K-PRO’s Kina Kojima, whom the comedian calls “the mother of comedy,” talks about the changes in the comedy world after the Corona disaster.

Kina Kojima, who organizes 1,000 comedy gigs a year, recommends the following comedians

Takano (MC): I heard that Ms.Kojima plans 1,000 comedy gigs a year, which is a bad number.

Celeina (MC): How many shows is that in a day?

Kojima: I do three shows a day at a theater called “Narugeki” in Nishi-Shinjuku, and I also go to various other theaters to do live shows as a production collaborator.

Celeina：Thank you for your time.

Kojima: It’s no trouble at all. I’m glad to hear it.

Celeina：Speaking of comedy, the “M-1 Grand Prix” will be held at the end of this year as well. We are currently in the midst of the preliminary rounds, and the total number of entries is 8,540, the largest number in the history of the competition.

Takano: From these, 30 pairs have made it to the semifinals, including Shinku Jieshika, Ozuwarudo, Sayaka, Kabeposter, and Longcoat Daddy. These are names of people who were also active in last year’s “M-1 Grand Prix”.

Kojima: Yes, that’s right. Of course there were the strong veterans, but I had the impression that the next generation of young talent had also risen to the top.

Takano: Are there any duos that you are paying attention to?

Kojima: I am looking at Yarlens this year. They are from Osaka, but they have become popular since they came to Tokyo. He has been working hard with Westland, Mogrider, Ranjatai, and Nishikigoi, but among them, Yarlens is the only one who has not made it to the finals. We have been told for a long time that this is the year, and we are really finishing it.

Takano: What are the characteristics of Yarlens’s manzai?

Kojima: They call their manzai “jazz”.

Celeina: Jazz!

Takano: Is it like a free session? I’m curious.

Kojima: I hope you’ll have a chance to see them because they are characterized by their comfortable-listening manzai.

Celeina: You should check it out.

It was correspondence that inspired me to spend my days immersed in comedy

Takano: You mentioned earlier that you are planning 1,000 comedy gigs, but I would like to ask you about your first encounter with comedy.

Kojima: Actually, I love radio so much that my father used to post postcards on the radio.

Celeina: He’s a craftsman.

Kojima: That’s right. Because of father’s influence, we all watched variety shows together as a family at dinner time. When I was in junior high school, there was a comedy boom called the VOCABULA, and that’s how I got to know young comedians. Right around that time, a friend with whom I corresponded asked me, “Would you like to help me put on a comedy show?”.

Celeina：What do you mean by a correspondent?

Kojima：In the past, there used to be a page in a magazine that listed addresses. Comedy lovers used to gather information about comedy and make comedy friends there. I used to contact people in Osaka and ask them to send me videos or newspaper clippings.

Celeina：Interesting. It’s a world full of love.

Kojima: Nowadays, we can connect with each other through SNS, but in our case, it was letters.

Celeina：So you started by planning a comedy concert with your correspondent friends?

Kojima：Yes. We first started helping out at a small theater in Nakano. I thought, “I get to meet a TV star!” but all I found were comedians I didn’t know who hadn’t even appeared on TV, so I was like, “What the heck is this place?” (haha)

Takano: It was different from what I expected.

Kojima: That’s right. When I was sulking and saying, “We’re not going to meet the stars,” one of the comedians on the show said to me, “Why are the new staff members slacking off?”. He got angry with me. At that point, I thought, “What the heck!” and went to various locations asking them to call me again because I would definitely continue.

Takano: I see. What was it like from there until you launched K-PRO?

Kojima: It was during this time that I was approached by a senior organizer who asked me to try something. I decided to start a comedy live show under the name “K-PRO” with my fellow staff members who I would see every month, and we started a small group of people who would do stories, or help someone with a solo show, or something like that.

Celeina：I see. Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of K-PRO next year.

Kojima: Thank you very much.

Takano: Twenty years is a lot, isn’t it?

Kojima:Yes, it is. I am surprised at how quickly it has gone by.

The “Mother of Comedy” talks about her love for comedians

Celeina: What is important to you in planning a live comedy show?

Kojima:I have decided that I will definitely do what the comedians want to do. There are things we have to consider as a company, such as profit, but we have decided to do what the comedians think is interesting before anyone else does, even if it fails.

Celeina: All I have is love.

Takano: Love. I heard that Ms.Kojima is called the “mother of the comedy world”.

Kojima: That’s right. I’ve come to be called the mother.

Celeina: It’s nice to have a place that protects their entertainment.

Takano: I don’t have enough to say, but I think it’s time to interrupt one song. I asked Ms.Kojima to choose a song that she would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time.

Kojima:It’s a song called “Tarinai Futari” by Creepy Nuts.

Celeina：Why did you choose this song?

Kojima:The song “Tarinai Futari” was originally written for the unit of Yamazato-san of Nankai Candies and Wakabayashi-san of Audrey. K-PRO was involved in the production of this unit’s live event, so I was there to see it. Creepy Nuts also appeared at the live performance, and the whole staff cried ragged tears over this memorable song.

Celeina: Let’s listen to one such memorable song.

The change in the distance between comedians and the audience that I felt after the Corona disaster

Celeina：You mentioned that it will be 20 years next year since K-PRO was launched.

Kojima:With the Corona Disaster in between, the culture of waiting for comedians to come out to talk to them or hand them fan letters at the end of their performances has disappeared. I have the impression that this has changed the sense of distance between the comedians and the audience. Before that, there were opportunities for customers to directly express their impressions, but now customers tweet their impressions on social networking sites, and the comedians are more likely to ego-search those comments.

Celeina：I see.

Kojima: I also feel that more and more people are becoming full-fledged comedians these days. Until then, there were many people who just wanted to be popular or wanted to be popular, but now I get the impression that there are more and more people who say, “We want to do comedy on stage.

Takano: People change depending on the distance. If you are too close, you feel close to them, but if you are too far away, you admire them or think they are cool.

Kojima: That’s right. I imagine that more and more customers go to see comedians they admire on stage.

Celeina: I also feel that this is the reason why the total number of entries to the “M-1 Grand Prix” has increased.

Takano: The comedians are so cool. I admire them too.

Kojima: I get a kick out of watching them put together their stories.

Takano: Speaking of comedians, one of the reporters for this program is Gari Yanagi of Denko Sekka.

Kojima: Oh!　Mr.Gari!　Thank you for helping.

Celeina: It’s my pleasure!

Kojima: Mr.Gari is like a big brother to the younger generation.

Takano: His reports are always easy to understand.

Celeina: It makes me happy when people praise Mr.Gari in this way. It’s like we are family.

Kojima: Mr.Gari is a gem of a talent, and I wish him the best.