<figure id="attachment_372548" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1738px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372548"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f87567e3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/698789832d5f8d876d68a8fd609025bf.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372548" class="wp-caption-text">It has long been said that it is only a matter of time before they enter the Tokyo market. &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
<p>Among the heavyweights of the entertainment world, there are those who are called &#8220;opinion leaders&#8221; or &#8220;empresses,&#8221; and when one says &#8220;empress of the comedy world,&#8221; Emiko Uenuma (69) probably immediately comes to mind. However, she is the &#8220;empress of the west.</p>
<p>The &#8220;Empress of the East,&#8221; then, is &#8230;&#8230;. There is a comedian who has recently emerged as a force to be reckoned with. She is Kuniko Yamada, 63.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> She became a celebrity by appearing in numerous amateur comedy shows when she was a student, and in 1981 she appeared on the popular Fuji Television program Laughing! (Fuji Television Network) in 1981. (Fuji Television Network). (Fuji Television), where he performed his own material about a bus guide and became the champion. He also made his record debut with &#8220;Kuniko&#8217;s Cute Girl Burikko. The popular word that year, &#8216;burikko,&#8217; came from Yamada&#8217;s gag.</span></p>
<p>From 1988 to 1995, she ranked first in NHK&#8217;s &#8220;Favorite Talent Survey&#8221; for eight consecutive years. Akashiya Sanma for men and Yamada for women were synonymous with likable talents. In the history of the entertainment industry, Yamada is the only female pin-up comedian who has had a prime-time show. Therefore, she is said to be the only female comedian in the entertainment industry who has &#8220;taken the world by storm.</p>
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<p>However, Yamada&#8217;s momentum began to decline rapidly. Her popular TV show, which had been getting high ratings, was suddenly cancelled, her new show did not do well, and when she appeared in dramas, she was criticized for being miscast. The bashing by the weekly magazines continued, and finally Yamada&#8217;s ranking as a &#8220;likable talent&#8221; plummeted, and she disappeared from television.</p>
<p>Although there were no more opportunities to see Yamada&#8217;s comedies, he continued his steady activities away from the entertainment industry, such as working for civic organizations and charities. However, her passion for comedy has never cooled, and in an interview on a TV program in 2009, she said, &#8220;I am a comedian by profession.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In 2009, in an interview on a TV program, she said, &#8220;I am a &#8220;comedian by profession. Well, I do a lot of different jobs. It&#8217;s my day job. I don&#8217;t want to stop.</span></p>
<p>Yamada&#8217;s resurgence was triggered when she was selected as a judge for the &#8220;M-1 Grand Prix 2022. Naturally, he was compared to his predecessor, Uenuma, but he was well received.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was also said to have a unique sense of comedy, but his style is different from Uenuma&#8217;s. &#8220;Yamada&#8217;s sense of laughter is also quite high quality,&#8230;&#8230;. The comedy professionals took their hats off to Kuniko, saying, &#8216;Kuniko&#8217;s sense of humor is very sharp, after all.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Kuniko Yamada and Emiko Uenuma share the same &quot;empress&quot; character."></div>
<p>On social networking sites, even people of the generation who did not know Yamada began to say, &#8220;This old lady is funny,&#8221; and young TV people began to pay attention to Yamada.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Yamada&#8217;s talk is as good as ever, as she dominated the entertainment world in the past,&#8221; said one of the young TV people. Her sense of humor has not diminished; in fact, I think it has become even funnier. The sharp edges of his youth are gone, and he has added maturity and sharpness. It resonates well with younger audiences, and I can see why she is so sought after.</span></p>
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<p>It is only a matter of time before Yamada takes her place as the empress. Meanwhile, Uenuma, the &#8220;empress of the west,&#8221; was rumored to be making a full-scale entry into the Tokyo market (see &#8230;&#8230;) after she stopped serving as a judge on &#8220;M-1,&#8221; but so far, there has been no movement.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, there have been no moves so far. &#8220;Her popularity in Kansai has not waned, and her charisma as an Osaka grandmother is still strong. I hear that he has not yet given up on the idea of entering the Tokyo market. However, he probably did not expect such a powerful rival to emerge in the hostile territory he was heading for. Even if she were to move to Tokyo now, she would still be covered with the &#8220;empress&#8221; character, and that would not be good for Uenuma. I think they are now looking for the right timing.</span></p>
<p>The viewers are waiting for the female pin-up comedians who have reached the top of the comedy world in the East and West to compete with each other.</p>


 Kyodo

 Since serving as a judge for the M-1 competition in 2022, Kuniko Yamada has been in demand. She is now considered the "Empress of the East" of the comedy world. Emiko Uenuma, the "Empress of the West," has long been rumored to be making her way to Tokyo. ......

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