Meet Meirin, the Japanese Sketch Duo Who Finds the Funny in Everyday Places

Who Is Meirin?

Meirin is a two-person sketch comedy act made up of Yamato Tamura and Takuma Omori, represented by the talent agency Production Jinrikisha. Both come from the city of Koka in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, and both were in the 30th class at School JCA, a comedy training school. In Japan this kind of comedy is called konto: scripted scenes with characters and a setting, closer to a sketch show than to stand-up.

Their official profile has a couple of details worth knowing. Among Tamura's listed hobbies: making the rounds of bakeries to try each shop's melon bread, a sweet bun topped with a crisp, cookie-like crust. Omori's bangs, meanwhile, double as a weather report: the profile lists reading the day's weather and humidity from how they curl as one of Omori's special skills.

What Their Comedy Is Like

As our editors see it, Meirin's sketches start in places almost anyone knows: a school race, an office, a hospital exam room, a birthday with a longtime partner, a study session the day before a test. A typical opening puts a fairly ordinary person, like a doctor, a team leader, or a friend cramming for the same test, across from a character whose sense of what's normal doesn't quite line up.

Most of the Meirin pieces you can watch on this site are two-person sketches, but there's also a solo piece in which you only ever hear one side of the conversation.

Where to Start

"The Hospital": A patient with a scrape from a bicycle fall arrives at the hospital convinced the end is near. It's a simple doctor-and-patient setup, and a good first watch if you want to get a feel for how the duo plays off each other.

"Cramming for the Driver's Test": Two friends study together the day before the written part of their driver's license exam, and one of them has shown up with a stack of homemade flash cards. If you've ever prepped for a permit test at the DMV, you'll recognize the setup.

"Marathon Day": Many Japanese schools hold a winter distance race, often called a "marathon," that the whole student body runs. In this one, a student out in front and going for first place has to deal with a classmate named Ishioka, who is never actually seen. Save this solo piece for after the two-person sketches to see a different side of the act.

Watch this one The School Distance Run A runner tries to stay in the lead while arguing with a classmate you can't see. 2:28 The New Coworker Routine office work becomes a physical struggle whenever the new coworker gets involved. 2:59 A Key for Your Birthday A birthday key has her picturing a whole new life together. 2:45 Lost in the Fashion District The stranger giving directions has a wild outfit and an even wilder way with words. 3:12 Cramming for the Driving Test A study buddy keeps reaching for memorized answers to common-sense questions. 2:45

We use AI as part of how we create our articles.

Subtitles on this video: AI translation from the Japanese.