[1] The family custom, however, was to have the younger sons adopted by related families, so Furukawa was adopted by his father's sister and her husband, Furukawa Taketarō.

[1] He began attending Waseda University, but left before graduating in order to become a film critic and magazine editor.

He was quite skilled at voice impersonation and eventually decided to become a professional comedian, forming in 1933 the comedy troupe "Warai no Tengoku" (Laughter Heaven) with Musei Tokugawa.

[1] He joined Toho in 1935 and, starring in stage revues and films, became nearly as popular as the other prewar comedic great, Ken'ichi Enomoto.

After the war, his career went into decline as he began to suffer from various ailments, but he remained popular on radio.