From the Stage to the Bookshelves Writing Comedians in Twenty-First-Century Japan
[Recorded 13 February 2019] For a number of years, Japanese stand-up comedians have also been successful with publications on the domestic book market. Benefiting from their high popularity and constant presence in the media, publications by comedians-cum-book-authors often turn into media scoops, be it youth memoirs such as Tamura Hiroshi\u2019s Homeless Middle School Student (2007) or autobiographic novels winning Japan\u2019s coveted Akutagawa Prize like Matayoshi Naoki\u2019s Spark (2015). Manga, film or even Netflix adaptations boost the popularity of the writing comedians even further, while also creating or re-confirming audiences\u2019 ideas about the life of a professional comedian. In his talk, Till Weing\xe4rtner, who himself performed as a manzai comedian in Osaka during his doctoral research, will examine the relationship between comedians\u2019 on-stage/on-screen personae with selected books and their adaptations. By doing so, he will offer a better understanding of how comedians\u2019 images are constructed in Japanese show business.