Former Plus-Minus Comedian Yoshimasa Iwahashi Trades Luxury for ¥50,000 Apartment

On the day of the interview, Yoshimasa Iwahashi (46) was playing golf in Chiba Prefecture in the morning. The golfers he played with were Akashiya Sanma (69), Neptune’s Ken Horiuchi (55), and Curimuchu’s Teppei Arita (53). I have work in Osaka tomorrow morning, so I have to go home on the bullet train. I won’t be able to see my daughters this time,” he told FRIDAY, after which Iwahashi continued, “But if I see them too much, I’ll miss them.

Master Sanma holds monthly golf meetings for us, like a ″watching over Iwahashi group. The core members are Horiken, Jonio Iwai (50), and myself, but Jonio hasn’t been able to come lately, so this time Arita came. We used to play golf about once a month, but it just so happened that the only month we didn’t play was the month I went “berserk. My master seemed to be concerned about it, saying, ‘If you had played golf then, you wouldn’t be in this situation …….

Last year, “Plus Minus” won the Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize. The year 2012, which was supposed to be a year of breakthrough, unexpectedly turned out to be the year the duo broke up: Iwahashi’s contract was terminated by Yoshimoto Kogyo on February 22 over his behavior on SNS and other social networking sites.

After the round, Arita-san would assign me various characters, and I would play them out in my sweat, trying to find out what was funny. We did a rough act of ‘Let’s play the second generation of Shohei Otani, Matsuko Deluxe, or any other celebrity, but it didn’t go very well (laughs). It reminded me of how the world of comedians is like, and how hard it is.

Master I think both Master and Mr. Arita are thinking of ways for me to come back. In fact, I think they have suggested many times to put me on a terrestrial program. But even if the staff says, “Okay! but before I know it, the conversation has been put on hold. I guess there must be some kind of discovery.

After the contract was terminated, people left like spiders scattering. The only Yoshimoto comedians who really got involved with me were my mentor and Hiroaki Hamamoto (50) of Tendara,” Iwahashi said with a wry smile.

 

Built 3 years ago, hardly lived in.

“Tenderla is a top comedy duo at NGK (Namba Grand Kagetsu), and it’s risky for them to associate with me. But Mr. Hamamoto has invited me to karaoke and meals, always checking in with me, asking, ‘How have you been?’ We travel together and share those moments on social media. Both my mentor and Hamamoto have been supportive, treating me without any reservations.”

After leaving Yoshimoto, Iwahashi established his own agency. He hired staff to handle management and TikTok/YouTube video shooting and editing, continuing his activities.

“I post videos on TikTok where I’m just eating food, and I upload a video to YouTube once a week. I also do MC work at corporate anniversary parties, go on business visits to pachinko parlors, and do PR for apparel brands. I’m managing to get by, but the expenses and taxes are really painful,” Iwahashi says,

With the sale profits from the luxurious home he built in Setagaya, Tokyo, being his hope.

 

“I have a three-story house with a 10-tatami rooftop where I can have BBQs or relax in a hammock. The highlights are the study and the laundry room. They are about two tatami each, and you can use them in creative ways, almost like a secret base for dads. The nearest station is Chitose-Karasuyama, where the express train stops. I’ve had a lot of viewings, but it still hasn’t sold. It’s only three years old, and my family lived there for less than a year. After that, I lived alone for about six months. Since I barely lived there, it’s still in great condition. It’s empty now, so it’s ready for immediate move-in. Are any readers of Friday interested?”

After letting go of his luxurious home in Setagaya, Iwahashi now lives in an 8-tatami 1K apartment in Osaka, where his family is from, paying just 50,000 yen a month.

In a job he took for its high pay, he experienced the worst flop of his life.

“I once worked as a one-day manager at a nightclub, where I had to go to the tables of customers who bought champagne and try to liven up the place. Since I’m a bit shy, just being around so many people made me nervous, and I’m not good with customers who get too pushy, telling me ‘You’re a comedian, so drink up!’ It’s tough, but the pay was good, so I just thought about my daughters’ faces, downed the drink, and pushed through.

However, when I went to a bar with live karaoke for a job, the situation escalated to the point where I was asked to do some material. I ended up making a dirty joke. There was a rough-looking guy and his girlfriend sitting right in front of me, and as soon as I finished, the guy said, ‘What’s this? You’re not funny at all!’ I apologized and went back to my seat, but then the woman came storming up to me and poured champagne over my head, yelling, ‘You’re not funny!’ I thought it felt like a scene out of the game Yakuza. Then, all the friends who had been egging me on to do the material were looking down. No one came to help me when I was drenched in champagne.”

“Being given work is something I’m grateful for. But when I think back to the days at Yoshimoto, where I could earn tens of thousands of yen in just a 10-minute stage performance, those times shine in my memory.

Even so, I have no regret about my past life,” said Iwahashi.

“I used to have work brought to me by the company and my manager, and as long as I kept up with the schedule sent to me daily, I could make a decent amount of money. Honestly, I think I was blessed, and there was a time I regretted leaving Yoshimoto. But this year, for the first time, I traveled during Golden Week and realized, ‘So this is how the world enjoys their long holidays.’

It made me really happy to be able to share my days off with my friends. Recently, I went scuba diving in Miyako Island, and I ended up crying. I was so moved. I thought, ‘I almost missed out on experiencing a world like this in my life.’ My current life does come with some uncertainties, but there’s also freedom. And I’m grateful for that.”

Comedians who were familiar with the skills of “Plus-Minus” expressed regret over their breakup.

One of the most prominent reactions came from “Tommys” Masa (64), who said, “It’s like throwing away 400 to 500 million yen over the next 20 years.”

“The Kamigata Manzai Taisho is the one where the salary increase is the biggest. I quit just when my monthly income was about to rise from 2 million yen even higher. I really felt bad for my partner, but I didn’t long for that future.”

At NGK, if you just perform the tried-and-true material, the audience keeps rotating, so you’re always going to get laughs. You work for 10 minutes, then relax in the dressing room, work another 10 minutes, have a week of performances, then a week off, and back to work for another week. It’s a world where you keep perfecting your craft, like in traditional performing arts. That’s an incredible environment, no doubt. But, with the time I have left in my life, I wanted to live a more exciting life. From the outside, it might seem like I quit because of my obsessive-compulsive disorder and that I spiraled out of control, but yes, that played a part. The truth is, I haven’t really found manzai funny for the past few years.

At home, he can do live streams whenever he wants and stop whenever he wants. He can connect with people around the world, without any pretensions or constraints. If people find it interesting, he earns money from tips. A few years ago, Iwahashi said he became very interested in the new forms of live performances.

 

 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is like a gacha.

“I’m studying English now. My videos of me eating food have been getting quite a bit of attention on TikTok from people overseas. I want to try streaming in English and maybe even visit places like America. When I was with Yoshimoto, I hardly had any free time—there were days with 12 shows, so I didn’t have the luxury of time back then.

Regarding obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I was discouraged from publicly discussing it for a long time because it was said to make it harder for me to make people laugh. But there are a lot of people out there who live in hiding, struggling with the same condition, afraid of being thought of as weird. But you know, no one chooses to have OCD. It’s just a total lottery. It might not be curable, but it’s something you can coexist with. I want to tell them, ‘It’ll be okay. You’re not alone. Let’s get through this together.’ I definitely want to do something to help make their lives easier.”

Now, I have time and can choose the work I want to do. The reason I was still doing night work for a while was because I promised myself I would continue supporting my daughters until they were adults.

“I have a good relationship with my ex-wife. She lets me see the kids once a month, and we also do video calls. She’s considerate about my health and even gives me advice like, ‘Reposting just the words is like committing the same crime,’ (laughs). My eldest daughter even checks if I’m saying anything unnecessary on social media. She’s grown up so much. My ex-wife is from Tottori, but she’s been raising the kids in Tokyo, a place with no connections or ties to her. I’m just really grateful.”

My circle of friends has expanded mainly around Osaka, and I’m starting to think, ‘Next year, I won’t need to do night work anymore.’ When I was asked what the past 10 months, after my contract was terminated, have been like for me, I thought for a while and then answered:

It’s like a peeled egg.

“I’ve broken through a hard shell, and now all my sensitive and delicate parts are exposed. It’s scary and risky, which is why many people choose to stay inside their shells. But I’ve stepped up to the starting line. Now, what’s going to happen to my life? Right now, I’m enjoying moments like hanging up laundry I’ve washed in the cheapest 30,000 yen washing machine in my Osaka apartment. No one would ever expect to see Iwahashi hanging laundry here. The contrast of playing golf with Master Sanma and then doing laundry alone is just amazing. It feels like I’m quietly sharpening my sword in a secluded place. What will I do from here? I can do anything, right? I know it sounds like a weird way to live, but it’s fun. I can’t stop the excitement.”

By breaking out of his shell and struggling through his hardships, Iwahashi has finally found the fun he was looking for.

 

Unpublished photo cut Former “Plus-Minus” Iwahashi Yoshimasa abandons his ¥200,000 monthly income and luxurious mansion in Setagaya for a “¥50,000 apartment life” and happiness.