Are all 5 members calling each other by their last names?

Watching the Spy batsu I noticed when being introduced to the boss that he was asking for first names, and Hamada said Masatoshi. So are the first names actually reversed? Like, if in Japan I was introduced to my Japanese girlfriend’s mother then she would know me by what I understand my last name to be here in America? Like if my name was John Smith, then she would know me as Smith rather than John? I have noticed in all the batsus they always call each other Yamasaki, Endo, Tanaka, Hamada, and Matsumoto (Yamasaki Outo!)… so are they calling each other by what we understand in the States to be last names?

Yes, from what I understand they always use their last name. Unless their really close, You don’t see Hamada call Matsumoto by his first name very often, it’s quite rare. But yes, it’s their last names.

Names are reversed in Japanese as a matter of course. So Japanese names always begin with a family name. Calling someone by their first name is a sign of close familiarity, and while certain members of gakitsuka are very familiar with each other, the audience themselves aren’t exactly going to identify with the comedians by their first names. Just like you wouldn’t call Brad Pitt "Brad" if you weren’t acquainted. In Japanese, formality is just more strict in language than in English.
Also, for geinoujin (or performers), their name is like an identifier. Chiaki (Endou’s ex-wife) is actually a first name (her family name is Fujimoto), but that is her character name. As for the five members of gakitsuka, they use their last names as their stage name, and if people share the same family name on the same show, then they will be referred to in wider context (i.e. Cocorico no Tanaka (Cocorico’s Tanaka) or Downtown no Hamada (Downtown’s Hamada)).

There are numerous reasons why they don’t use first names, but the main one would be that it just doesn’t seem right. Compare:
"With me in the studio, I have Brad Pitt, recently off the set from his latest movie. Mr Pitt, how do you consider your role in this movie to…etc."
‘Mr Pitt’ is too formal now they have been introduced, I think.

"Joining us today is Yamasaki Housei from Downtown Gaki no Tsukai ya arahende! Yamasaki-san, did Chouno’s slap hurt worse this year…etc."
The interviewer would be waaaaaaaaaaay too friendly if he/she referred to him as Housei, or even Housei-san.

Hard to explain, but that’s the way it is.

I’m sure many more people can elaborate better and more fluently than myself, and in a much less convoluted fashion.

Hope this helps though…

The short answer is yes, in Japanese culture your name would be Smith John and people would refer to you as Smith-san. The long answer is a bit more complicated as you delve further into the Japanese culture. In Japan there is a strict social structure with elders being revered much more then here in the USA. Which is why some of the skits they have done involving an elder and a younger person berating that elder are so amusing as this is against the social norm. Also there are some instances of the younger comics speaking informally to the elder comics which I can remember Endo speaking to Hamada in an informal fashion which Matsumoto catches him on and points it out during the demon tag in spy batsu. I don’t think Hamada really minded from his facial expression since the 5 are in fact so close but they still put up the correct social appearance of respecting their elders throughout most of the shows. So When Hamada says Masatoshi or when he occassionally refers to Yamasaki as Hosei-san, this would be much more acceptable since he is his elder and yes Hosei would be his given name (first name) and Yamasaki his family name (last name).

Edit: To sum up to use someones given name in Japanese society is reserved for people who are really close to each other. Now you may be thinking these 5 must be close friends, which I’m sure they are. But since they are representing their culture on national television they uphold the social status and refer to each other in the formal sense of using the last name usually followed by the honorifice -san.

Then there are the honorifices (the -san -chan, etc… included following someones name) in Japanese society where Wikipedia has a nice article that explains them very well and in depth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics

Thanks for the explanations. It is just odd now to think of their first names backwards than what I am accustomed to knowing them by.

[quote="zamardii12":1em9wgv6]Like, if in Japan I was introduced to my Japanese girlfriend’s mother then she would know me by what I understand my last name to be here in America? Like if my name was John Smith, then she would know me as Smith rather than John?[/quote:1em9wgv6]

You would introduce yourself using the name format of your own country/culture. So you would introduce yourself as "John Smith" to your girlfriend’s mother. However, depending on the person, the mother may then refer to you as "John" or "Smith" depending on her sense of formality and awareness of foreign naming conventions. Or, if you have a strong preference one way or the other, you could introduce yourself as just "John" or "Smith".

It’s funny how some Japanese regard the first-name-first order as a sign of fame because it’s how you are called by the Hollywood and in turn the whole western world (like Ken Watanabe instead of Watanabe Ken).

So what’s with Tanaka and other comedians calling juniors ‘Keishi Gomu’? (eraser corner)

This is obvious in the episodes from March and June of last year, the ‘tanaka snaps’ episodes. He calls Licence that all the time. I’ve heard other comedians doing it on GNT as well.

[quote="dael":2qn2iqua]So what’s with Tanaka and other comedians calling juniors ‘Keishi Gomu’? (eraser corner)

This is obvious in the episodes from March and June of last year, the ‘tanaka snaps’ episodes. He calls Licence that all the time. I’ve heard other comedians doing it on GNT as well.[/quote:2qn2iqua]

Maybe its "Keshigomu". Wikipedia says its base meaning is eraser but also can apparently refer to collectable figures made from eraser rubber [url=http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3526/3225467855_20ed0a37b4_z.jpg:2qn2iqua]like these[/url:2qn2iqua]. There is probably something else in the sentence when they say "keshigomu" that elaborates on why they’re saying it. Maybe they are describing a particular type of keshigomu? Or something about molding them like a keshigomu figure? Or if its just in relation to the word eraser then maybe its something like this Japanese proverb? Which could relate to a junior if they are making amateur mistakes still?

[quote:2qn2iqua]
誰にでもまちがいはある、だからエンピツにも消しゴムがついている。

“Dare ni demo machigai wa aru dakara empitsu ni mo keshigomu ga tsuite iru.”

Everyone makes mistakes.That’s why there is an eraser on every pencil.[/quote:2qn2iqua]
Source: http://tuancom.wordpress.com/category/japanese/

I guess someone who knows Japanese would have to hear the whole line in GnT to get the context.

Thanks for the insight! It’s just so consistent I’ve been wondering. I bet it is keshigomu.