Kendo Kobayashi

If you only know Japanese comedy through its biggest exports, Kendo Kobayashi is the one you're missing. Born in Osaka in 1972, real name Tomoharu Kobayashi, he built his career inside Yoshimoto — but not by dominating the stage. His specialty is the sideline: he sits on a panel, waits, drops one dry line, and quietly walks off with the entire room. That is far harder than it looks. It requires being the most alert person present while appearing to be the least invested. He is also gloriously, unapologetically niche — combat sports, pro wrestling, manga, and the sort of material Japanese television usually keeps at arm's length, all delivered at exactly the same unbothered volume. The nickname Mr. Yaritai Hōdai, roughly Mr. Does Whatever He Wants, sounds like a joke about him. Watching him work, I think it's closer to a career strategy.

Name (English)

Kendo Kobayashi

Name (Japanese)

ケンドーコバヤシ

Reading

けんどーこばやし

Born

July 4, 1972 (age 54)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Rat

Origin

Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Height

172 cm

Occupation

actor / seiyū / owarai tarento

Motto

Private

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/manman_kobakoba/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%A4%E3%82%B7

Tags

• Osaka Prefecture
• actor
• seiyū
• owarai tarento

Last updated

2026-07-26

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.