Hitoshi Matsumoto

Hitoshi Matsumoto
松本人志
Hitoshi Matsumoto in 2011
Born	(1963-09-08) September 8, 1963 (age 61) Amagasaki, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation(s)	Comedian, film director, screenwriter
Years active	1983–2024
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Spouse	Rin Ihara (2009-present)
Children	1

Hitoshi Matsumoto (松本 人志, Matsumoto Hitoshi, born September 8, 1963) is a Japanese comedian and filmmaker. He was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture.^[1] He is one half of the comedy duo Downtown, alongside Masatoshi Hamada, and is one of the most popular comedians in Japan.^[1]

Matsumoto has directed several movies beginning in 2007 with Big Man Japan, in several of which he also starred as the main character. He currently hosts Documental on Amazon Prime.^[2]

In late 2023, the magazine Shukan Bunshun ran a story that Matsumoto had engaged in sexual assault at parties. In early 2024 in response to the allegations, Matsumoto suspended public appearances to focus on a defamation trial against the publisher of the magazine.^[3] Matsumoto withdrew the lawsuit later that year.^[4]

Early life

Matsumoto was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo, to a poor family.^[1] He has one older sister and one older brother, Takahiro Matsumoto (松本 隆博, Matsumoto Takahiro), an established folk guitarist who released an autobiographical book titled "Matsumoto's Older Brother" (松本の兄, Matsumoto no Ani).^[5] He has expressed his feelings about growing up in a poor household in a poem titled Chicken Rice (チキンライス, Chikin Raisu) which Hamada turned into a song in 2004.^[6] In his poem, he wrote how laughter was the only way to get through those times.^[7] He credits his poverty for giving him a good imagination and sense of play, as it forced him to invent his own games to entertain himself.^{[citation needed]}

His favorite manga as a child was Tensai Bakabon by Fujio Akatsuka. He aspired to become a manga artist.

He attended Ushio Elementary School, where he met Masatoshi Hamada.^[1] He graduated from Amagasaki Technical High School in 1982.

Career

Although he secured a job at a printing office, to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian, he was invited by Hamada in 1982 to enter Yoshimoto Kōgyō. Together, they became Downtown, and made their major debut in 1983. The Downtown comedy duo loosely follow the manzai style of Japanese comedy, where Matsumoto plays the half-wit, and his partner plays the straight man.^[1]

Personal life

Bachelorhood

Matsumoto remained single with no history of marriage for years after his comedy partner, Hamada, was married with children. He stated that he was not into romance, finding acts such as sharing a bed or bathing with someone else bothersome and unnecessary.^[8]

It was revealed in July 2008 that Matsumoto was dating then 25-year-old tarento Ihara Rin.^[9] In the evening of May 17, 2009, it was announced that Matsumoto's official bachelorhood had ended with a secret marriage ceremony between himself and the aforementioned Ihara.^[10] Ihara, a former weather announcer for the Japanese news program "ズームイン!! Super" (Zoom In!! Super) is nineteen years Matsumoto's junior, and apparently became pregnant by Matsumoto, prompting the marriage.^[10] The announcement of the marriage came via fax by Matsumoto's managing organization to several media outlets, including a personal message by Matsumoto himself: "My partner will quit her job and is currently pregnant. As this is a delicate time, I would like this to be dealt with as gently as possible. It would be best to hold a press conference, however I'm too embarrassed to, so I won't."^[10]

On October 6, 2009, Matsumoto and Ihara Rin became parents to a daughter. At the time, Matsumoto was in South Korea for the screening of the film "Symbol."^[11]

Interests

Matsumoto's hobbies include driving, billiards, and video games.^{[citation needed]}

As an admirer of Vincent van Gogh, he has gone to Amsterdam to visit The Van Gogh Museum. These trips were filmed for The True Hitoshi Matsumoto (松本人志の本当, Matsumoto Hitoshi no Hontō), a special NHK BS documentary series.^[12] Another figure he respects is the late comedian, Kanbi Fujiyama.^[13]

He enjoys tokusatsu shows and owns DVD box sets of series such as Kamen Rider and Giant Robo. He has parodied tokusatsu a number of times on his previous show, Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji (with characters such as the Go-Renjai, Miracle Ace and Aho Aho Man), and in his directorial film debut, Dainipponjin.

Health

He has demonstrated good physical fitness on Gaki no Tsukai. He defeated his comedy partner Hamada in a high jump competition by clearing 1.40m on the first try.^[14] In 1999, he outran Hamada, Hōsei Yamasaki and both members of Cocorico in a 100-meter race (he ran the entire length while the other four ran a quarter of the length each in the form of a relay race).^[15] Three years later, he performed notably better than them in a long jump competition.^[16]

Although he claims to have no interest in sports,^[17] he has occasionally dabbled in boxing as he is friends with former world boxing champion Joichiro Tatsuyoshi.

Once a heavy cigarette smoker, he quit in 2003.

On June 28, 2010, Yoshimoto Kogyo announced that Matsumoto would not be performing on any shows for two months due to an injury on his left hip, which required surgery.^[18] For two episodes, the remaining Gaki no Tsukai cast members discussed his condition,^[19][20] with Matsumoto returning to hosting on August 31, 2010.^[21] In subsequent segments of the show requiring rigorous physical activities, such as the annual New Year's Eve 24-Hour Batsu Games of recent years, he is exempted and instead given idle or captive roles, due to his previous injury.

During the 2011 Gaki no Tsukai batsu game involving the group becoming airline assistants, Matsumoto revealed he had suffered a stress fracture preparing for said batsu game, and despite doctor's orders, he still participated in the batsu game.

Sexual assault allegations

In December 2023, two women made anonymous allegations in an article published in the weekly Japanese celebrity magazine Shukan Bunshun that Matsumoto had sexually assaulted them in 2015 at "VIP parties".^[3][22] In response his talent agency strongly denied, saying that there "no facts whatsoever" to the allegations.^[23] Other anonymous allegations followed of other women with similar accounts.^[22] Matsumoto himself responded saying "I'll fight because (the allegations) are totally groundless," however he subsequently paused his comedic and hosting performances.^[24] Later accusations say that he requested specific types of women to be procured for him from his fellow comedians who he would then sexually harass or assault.^[22]

In January 2024, in response to the allegations Matsumoto sued Bungei Shunju which is the publisher of the magazine Shukan Bunshun alleging that it had engaged in defamation by publishing the story and was seeking damages of ¥550 million ($3.6 million USD).^[3][25] The trial began in March, with Matsumoto's lawyers saying that they cannot respond to the accusations because the identity of the women remains hidden.^[3] In November Matsumoto withdrew his lawsuit against publisher Bungei Shunji.^[4] There was no payment between either party as a result of the withdrawal of the lawsuit, according to lawyers for both sides.^[26] In a statement Matsumoto said: "I would like to frankly apologize if any of the women who attended were offended or hurt."^[27]

List of works

Films

Comic shorts:

• Tōzu (頭頭) (1993)
• Sundome Kaikyō (寸止め海峡) (1995)
• Visualbum Vol. Apple – Promise (ビジュアルバム Vol. リンゴ – 約束) (1998)
• Visualbum Vol. Banana – Kindness (ビジュアルバム Vol. バナナ – 親切) (1998)
• Visualbum Vol. Grape – Relief (ビジュアルバム Vol. ブドウ – 安心) (1999)
• Sasuke (佐助) (2001)
• Zassā (ザッサー) (2006)

Full-length movies:

• Big Man Japan (2007)
• Symbol (2009)
• Saya Zamurai (2011)
• R100 (2013)
• Violence Voyager (2019), narrator

Television and radio

• Hitori gottsu (一人ごっつ) (1996–1997)
• Densetsu no kyōshi (伝説の教師) (2000)
• Ashita ga aru sa (明日があるさ) (2001)
• Hōsō-shitsu (放送室) (Since 2001)
• Hitoshi Matsumoto no suberanai hanashi (人志松本のすべらない話) (Since 2004)
• Ippon Grand Prix (IPPONグランプリ) (Since 2009)
• Matsumoto Hitoshi no Konto (MHK) (松本人志のコント) (2010)
• Hitoshi Matsumoto Presents Documental (Since 2016)

Books

• Isho (遺書) (1994) ISBN 978-4-02-256809-0
• Matsumoto (松本) (1995) ISBN 978-4-02-256898-4
• Matsumoto Hitoshi Ai (松本人志 愛) (1998) ISBN 978-4-02-257300-1
• Matsumoto Bōzu (松本坊主) (1999) ISBN 978-4-947599-62-9
• Zukan (図鑑) (2000) ISBN 978-4-02-257550-0
• Matsumoto Cinema Bōzu (松本シネマ坊主) (2002) ISBN 978-4-8222-1733-4
• Matsumoto Saiban (松本裁判) (2002) ISBN 978-4-86052-002-1
• Teihon Hitorigottsu (定本一人ごっつ) ISBN 978-4-86052-024-3
• Sukika, Kiraika – Matsumoto Hitoshi no Nigenron (好きか、嫌いか – 松本人志の二元論) (2004) ISBN 978-4-08-780401-0
• Sukika, Kiraika 2 – Matsumoto Hitoshi no Saishuu Sanban (好きか、嫌いか2 – 松本人志の最終裁判) (2005) ISBN 978-4-08-780422-5
• Cinema Bōzu 2 (シネマ坊主2) (2005) ISBN 978-4-8222-1744-0
• Cinema Bōzu 3 (シネマ坊主3) (2008) ISBN 978-4-8222-6321-8
• Matsumoto Hitoshi No Ikari Akaban (松本人志の怒り 赤版) (2008) ISBN 978-4-08-780503-1
• Matsumoto Hitoshi No Ikari Aoban (松本人志の怒り 青版) (2008) ISBN 978-4-08-780504-8

External links

• Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! (Nippon TV) official site
• Lincoln (TBS TV) official site Archived 2007-04-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ (Fuji TV) official site
• Dai-Nipponjin review at SaruDama.com
• Hitoshi Matsumoto at IMDb
• Hitoshi Matsumoto discography at Discogs.

Notes and references

1. Corkill, Edan (2013-10-05). "Downtown comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto leans from TV to film". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
2. Marsh, Calum (Jan 18, 2024). "How 'Last One Laughing' Took Over (Most of) the World". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
3. Kaneko, Karin (2024-03-28). "Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's defamation trial kicks off". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
4. Kaneko, Karin (November 8, 2024). "Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto to withdraw Bungeishunju defamation suit".
5. Matsumoto, Takahiro (1997). Matsumoto no Ani. Akita, Japan: Akita Shoten. ISBN 978-4-253-10255-1.
6. Neowing info on the "Chicken Rice" single. Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine Neowing.co.jp, 2004-11-17. Retrieved on 2008-1-10.
7. Lyrics to "Chicken Rice." Archived 2006-03-13 at the Wayback Machine 2004-12-02. Retrieved on 2008-1-10.
8. LINCOLN Episode #5 aired on 2005-12-13.
9. Japan Zone: Romantic Roundup Archived 2015-04-28 at the Wayback Machine (2008-07-08). Retrieved on 2008-07-16.
10. 松ちゃん電撃デキ婚！元お天気お姉さんと Archived 2009-05-20 at the Wayback Machine (2009-05-18). Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
11. "Owh联盟外投". Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
12. NHK BS's Matsumoto Hitoshi no Hontō, first aired on 1999-1-29.
13. Matsumoto, Hitoshi (1995). Matsumoto. Osaka, Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. p 22. "I still watch videos of his acts to this day, and no matter how many times I watch them, I never tire of them."
14. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Episode aired on 1993-07-11.
15. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Episode aired on 1999-10-17.
16. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Episode aired on 2002-05-05.
17. LINCOLN Episode #38 aired on 2006-09-12.
18. "松本人志が緊急入院 全番組をキャンセル（芸能） ― スポニチ Sponichi Annex ニュース". www.sponichi.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28.
19. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Episode aired on 2010-7-04.
20. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Episode aired on 2010-8-01
21. LINCOLN Episode aired on 2010-8-31
22. Le Van, Quentin (2024-03-17). "Japan's king of humor is no longer making anyone laugh". Le Monde. France. Archived from the original on 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
23. Staff writer (2023-12-27). "Popular Japanese comedian denies sexual assault allegations". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
24. Staff writer (2024-01-09). "Japan comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto halts activities amid sex scandal report". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
25. Inoue, Yukana (2024-01-23). "Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto sues publisher over sexual assault article". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
26. "Japan comedian Matsumoto Hitoshi withdraws libel suit against publisher | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
27. NEWS, KYODO. "Japanese comedian drops suit vs. publisher over sex scandal report". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2024-11-22.