Mitsumata Matazo’s Unexpected Role as Window Cleaner Sparks Buzz: Real Estate CEO Praises His Customer-Attracting Power and Ambitious Vision
His appearance cleaning the windows of a real estate company has become a local topic of conversation
His appearance cleaning the windows of a real estate company becomes a hot topic locally
On a hot summer morning, in front of a real estate company near Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, young employees were cleaning the store’s windows before opening. Among them was a slightly older man compared to the others. Looking closely, it was the comedian Mimata Matano (58).
He was wringing out a rag and energetically moving his arms from side to side. There was no sign of reluctance or annoyance on his face—he seemed to be working with all his might.
Back in March of this year (reported on March 9), Daily Sports revealed that Mimata had been working since 2023 as a full-time employee at a real estate agency in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. In that interview, Mimata himself confessed, “I wear a tie, go to work in the morning, and clean the windows.” Seeing the scene in person confirmed it—he was indeed working seriously. Asking around the neighborhood, it turned out that his hardworking figure had become a local topic of conversation.
In the 1990s, Mimata was known as the boke (funny man) of the comedy duo “Jordans,” gaining popularity through his impersonations of Kinpachi-sensei (played by Tetsuya Takeda, 76) in Mr. Kinpachi in Class 3B (TBS) and appearances on Bokyabura Tengoku (Vocab Heaven, Fuji TV). After the duo disbanded in 2007, he continued performing as a solo comedian, appearing on many variety shows.
“In 2017, the weekly magazine FLASH reported that Mimata had been cut off by Hitoshi Matsumoto (61) of the comedy duo Downtown after failing to repay a 10 million yen loan. The following year, Matsumoto mentioned on the show Wide na Show (Fuji TV), which he hosted at the time, that he had managed to recover 15 million yen from Mimata. However, after that, other comedians began sharing stories describing Mimata’s behavior as trash-like, cementing his reputation as a trash comedian,” said a TV variety show producer.
Because of that, his name has recently been mentioned often in comedians’ anecdotes. So, how does Mimata himself feel about his current situation?
When approached again for an interview, Mimata gladly accepted. On the day of the interview, at the scheduled time, the reporter arrived at the Tail Housing Co., Ltd. Shimousa-Nakayama Station South Exit branch, where Mimata works, and found him standing upright in front of the store—shirt neatly tucked into his slacks, wearing a white polo shirt bearing the company logo, waiting in a perfectly straight posture.
Basically, he’s still a scumbag or more mildly
“I’m Mimata Matano from the Planning and Development Department.”
With those words, he handed over a business card that read “Mimata Matano.” When told that his morning window-cleaning had become a topic of conversation in the neighborhood, he replied:
“That’s right! This is actually part of my plan. If I clean the windows every morning during rush hour, people will think, ‘Huh? Isn’t that Mimata Matano?’ Then I can say, ‘Yes, I’m Mimata Matano. If you have any questions about real estate, please feel free to drop by anytime.’ I figured just doing that alone would have a great promotional effect for the company. That’s the kind of mission I believe I’ve been given.”
His employment began when he was invited to an event and approached by the company’s president, Takenori Nozawa.
“He said to me, ‘You probably don’t have a place to live, right?’ and then, ‘Why don’t you come work for us as a full-time employee?’ I told him, ‘But I don’t have a real estate license, I don’t have a driver’s license, and I can’t even use a computer.’ The president just said, ‘That’s fine.’ I thought, what’s with that? But still, I was grateful to have a salary. I couldn’t live off comedy work alone, so I decided to take the job.”
That said, all of the staff—including the president—were over twenty years younger and full of field experience. Mimata said that the only thing he could really do was clean windows.
“But while I’m cleaning, I talk to commuters passing by. I say, ‘If you have any real estate questions, feel free to ask. Or just stop by for a chat.’ If they stop, I hand them my business card. The idea to keep my stage name on the card actually came from the president.”
At that moment, President Nozawa, who had been quietly listening beside him, interjected:
“Can I say something? He’s been saying all these nice-sounding things, but the real reason he’s doing window-cleaning is because he complained, saying ‘I don’t want to clean the toilets!’ Basically, he’s still the same scumbag (laughs).
When payday comes, he spends all his money right away. Then he asks, ‘Can I get an advance of about 100,000 yen?’ When I asked what he used the money for, it turned out to be credit card payments. He even bought 30,000-yen leather shoes despite being broke! Can you believe that? So now I manage his money and only give him cash when he really needs it.”
“Ahh, I’m really grateful. The president is truly a wonderful person,” Mimata replied with a polite, slightly forced smile.
President Nozawa added:
“But honestly, his customer service skills are amazing. He has this ability to grab people’s hearts and draw them in. Once he starts talking, he doesn’t stop—but that’s what makes it entertaining. You can tell he’s a professional comedian.”
Thanks to Mimata’s charm and talk skills, some customers have even ended up buying homes.
So, could he ever quit comedy and fully shift into the real estate business?
“Of course not! As long as I’m a comedian, the only way I can repay the kindness of the president and my coworkers is through my craft—through comedy itself!”
Still, most of his current work remains focused on live performances and stage shows. But perhaps, he hasn’t ruled out a return to television either.
Declaration of a Big Comeback in Two Years
“It’s not that I was blacklisted or anything—I just couldn’t do ‘TV-style comedy,’ so I stopped appearing on TV. On TV, you have to be able to hit every pitch thrown at you for a home run. Commentators and comedians who thrive there are really amazing; their reaction speed is incredible. I just couldn’t do that.
But when it comes to storytelling, I’m confident I can’t be beaten by anyone. So I decided to focus on the stage. I thought, ‘Let’s build solid results in live performance first, then return to TV.’ Since then, I’ve been polishing my storytelling skills relentlessly.”
Currently, Mimata regularly performs not only on the stage of Asakusa Toyokan France-za, his main base, but also holds solo live shows. In these, he entertains audiences with 90-minute to two-hour-long monologues filled with laughter.
“Actually, about two years ago, I even worked as a lecturer at Tokyo University of Agriculture. A professor I happened to meet asked me to talk to students about communication and job hunting. Honestly, I wondered if smart science students would even listen to someone like me.
But I told them, ‘Job-hunting season is coming, right? When you’re being interviewed, if you just talk about how great the company is, no one’s interested. Instead, it’s better to laugh and say, “I’m this foolish, clumsy, and ridiculous of a person.” If the interviewer laughs, that’s already a win.’ When I told them that, the students were deeply moved. I thought, see, my storytelling really is top-notch!”
In that sense, his current salaryman life at the real estate company provides plenty of material for his comedy.
“I’m 58—the oldest here—and just a regular employee. That sounds pretty uncool, right? But comedians thrive on being uncool. You take something that hurt terribly at the time, purify it over time, and then turn it into something funny for the audience—a big laugh. So really, my daily life never runs out of material.”
As for his dream for the future—
“That’s easy: a big explosion when I hit 60! In two years, I’ll be able to attract 1,000 or 2,000 people to my solo shows and make a huge comeback on TV. Just watch me!”
He spoke grandly of his ambitions.
That evening, Mimata left work briefly to perform at the Asakusa Toyokan France-za. His appearance lasted only about ten minutes, but he came onstage wearing his Tail Housing company polo shirt, name tag, and carrying a business bag—an outfit that had the audience roaring with laughter.
A comedian, a university lecturer, and a real estate company employee—Mimata Matano, the trash comedian with many titles, might just truly explode at sixty after all.
After finishing his ten-minute stage performance, he immediately returned to the company.