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Matsumoto Hitoshi on the left, Hamada Masatoshi on the right In 1982, he and Matsumoto entered Yoshimoto Kōgyō, to become a comedy duo. Not knowing what to do after graduating, he took an exam to become a motorboat racer at his father's suggestion, which he failed. Whenever he ran away, he would phone Matsumoto for financial help. As a freshman, he found his studies so stressful that he ran away from the dormitory several times. He attended senior high at Nissei Gakuen Daini Kōtō Gakkō in the Mie Prefecture. He claims his family was well-off in Osaka, until his father's acquaintance got them involved in his own private debt with the yakuza. Like Matsumoto, his family was very poor and lived in an old, run-down apartment building.
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He and Matsumoto did not become friends until junior high. There, he attended Ushio Elementary School and met Matsumoto Hitoshi. In fifth grade, his family moved to Hyōgo Prefecture where his father opened a paint store. Hamada was born in Osaka to Kengoro and Nobuko Hamada.
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