Nishikawa trained to be a comedian under Kin Ishii, and became a student at Yoshimoto Shinkigeki (a comedy troupe run by Yoshimoto Kogyo) in 1964.

[1] In 1966, he formed a manzai duo with Yasushi Yokoyama, and rose to fame,[1] the pair eventually becoming one of the leaders of the manzai boom of the early 1980s.

[2] The pair won the Kamigata Manzai Grand Prize three times in 1970, 1977, and 1980.

[3] Nishikawa served in Japan's House of Councillors for three terms between 1986 and 2004 as an independent, representing the Osaka district.

They married in 1967 when she was a top actress in Yoshimoto Shinkigeki and he still an up-and-coming comedian.