In 1985, while attending the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, Kiyotaka was in the same class as Uchimura, Tetsurō Degawa and Masato Irie.
He decided to perform with Uchimura as a manzai duo and was given the name "Utchan, Nanchan" by his teacher, Keiko Utsumi.
In 1992 Utchan Nanchan won the Japanese Academy Award for "Best New Actors" for their role in the movie Cult Seven (七人のおたく).
Nanbara had his first job as host in the puroresu and mixed martial arts variety show Ring Soul, which lasted from April 1994 to March 2000 in Asahi TV.
On the 1998 television program The Real Side of Un'nan (in the episode broadcast on October 28, 1998 on TBS Television), personalities claiming to have experienced the Mariko Aoki phenomenon—including Nanbara, Maako Kido, Seiko Ito and Keisuke Horibe - carried out extensive tests that also featured experts.