"Wa Roten Ka" Wo Akinai Ni Shita Machi Osaka

[Machine Translation] Osaka, an industrial city known as the "Manchester of the East," was attracting a large working population, and there was a need to shift from traditional comedy to a faster, easier-to-understand form of comedy. In response to the demands of the times, Yoshimoto Kogyo, founded by Sei and Taizo Yoshimoto, was the first to turn comedy into a business. Shochiku, a long-established company, took notice of the new market pioneered by Yoshimoto. The new entertainment company under its umbrella evolved the comedy business to a scale that surpassed that of Yoshimoto. The Kamigata comedy business, which had gained ground in the Kansai region, overcame language and cultural barriers and made the leap to become a national brand by entering the Tokyo market. In fact, breaking through these barriers to Tokyo was a path that many Kansai-affiliated companies had to follow. This article will introduce the changes in the socioeconomy and comedy in Osaka, and explain why and how comedy flourished in Osaka and how it was transformed into a business.

「東洋のマンチェスター」と言われた工業都市・大阪には多くの労働人口が集まり、伝統的なお笑いから、よりスピーディでわかりやすい笑いが求められた。その時代的要請を受けて、お笑いのビジネス化をいち早くなしとげたのは吉本せい・泰三の吉本興業であった。吉本が開拓した新たな市場に注目したのが、老舗企業の松竹である。傘下の新興演芸は吉本をこえるスケールへとお笑いビジネスを進化させた。関西地方で地盤を固めた上方のお笑いビジネスは、言葉や文化の壁を乗り越え、東京への進出によって全国ブランドへの飛躍を図った。実はこのような東京進出の壁を破ったのは関西系企業の多くが辿らねばならない道でもあった。なぜ大阪でお笑いが盛んになり、どうやってビジネスにかえられていったのか、社会経済とお笑いの変化を紹介する。