To laugh or not to laugh. That is the question.

Preparations for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo have been really coming down to the wire, and only within mere days of the event’s opening have we really begun seeing what’s going on inside. The expo will hold dozens of national pavilions, along with several ones by corporations that have ties to Osaka, like Sumitomo, Sushiro, and Panasonic.

But there is perhaps no more symbolic corporation of the Kansai region than Yoshimoto Kogyo. This is the nation’s largest comedy-oriented talent agency and production company and shares its roots with Osaka’s thriving comedy scene centering on manzai comedy duo acts.

▼ The main stage of the pavilion

Knowing that, you’d probably expect a lot of goofiness and slapstick at the Yoshimoto pavilion, and there will be some of that, but the overarching theme of this area seems to be surprisingly deep, questioning the nature of existence and the debate that free will is but an illusion. These existential displays can be found inside the giant orb that resembles the Yoshimoto logo.

It’s called Tamah and upon entry, you’ll most likely be greeted by a statue of a giant leek. The innocence and occasional comedic use of leeks belies that subtle sense of unease that comes with seeing one so large and out of place. This in turn makes us question the perceptions of “normal” that we take for granted and our innate urge to make sense of that which may never make sense.

▼ This work is titled “A Leek in Question.”

Moving along, you’ll encounter the Arcade. This nostalgic row of game cabinets will draw you in, only to reveal that features such as coin slots and controls are either gone or not where they “should” be. Whether or not it’s actually possible to play the games is unclear, but it’s meant to make us ponder whether we’re ever truly in control of anything.

You’ll also find the Giant Button. What happens when the button is pressed is unknown, but it’s less about that and more about that transient chaotic moment between expectation and choice, between judgment and action, just before meaning is brought into existence.

More buttons can be found in the Drip Drop exhibit. Here you can only press one of the two buttons which will make a word or something like one drop down and get sucked up into the ground. There’s no way of knowing what would have happened if you pushed the other button or if your “choice” even mattered at all.

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with comedy, but subverting our expectations of what is and what should be is often at the heart of humor. This can be seen in the fact that all this is inside a giant smiling head as if you’re entering the blend of innocence, absurdity, and nihilism that’s in the mind of a comedian.

The Yoshimoto pavilion isn’t all this heady either. There’s also a space called Ikoi with tatami mats and floral arrangements to just chill out in for a while. At different times traditional and modern Japanese games like kendama, daruma drop, and office chair racing can also be played here.

Naturally, you can expect comedic performances here as well. The first show scheduled is Nandeyanen, named after an Osakan dialect exclamation that translates to something like “Oh, come on!” or “What the hell?” in that it can be used in a wide range of situations, both negative and positive.

Language barriers can be a problem in such an international event, but there will also be daily performances which have no dialog and rely on facial expressions alone to tell the story. A traditional Bon Odori dance will be held too, but given a modern twist with the addition of karaoke.

A Yoshimoto-signed talent will also be at the pavilion every day to act as host, and since nearly every comedian in Japan along with quite a few musicians and actors belong to this company, there’s a fair chance you could see some big Japanese celebrities there.

Even if you can’t make it to the pavilion or even the Expo, anyone can take a piece of it with them in the form of a gigantic AR leek.

By downloading the FANY app, you can plant a green onion like the one created by pavilion art director Masaru Ozaki anywhere you like. Use it to challenge your own reality either at the Osaka-Kansai Expo or in the comfort of your own home.

Source, images: PR Times
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