Television personalities in Japan

"Tarento" redirects here. For the Italian municipality, seeTaranto.

Television personalitiesin Japan,known astarento(タレント,derived from Englishtalent)in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear inmass media in Japan,especially as panelists onvariety shows.During theGolden Age of Hollywood,bankable stars in the United States were described as "talents" and were distinguished from production crews, which were seen as having more technical than charismatic talents.

Careers

Tetsuko Kuroyanagihosts a daytimetalk showTetsuko's Room( triệt tử の bộ ốc, Tetsuko no Heya). This program, as of 2022, has been broadcast for 47 years and more than 11,000 times, repeatedly winning Guinness World Records.

Japanese television programs often feature these media personalities. Many, sometimes dozens at a time, are called in to take part in theseprime timeshows. Their participation in these programs varies greatly and includes performing, voicing opinions, mimicking fellow celebrities in a practice calledmonomane,taking part ingame shows,joking or just being present for the entire duration of the show (known as being part of the "gallery").

While it is very common fortarentoto appear in seriousJapanese television dramaor movies, they are distinguished from mainstream actors by the fact that, where an actor might go on variety television to advertise their latest venture,tarentooften appear on variety shows with no apparent promotional agenda outside of a personal one.

Often,tarento,whether men or women, have notoriously short career spans (around one or two years) and their earning capabilities are not as high as popularly imagined. The vast majority make just enough to maintain a middle-class lifestyle inTokyo,Japan's media capital. This is because their talent agencies take a majority share of their earnings for the appearances that they make on TV. Part of the money given up by thetarentois to pay for initial support the agencies gave them in terms of free housing, financial stipends, and promotion of that person. These cuts can sometimes be as much as 90%.However, their work achieves social prominence (and all the associated benefits) and a successfultarentocareer can be the launching point for a career as movieactoror evenpoliticalfigure.Tarentowho are unable to leverage their career into something larger sometimes slowly fade away into eventual obscurity.

Important considerations fortarentoinclude the degree to which their names are publicly known(Tri danh độ,chimeido),which is the Japanese equivalent of aQ Score,the degree to which they are generally liked by the public(Hảo cảm độ,kōkando),and the character or personality by which they are known (often just "chara").The distinction between the first two terms is an important one, as celebrities such asEgashira 2:50might be widely disliked by audiences and still make a living; being disliked is a part of their character.Additional elements of atarento's character may include their origins and other careers (e.g., author/illustratorLily Franky), intelligence (e.g.,Masaru Hamaguchi,a comedian who once misspelled his own name on a televised test), hobbies and skills (many female celebrities are known for how well or poorly they can cook, from the former members ofPink Ladyon the high end of the continuum torace queenYinlingon the low end) or appearance (many non-Japanese talents such asBobby Ologunuse their looks to this effect).The way by which a person becomestarentocan more often than not be categorized.

Types

Multi-tarento

Takeshi Kitano

Shoko Nakagawa

Celebrities that have established themselves or are/were active in another field within the industry are considered to be multi-tarento. These people usually come from a different background within the entertainment industry than just appearing on television programs. They then transition into becoming television personalities. Multi-tarento can be actors, musical artists, models, voice actors, directors or anyone known for their work within the industry. In the United States and European countries,Takeshi Kitanois recognized as a prominent director, but is still evaluated as a "multi-talent" in Japan and still appears on Japanesetalk showsin a humorous context. Other examples areIKKO,Shoko NakagawaandShinobu Sakagami.

Owarai tarento

Shōfukutei Tsurube II

Kōji Katō

'Owarai' is Japanese for laughter, or in this case a "comic talent".Owarai tarentoare generally former comedians, often inmanzai(type of stand up), who, after becoming famous, make appearances onvariety televisionprograms that are comedic in nature.

Owarai tarento have different genres and cast-types on television programs. In variety shows, they are generally cast to create comedic effect and to keep conversation flowing. Some owarai tarento become MCs (Masters of Ceremony) in later stages of their career, where they direct the flow of a program and often the most important individuals for the show. The MCs are usually those with exceptional conversational abilities and reaction, as they hold an important role. Examples areShinya Ueda,Sanma Akashiya,Shōfukutei Tsurube IIandGeorge Tokoro.

Seelist of Japanese comedians.

Nepotic tarento

Kotaro Koizumi

Sometimes, Tarento are given prominent air time on TV and are promoted heavily due to their association or relationship to an established celebrity or politician, and not because they possess any discernible skills for entertaining audiences. One of the bigger examples of this phenomenon isKazushige Nagashima,the son of the legendaryYomiuri Giantsplayer and managerShigeo Nagashima.After failing to become a successful baseball player, he turned to the entertainment circuit and used his father's name to make inroads. The son of controversialTokyogovernorShintaro Ishihara,Yoshizumi Ishihara,has also achieved a measure of exposure due tonepotismas well asKotaro Koizumi,son of former Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi.

Athlete tarento

Sō Takei

Reiko Shiota

These are usually former athletes who flourished as sportspeople and have retired to become a tarento in the entertainment industry. Due to their achievements as athletes in their respective sports, they garner a good deal of attention and often become successful television personalities. Athlete tarento can be active athletes as well, although most often they do not enter the entertainment industry until after retirement. Examples areMasakiyo Maezono,Karina Maruyama,So Takei,Konishiki Yasokichi,andSaori Yoshida.

Gimmicked tarento

These are people on programs that have a "trademarked" phrase, wardrobe, or mannerism that is used to elicit laughs from the audience. Their on-TV characters tend to be very shallow as they milk the comic device orneta(ネタ) that gave them notoriety and hardly ever expand on their character. It is these figures that tend to have the shortest shelf life on TV as they quickly fade into obscurity after the novelty of their act wears off. They are known in Japan asippatsuya( nhất phát ốc ), or "one trick ponies".Examples areYoshio Kojima,Dandy Sakano,andRazor Ramon Hard Gay.

Idol tarento

Additionally, Tarento, both male and female, may be discovered and be given considerable exposure due to their perceived physical beauty and endowments, but the way they are promoted is different from being strictly a fashion model. This is because they spend time making music CDs,star vehicles,and television appearances that capitalize on their physical beauty or on-screen charisma. These people are occasionally referred to asobaka-aidoruor "dumb idols". Many of the men that fall into this category come fromJohnny & Associates,a male talent agency.

Gaijin tarento

Agaikokujin tarento(Ngoại quốc nhân タレント),also known asgaijin tarento(Ngoại nhân タレント)and abbreviatedgaitare,is a foreign celebrity active exclusively or almost exclusively in Japan. The phrase literally means "foreign talent". Having at least a conversational level Japanese, combined with foreign looks as well as a standout personality, they are often chosen because they meet the Japanese stereotypes of foreigners (for example, the notion that Americans generally look rugged and have blond hair and blue eyes).Gaikokujin tarentoare seen as curiosities by the Japanese, just as othertarento,and are cast differently depending on their ethnicities. In the 1991 documentary "The Japanese Version", veteran foreign personality,Dave Spector,stated, "[I'm] doing things like the lowest bozo, circus kind of stuff. But it doesn't bother me at all. A lot of times the foreigners on TV, models and what-not, are compared to pandas. They use that term here—pandas—because they're cuddly, you can go and have fun with them, and throw a marshmallow and that's about it. And you don't get involved any deeper than that. But... since I'm making half a million dollars a year, I'm very happy to be a panda."

Gaijin tarento largely inspire interest in the Japanese viewer due to their use of the Japanese language, a feat considered especially remarkable by the Japanese. Native Japanese speakers consider their language to be especially difficult to learn due to the depth of ritual expressions, methods of referring to the self and others, and indirect and empathetic speech. These skills are viewed as unlikely and impressive in a non-native Japanese speaker. Thus the main attraction of gaijin tarento is not their talent or fame but their clown-like clumsy use of the Japanese language, which serves to further define the Japanese as 'those who can speak Japanese'. Gaijin tarento is overall an objectification of foreigners that reinforces the separateness, uniqueness, and specialness of "Japaneseness".

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  Dave Spector
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  Patrick Harlan
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  Marty Friedman
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  Bob Sapp

Maintaining relevance

Occasionally, people will become tarento as a result of a directional shift in their career due to a loss of popularity and relevance in their original field. It is especially common for musicians to become tarento due to the tremendous turnover in acts that are featured by record labels. Some examples includeKiriko Isono,who debuted as part of a singing trio and made a name for herself based on a rapid wit and willingness to put herself down for a laugh;Mari Yaguchi,the third leader of Morning Musume who left the group in 2005 due to a scandal but has continued to appear on variety shows andJapanese television dramasince leaving;the lateAi Iijima,a formerporn starlet;andYūsuke Santamaria,who fronted several bands before moving into acting and being a tarento. Fashion modeling can also provide an entry path, with such examples as Rinka andAya Sugimoto.

See also

• Model
• Talent scout
• Talent show
• Talent manager