The Passing of 3 Entertainers

By Masakazu HOSODA

Photo: Kyodo News Three big-name entertainers many of whom may have previ- who had been at the forefront of ously found it uninteresting. He show business in postwar Japan liked to crack self-deprecating passed away in succession last jokes about his handsome looks, autumn. The three men had risen calling himself “Le Petit Prince.” to stardom in music, rakugo Morishige, who died at 96 in (comic storytelling) and early November, was indeed the cinema/theater as well as on tele- king of showbiz and dominated vision. They died in different all areas of entertainment in ways: pop idol Kazuhiko Kato postwar Japan. He was a committed suicide, rakugo mas- unique person in the showbiz ter Sanyutei Enraku succumbed world in that he started out as a to cancer and stage big gun comedian despite his intellectu- Hisaya Morishige died peacefully al background. of old age. But from what they He shot to stardom in 1955 by had achieved, we can clearly starring in the movie “Meoto read a vicissitude of Japanese Zenzai,” a human drama in showbiz in the past half century. which he played with a poetic Kato, 62, was found dead at a touch a spoiled son from a rich hotel in the mountain resort of merchant family in Osaka. He Karuizawa, central Japan, on also appeared in the “Shacho” October 17. He hanged himself (company president) series, after leaving a note apparently which caricatured Japan’s cor- meant to be his will, which led porate culture and moved the police to believe that he commit- general public to laughter by ted suicide from unknown depicting the meanness that motives. Cinema/stage king Hisaya Morishige expresses his joy after permeated Japanese society being nominated the showbiz world’s first winner of the Kato was the real leader of prestigious Order of Culture in October 1991. during the period of rapid eco- Japan’s pop music that devel- nomic growth around the 1960s. oped on the crest of a big wave of counterculture in Morishige then suddenly transformed himself into a Europe and America. In contrast to other folk singers of serious stage actor, appearing in the musical “Fiddler on his generation who favored political songs in admiration the Roof” by taking advantage of his characteristic of Bob Dylan, Kato was in a way a born musician who singing technique. He set a performance record of play- adored John Lennon and Donovan, putting Japanese- ing the role of protagonist Tevye 900 times since 1967. language lyrics on the rhythm of folk rock by fully utilizing His activities were not limited to the stage and his outstanding sense of composition and arrangement. screen. He played key roles in TV home dramas, recit- The Sadistic Mika Band he led was perhaps the greatest ed stories on the radio, composed and sang songs, Japanese rock band that succeeded abroad. and wrote essays. He did a first-rate job in every area Enraku, who died at age 76 in late October, started his of entertainment. career from the Japanese-style small vaudeville theater Japanese people made a remarkable comeback after called yose and greatly contributed to making rakugo a their defeat in World War II in 1945, rebuilt their country big hit in the new media of television. Before retiring in from ruins under the strong influence of America and 2005 due to illness, he served for more than 20 years as developed a mass-consumption society through high the host of the long-running popular TV talk show economic growth. They then experienced the economic “Shoten” (literally “point of laughter”) featuring a small bubble era, surviving the post-bubble recession and number of popular rakugo artists that aired every Sunday enjoying the benefits of the IT revolution. The three enter- evening. Enraku was a superb performer at the yose tainers’ deaths remind us of the fact that the richness of theater, where rakugo connoisseurs listen to the art of sit- Japan’s pop culture upheld the sensitivities of generations down solo comic storytelling in a sedate atmosphere. On of Japanese people who helped rebuild the country. the other hand, he made the “Shoten” talk show a popu- lar TV program and familiarized viewers with rakugo, Masazaku Hosoda is chief editor, Cultural News Section, Kyodo News.

54 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT ¥ January / February 2010