Sandwichman is a Japanese comedy duo, or owarai kombi, consisting of Mikio Date and Takeshi Tomizawa from the agency Grape Company. Both are from Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region, and the duo was formed in September 1998. The pair won the M-1 Grand Prix in 2007 and were runners-up in the King of Conte in 2009. They are also known as hosts, and are widely popular in Japan for their manzai and for their continued support of disaster-stricken areas after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Early career
Date and Tomizawa met at the rugby club of Sendai Commercial High School, a boys' school with a strict hierarchy. After school, Date worked for a maker of nursing care products, while Tomizawa worked part-time and pursued comedy. Tomizawa spent about five years persuading Date to join him as a comedian. They finally formed a duo and moved to Tokyo in 1998. They first used other names and then formed a trio called Sandwich Man with Tsutomu Hamada, whose slim frame between the larger pair inspired the name. Hamada left after a year, and the two continued as a duo.
Rise to fame
For years the pair received little recognition and lived together in a small apartment, supporting themselves with part-time jobs. They gained wider attention around 2005 on a Nippon TV comedy program. On December 23, 2007, they won the M-1 Grand Prix and quickly became among the most successful comedians in Japan. They have remained connected to Sendai, hosting a radio program there from 2007 and giving priority to work in their hometown even after receiving many offers in Tokyo.
Response to 2011 disaster
The pair were filming in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, when the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck, and they escaped by climbing a nearby mountain. Soon after, they opened a donation account that collected about 300 million yen within about six weeks. They have since visited evacuation centers, sold charity T-shirts, held charity concerts and delivered donations to affected prefectures. By March 2022 cumulative donations exceeded 500 million yen.