co., Nishinippon Broadcasting Co., Nankai Broadcasting Co., Kochi Broadcasting Co., Nagasaki International TV, Kumamoto Kemmin TV, Kagoshima Yomiuri TV - from 10:56 p.m. until 11:26 p.m. every Sunday (JST)
• Fukuoka Broadcasting Corp. - from 12:50 a.m. until 1:20 a.m. every Saturday (JST)
• Yomiuri TV (Kansai), TV Iwate, Hiroshima TV - from 012:26 a.m. until 12:56 a.m. every Wednesday (JST)
• Akita Broadcasting System, Inc. - from 12:31 a.m. until 1:01 a.m. every Thursday (JST)
• Chukyo TV - from 1:20 a.m. until 1:50 a.m. every Friday (JST)
• Ryukyu Broadcasting Corp. (affiliated with JNN and TBS Network) - from 1:25 a.m. until 1:55 a.m. every Tuesday (JST)

Related Links

Gaki No Tsukai Official Home Page (NTV)

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