Hōsei Tsukitei

He greatly enjoys singing karaoke and has participated in a number of televised contests, most notably winning first place in the 15th Comedian Karaoke King competition. On other programs he has also parodied many music artists such as Gackt, Exile and V6.

Hōsei's tearful marriage was broadcast on Gaki no Tsukai in 2001. Aya Yamazaki would later feature in an episode highlighting her quirky answers to various questions. He has two daughters named Rara and Momo. On September 8, 2012 his son Tenma was born, Hōsei has noted how his birthday matches Hitoshi Matsumoto.

In 2008 Hōsei turned 40 and with the sense that he was going through the motions coupled with the public's dwindling reception he was feeling at a loss. After seeking advice from Higashino Koji, Hōsei began to listen to performer Shijaku Katsura II, which sparked a passion for rakugo. He began practising alone for around six months before approaching rakugo performer Tsukitei Hachimitsu who introduced him to his father, rakugo master Tsukitei Happo. Happo gave him the chance to perform the comical story Amida Pond (阿弥陀池) for an audience on 11 May 2008 then invited him to a nomikai where Hōsei requested an apprenticeship. Happo accepted and thereafter mentored Hōsei for 5 years before submitting an application for him to officially join rakugo society. However, at first there was some reluctance from the governing board as a large part of his prior experience was unrelated to rakugo. Tsukitei Happo appealed the decision and he was permitted to graduate, whereupon he adopted the title Tsukitei Hōsei from 2013 onwards. He later published a book titled "Why I Became a Rakugo".

Frequently Hōsei impersonates women such as the many popstars of the Shōwa period, or acts in the role of fictional female characters such as the bride at a wedding. In 2008 he won 6th place in a "Who is the most beautiful transvestite in showbiz" contest. When Masatoshi Hamada was chosen to cross-dress in the Gaki no Tsukai No Laughing series, he commented that, "Yamazaki should do this."

Every year since 2007 during the No Laughing New Years Specials, Yamasaki inevitably comes face to face with an irate Masahiro Chono; a pro-wrestler, and is slapped.

Between 2003–2005 he frequently appeared on Ametalk, establishing a weekly segment where Ameagari Kesshitai would intrude upon him whilst strangely dressed, leading to a comical confrontation with Hiroyuki Miyasako that would inevitably lead to Hōsei's defeat. From 2005 onward he appeared more infrequently as a talk show guest.

Composing is another hobby of his, an aspect heavily utilized within the Yamasaki Produce segments of Gaki no Tsukai, where he creates both the music and lyrics for various songs which the rest of the cast must perform. Outside of this series, he also composed tracks for the debut single of AiAi in 2002.

As a solo comedian, Hōsei flits between various regular and irregular appearances on variety shows. From 2000 he co-hosted an MBS internet radio talk show called K'zStation Ore-tachi Yattemasu (K'zStationオレたちやってま〜す), mentioning it as one of his only regular sources of work on Gaki no Tsukai's No Laughing series in 2006.

At one time Hōsei studied English for two years. In 1999, Imada Koji mentioned that he, Ameagari Kesshitai and a junior visited Hōsei's home for English conversation practise. He has also chosen to sing the occasional song in English, such as Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by The Platters which got a passing score in a karaoke contest. However the full extent of his present-day English proficiency is unknown.

Hōsei has a keen interest in various aspects of music and plays the piano as a hobby. In 1996, he obliged a viewer who wrote into the Downtown Kazaana show requesting him to perform a piano piece. Later, in 1999, Downtown would challenge him to perform a piano concert late at night while being terrorized by jump scares. In 2011 Hōsei successfully completed a challenge to perform Étude Op. 10, No. 3 by Chopin on a miniature toy piano.

In addition to his regular appearances on Downtown's shows such as Gaki no Tsukai and Downtown Kazaana, in 1994 Hōsei also became a regular on Tenshi no U・B・U・G, a late night show hosted by Imada Koji and Higashino Koji. Initially he received much attention for his young appearance, however as his role in comedy gradually cemented towards being the hetare (へたれ, hopeless) suberi-kyara, his public image quickly changed. Work began to dry up and Hōsei considered quitting comedy until he was amused by an episode of Mutsugoro & Fun Friends, where a little Pug dog barked loudly and hopelessly confronted a large St. Bernard. Taking the underdog as inspiration he tried raising his voice and taking on comically hopeless confrontations, as seen in his ijime-kyara role, which brought in more work offers.

Their efforts won them the Best Newcomer Award at ABC's 12th Rookie Comedian Grand Prix on January 15, 1991. However, Hōsei's comedy partner Hiromitsu Noriyasu found a passion for film directing and by the end of September 1993, Team Zero decided to part ways towards their solo careers.

In 1989, Hōsei and Hiromitsu Noriyasu made the move to Tokyo and renamed themselves as Team Zero (チーム0), appearing on the nationwide DAY BREAK show.

After graduating from high school, Hōsei joined Yoshimoto Kogyo's 6th NSC (New Star Creation) Osaka-based school group in April 1987. In 1988 he teamed up with Hiromitsu Noriyasu to form the owarai duo GSX (ガスペケ) who performed at the Yoshimoto-run Shinsaibashi Ni-chōme (心斎橋筋2丁目) theater alongside many other recruits and graduates, such as Downtown, Itsuji Itao, Koji Higashino and Koji Imada.

Hōsei Tsukitei (月亭 方正, Tsukitei Hōsei), formerly known as Hōsei Yamasaki (山崎 邦正, Yamasaki Hōsei, born February 15, 1968) is a Japanese solo comedian and rakugo performer, signed with Yoshimoto Kogyo. He is best known for being one of the five members (and the only solo comedian) of Downtown Gaki no Tsukai's regular cast. His role on the show is usually divided up between the suberi-kyara and the ijime-kyara.