Kasou Taisho, or All Japan Kasoh (Costume) Grand Prix, is a semi-annual televised contest in which amateur groups or individuals perform short skits which are rated by a panel of judges.
Many of the skits make extensive use of kurogo: stagehands dressed in all black to imply they are “invisible” to the audience while they move around props or actors on stage. This allows performers to create clever illusions and “fake” special effects, such as in the classic “Matrix Ping Pong” skit, which you can see above.
Having been on the air for more than 30 years, the show no doubt has an extensive library of short, funny video clips—or as we call it these days, internet crack. And finally figuring out that crack sells, Kasou Taisho has posted nearly 100 of their finest skits from over the years for your viewing pleasure on YouTube.
We hope you weren’t planning on doing anything productive over the next half hour…
The videos can be found in full on the Kasou Taisho YouTube channel, but we’ve posted a few of our favorite below for your convenient viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
▼ Stomach Mogul Skiing
▼ Steal the Mona Lisa!
▼ The Astonishing Karate Dojo
▼ And Then There Was a Mess
▼ Go! Off-road Car (my personal favorite)
▼ Whirlwind
▼ Steam Locomotive
▼ Underwater Scenery From the Goggles
▼ Salvador Dali
▼ Usain Bolt
▼ Penguin Panic
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