Relationships of the 5

Hey folks, could someone explain me, how the 5 participants of Batsu Game are related to each other? I mean, i know there no family, but what´s up with Endo ( Endou? ) and Chiaki, when did they get divorced? They are right? And is Hamada some kind of uncle to Endo?

Let me start with matsumoto, he is a father with one daughter now, he is married on May 17, 2009. His wife is called Iraha and she is 19 years younger than Matsumoto. Matsumoto is Hamada childhood friend. They meet each other at primary 5 or 6. Hamada live in the same neighbourhood as Matsumoto.
Hamada, he is the leader and highest autorithy among the 5 and other Comedians in Yoshimoto Agency. Hamada join Yoshimoto first and later he invite Matsumoto to join the Agency. Hamada has a wife called Natsumi. Hamada has 2 children one is from some band which i forgot the name.
Endo, part of Cocorico duo with Tanaka. he is married to Chiaki on 2002 but divorced on 2007. Have one daughter called Iroha. Best friend to Tanaka since they live in the same neighborhood.
Tanaka, married to Shie Kohinata on 2003. Have 2 sons.
Yamazaki, married to Aya. Have 2 daughters. Appeared since Gaki no Tsukai episode 2.

Hope those will help.
P.S: The reason for endo divorced is due to the rumour that Endo is very flirt but it is unconfirmed and i dare not say it’s true too. 8)
Edit note:
5 of them is friend since they are always in the show. Endo is the youngest among the 5 and Hamada is the oldest so the Junior and Senior relationship. Youngest respect the Older one and this is custom in Japan.

[quote="joker":13lpbvem]Let me start with matsumoto, he is a father with one daughter now, he is married on May 17, 2009. His wife is called Iraha and she is 19 years younger than Matsumoto. Matsumoto is Hamada childhood friend. They meet each other at primary 5 or 6. Hamada live in the same neighbourhood as Matsumoto.
Hamada, he is the leader and highest autorithy among the 5 and other Comedians in Yoshimoto Agency. Hamada join Yoshimoto first and later he invite Matsumoto to join the Agency. Hamada has a wife called Natsumi. Hamada has 2 children one is from some band which i forgot the name.
Endo, part of Cocorico duo with Tanaka. he is married to Chiaki on 2002 but divorced on 2007. Have one daughter called Iroha. Best friend to Tanaka since they live in the same neighborhood.
Tanaka, married to Shie Kohinata on 2003. Have 2 sons.
Yamazaki, married to Aya. Have 2 daughters. Appeared since Gaki no Tsukai episode 2.

Hope those will help.
P.S: The reason for endo divorced is due to the rumour that Endo is very flirt but it is unconfirmed and i dare not say it’s true too. 8)
Edit note:
5 of them is friend since they are always in the show. Endo is the youngest among the 5 and Hamada is the oldest so the Junior and Senior relationship. Youngest respect the Older one and this is custom in Japan.[/quote:13lpbvem]

Hamada’s son is in the Okamoto’s band :) (Okamoto’s Hama)

And I never saw Yamasaki in the 2nd episode of Gaki ô_ô

[quote="angelpick":1n8rusco][quote="joker":1n8rusco]Let me start with matsumoto, he is a father with one daughter now, he is married on May 17, 2009. His wife is called Iraha and she is 19 years younger than Matsumoto. Matsumoto is Hamada childhood friend. They meet each other at primary 5 or 6. Hamada live in the same neighbourhood as Matsumoto.
Hamada, he is the leader and highest autorithy among the 5 and other Comedians in Yoshimoto Agency. Hamada join Yoshimoto first and later he invite Matsumoto to join the Agency. Hamada has a wife called Natsumi. Hamada has 2 children one is from some band which i forgot the name.
Endo, part of Cocorico duo with Tanaka. he is married to Chiaki on 2002 but divorced on 2007. Have one daughter called Iroha. Best friend to Tanaka since they live in the same neighborhood.
Tanaka, married to Shie Kohinata on 2003. Have 2 sons.
Yamazaki, married to Aya. Have 2 daughters. Appeared since Gaki no Tsukai episode 2.

Hope those will help.
P.S: The reason for endo divorced is due to the rumour that Endo is very flirt but it is unconfirmed and i dare not say it’s true too. 8)
Edit note:
5 of them is friend since they are always in the show. Endo is the youngest among the 5 and Hamada is the oldest so the Junior and Senior relationship. Youngest respect the Older one and this is custom in Japan.[/quote:1n8rusco]

Hamada’s son is in the Okamoto’s band :) (Okamoto’s Hama)

And I never saw Yamasaki in the 2nd episode of Gaki ô_ô[/quote:1n8rusco]
from the goodbye yamazaki episode they keep saying that since 2nd episode of gaki 8)

Hey, thanks a lot :) I knew this hamada-endo thing has something to do with the traditions and the respectful behavior in japan, but i wasnt quite sure. Nice to know more about them, love to see people which keep the traditions alive. Is endo married again btw?
Oh forgot: Hwat about all the english words they use in some kind of english-japanese-mix; does japanese people really use these words too, cause there is no specific word for such in japan or is it just cause theyre used to english ^^

That’s interesting, I always assumed that Matsumoto was the oldest because Yamazaki commented on his age in the Hotel Batsu game, If you remember when they’re having noodles from just 1 bowl. :rofl:

But you’re right, Hamada is indeed the oldest and probably the most respected behind the scene at least.

[quote="[HCD] Velcra":3qm11itz]Hey, thanks a lot :) I knew this hamada-endo thing has something to do with the traditions and the respectful behavior in japan, but i wasnt quite sure. Nice to know more about them, love to see people which keep the traditions alive. Is endo married again btw?
Oh forgot: Hwat about all the english words they use in some kind of english-japanese-mix; does japanese people really use these words too, cause there is no specific word for such in japan or is it just cause theyre used to english ^[1]
Currently endo is seeing a new girlfriend. The trend of using english word to replace a japanese word has been rooted in japanese culture so it does not hurt them to use it once in a while

– 14.02.2012, 07:02 –

[quote="Naxel":3qm11itz]That’s interesting, I always assumed that Matsumoto was the oldest because Yamazaki commented on his age in the Hotel Batsu game, If you remember when they’re having noodles from just 1 bowl. :rofl:

But you’re right, Hamada is indeed the oldest and probably the most respected behind the scene at least.[/quote:3qm11itz]
Hamada born in May 11, 1963
Matsumoto born in September 8, 1963
They are in the same grade in primary school
Difference by 4 month 8)


  1. /quote:3qm11itz ↩︎

Wow, Tanka is goig out with Shie Kohinata … I always found Tanka to be an ugly b@stard but damn he’s one lucky ugly b@stard. :D

he’s not an "ugly b@stard" he’s freaking weird but he is cute, ok >_> I don’t like him but… F*, he’s cute for me anyway :P

Man, Tanaka sure is lucky! Sie Kohinata is super good woman, for me! :inlove:

Tanaka’s peculiar charm has earned him a lot of fangirls, at least outside Japan (myself included yep). Maybe Konihata can see it too :B

Joker’s post actually cleared up a lot of things for me (like the dynamic between Endo and Hamada), so thank you!

[quote="[HCD] Velcra":2latgg3f]Hey, thanks a lot :) I knew this hamada-endo thing has something to do with the traditions and the respectful behavior in japan, but i wasnt quite sure. Nice to know more about them, love to see people which keep the traditions alive. Is endo married again btw?
Oh forgot: Hwat about all the english words they use in some kind of english-japanese-mix; does japanese people really use these words too, cause there is no specific word for such in japan or is it just cause theyre used to english ^[1]

Pretty much every word written in Katakana ( the more straight, modern looking alphabet ) is in fact a foreign word, this goes for english, italian, french whatever. They used them for a long time now, especially since the US occcupation after WW2.


  1. /quote:2latgg3f ↩︎

Actually a lot of girls in Japan think Tanka is the cutest of the gaki members, i just…don’t see it. He’s tall, wierd, lanky, and has a face that looks like it was caved in by a shovel. and everytime he gets hit he reacts like such a wimp, they even made fun of Tanaka in the onsen batsu game for sounding wierd when he got hit.

Also, by watching several episodes, you can see some closer friendships than others. When they play the 500 questions, and some others, they mention that Hamada and Endou go drinking together at times, and that Yamazaki and Matsumoto go drinking together also. I’m not sure if only Hamada/Endo/Tanaka(?) and Matsumoto/Yamazaki/Tanaka(?) go out together in those groups, but it looks like, since when Matsumoto wonders what Hamada eats/drinks he always says something like "Endou, you go out with him, what does he like to eat?", as if he didn’t tag along. The same goes when Hamada doesn’t know something about Matsumoto, he asks the other members, for some reason.
It’s all on small fragments of the episodes, Yamazaki seems to know all of them a lot, while the duos Hamada/Matsumoto and Endou/Tanaka for some reason are not that familiar with each other.

Or at least that’s what I understood from watching.

– 22 Feb 2012, 09:50 –

[quote="Hidensetsu":1h5x39le]Also, by watching several episodes, you can see some closer friendships than others. When they play the 500 questions, and some others, they mention that Hamada and Endou go drinking together at times, and that Yamazaki and Matsumoto go drinking together also. I’m not sure if only Hamada/Endo/Tanaka(?) and Matsumoto/Yamazaki/Tanaka(?) go out together in those groups, but it looks like, since when Matsumoto wonders what Hamada eats/drinks he always says something like "Endou, you go out with him, what does he like to eat?", as if he didn’t tag along. The same goes when Hamada doesn’t know something about Matsumoto, he asks the other members, for some reason.
It’s all on small fragments of the episodes, Yamazaki seems to know all of them a lot, while the duos Hamada/Matsumoto and Endou/Tanaka for some reason are not that familiar with each other. (at least regarding recent events, not childhood stories)

Or at least that’s what I understood from watching.[/quote:1h5x39le]

I know a busload of women who think Tanaka is the cutest, including my wife. I think it has more to do with the fact that he is a little shy, plays the dumb one in the manzai act, and is kind of feminine. He’s not that bad looking on the whole, he’s just a little wimpy, which is what my friends like about him. They want to protect him.
Ever since the SL episodes, Endo has been my all around favourite. When I mention this to people, I am rebuked with an incredulous "Why?" Do I need a reason? No, but people know he’s a philanderer and in that typical Japanese way, they attribute his character traits to his fans. Now that I know he’s the youngest, it makes a lot of sense, because I am the youngest of 3 myself. When I watched SL, I liked him because he seemed the most bothered by the draw, but complained the least about it. I knew nothing about Chiaki and the other women at the time.
It’s so simple when I consider the age of the members. I always thought Yamazaki should be the most junior because he is a solo act, but the age order makes a lot more sense.

[quote="Hidensetsu":cgaq7p47]Also, by watching several episodes, you can see some closer friendships than others. When they play the 500 questions, and some others, they mention that Hamada and Endou go drinking together at times, and that Yamazaki and Matsumoto go drinking together also. I’m not sure if only Hamada/Endo/Tanaka(?) and Matsumoto/Yamazaki/Tanaka(?) go out together in those groups, but it looks like, since when Matsumoto wonders what Hamada eats/drinks he always says something like "Endou, you go out with him, what does he like to eat?", as if he didn’t tag along. The same goes when Hamada doesn’t know something about Matsumoto, he asks the other members, for some reason.
It’s all on small fragments of the episodes, Yamazaki seems to know all of them a lot, while the duos Hamada/Matsumoto and Endou/Tanaka for some reason are not that familiar with each other. (at least regarding recent events, not childhood stories)

Or at least that’s what I understood from watching.[/quote:cgaq7p47]

Hamada and Matsumoto are good friends but they do not see or speak to each other much outside of work. They have mentioned in the past how seeing each other at work is enough and they even mentioned how it is weird when they randomly meet each other outside of work. (same neighborhood They are how ever very close. I remember reading something about Matsumoto running to the hospital after Hamada had an accident.

I’ve just recently joined up here, but I lived in Japan from '01 to '03 and watched Gaki every Sunday night when I was there so I’m not exactly new to the show. Anyway, glad to have finally found a site of other fans of the show after a long hiatus of not being able to watch.

On topic though, I’m surprised nobody mentioned [url:26do34gs]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshimoto_Kogyo[/url:26do34gs] yet, which is the comedy troupe that all 5 members belong to. As has been mentioned earlier the sempai/kohai (senior/junior) relationship holds a lot of respect in Japan and this is why Endo, Tanaka, and Yamasaki all treat Hamada/Matsumoto with respect (most of the time). It’s also pretty common for groups to be paired up for TV shows over there. This is also why you’ll see other comedy teams and solo performers making guest appearances in the batsu game episdoes (Ameagari Kesshitai, Itao Itsuji, etc.) They all have the common relationship of being part of Yoshimoto which helps and there’s a lot of "cross promotion" among comedians. However, you can tell that with how long they’ve been on the air it’s more than just a mashing up of comedians to make a show. There’s certainly a great chemistry between the 5 of them that many other shows don’t have the luxury of having.

Watching Gaki is certainly one thing I miss about living in Japan but I’m psyched to have found a place with like minded people finally. All the contributors definitely kick ass for their hard work making this accessible for us all!

[quote="Hidensetsu":3hz8gwyu]Also, by watching several episodes, you can see some closer friendships than others. When they play the 500 questions, and some others, they mention that Hamada and Endou go drinking together at times, and that Yamazaki and Matsumoto go drinking together also. I’m not sure if only Hamada/Endo/Tanaka(?) and Matsumoto/Yamazaki/Tanaka(?) go out together in those groups, but it looks like, since when Matsumoto wonders what Hamada eats/drinks he always says something like "Endou, you go out with him, what does he like to eat?", as if he didn’t tag along. The same goes when Hamada doesn’t know something about Matsumoto, he asks the other members, for some reason.
It’s all on small fragments of the episodes, Yamazaki seems to know all of them a lot, while the duos Hamada/Matsumoto and Endou/Tanaka for some reason are not that familiar with each other.

Or at least that’s what I understood from watching.

– 22 Feb 2012, 09:50 –

[quote="Hidensetsu":3hz8gwyu]Also, by watching several episodes, you can see some closer friendships than others. When they play the 500 questions, and some others, they mention that Hamada and Endou go drinking together at times, and that Yamazaki and Matsumoto go drinking together also. I’m not sure if only Hamada/Endo/Tanaka(?) and Matsumoto/Yamazaki/Tanaka(?) go out together in those groups, but it looks like, since when Matsumoto wonders what Hamada eats/drinks he always says something like "Endou, you go out with him, what does he like to eat?", as if he didn’t tag along. The same goes when Hamada doesn’t know something about Matsumoto, he asks the other members, for some reason.
It’s all on small fragments of the episodes, Yamazaki seems to know all of them a lot, while the duos Hamada/Matsumoto and Endou/Tanaka for some reason are not that familiar with each other. (at least regarding recent events, not childhood stories)

Or at least that’s what I understood from watching.[/quote:3hz8gwyu][/quote:3hz8gwyu]

Matsumoto and Hamada definitely do not mix on anything but a professional level but I’ve never gotten that from Endo and Tanaka. Those guys weren’t just friends growing up, they were next door neighbors and I suspect had a much tighter friendship than Downtown growing up. It may be that they don’t mix a lot just because Endo is a hip, single guy and Tanaka is married and settled.

The pairings I’ve been really aware of are Matsumoto and Yamasaki then Hamada and Endo. The former seems to be a little less serious than the latter, which I think is a pretty deep friendship. The deepest bond between the 5 outside of their duos is probably Hamada and Endo. I could be wrong but this was always how I’ve heard it explained and everything seems to make sense.

[quote="CrotchBat":2jg7jrep]
Matsumoto and Hamada definitely do not mix on anything but a professional level but I’ve never gotten that from Endo and Tanaka. Those guys weren’t just friends growing up, they were next door neighbors and I suspect had a much tighter friendship than Downtown growing up. It may be that they don’t mix a lot just because Endo is a hip, single guy and Tanaka is married and settled.
[/quote:2jg7jrep]

Then again, you can see a lot of Downtown’s chemistry in their talks and specially in Momotaro’s drunken theater. They might have some problems/be taking each other for granted (for all the hours the spend together at work)/or even only giving the media the idea that they don’t like eachother in the present, but I’m sure they care deeply about each other. If you have a friend from childhood you might understand, sometimes the distance grows between your childhood friends, and you don’t know what they like in the present, but you know their essence, I mean, they really become like your siblings. :P

I believe the only reason why they don’t hang out outside of work is because what would they talk or joke about on TV, if they already laughed and joked about it the night before?

It would be like you were repeating yourself and fake laughing at the jokes.

I have a mate since childhood that I see occasionally but if we were to go out drinking with other people I hardly speak to him outside because if we did when he comes round mine the next time we won’t have anything to talk or laugh about because we may have done that already.

Though I am sure any one is the same. Remember those times or that time when you hanged out with your mate 24/7, by the end of it jokes become stale and you got nothing to talk about, because you were hanging out 24/7 so you both know what happened. lol

Yeah that my guess anyways and I think it makes more sense then wondering if they actually like each other or not. lol