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MATSUMOTO is a self-proclaimed hyoi-geinin . Hyoi means spiritual possession, and geinin means entertainer. This term is said to have been invented by Matsumoto, and it refers to entertainers who can take on a personality completely different from their own when on stage or in front of a camera. Hyoi-geinin tend to be shy and uncomfortable with revealing their true character and find it hard to perform without hiding behind an outrageous personality or appearance.

In 1983, MATSUMOTO made his debut as a comedy duo teaming up with Masatoshi Hamada to form DOWNTOWN. Since 1990, he has made innovations not only in the comedic world, but also in the general entertainment arena through his creation of a new definition of humor. His aggressive comedy style with striking originality has attracted musicians, performers, writers and many famous people in different artistic fields.

In 1990, while he continued doing team projects, he started his own live comedy skit. He charged a relatively high admission fee of 10,000 yen, but he came up with the unique idea of letting audiences evaluate his performance after the show as well decide the ticket price. He called this method a pay later system. Since then, he is constantly creating new comedy routines and ideas.

In 1998, he published VISUALBUM, a collection of high quality comedy routines. His next film, SYMBOL, which he also wrote, directed and starred in, is currently in post-production.