Yearly Archives: 2011

Multi-talented actor Hosokawa Toshiyuki died on Friday after injuring his head in a fall earlier in the week at his home in Tokyo. He was 70. Known for his cool image and for taking his craft very seriously, Hosokawa was a popular supporting actor on stage and TV and in movies. He is survived by a daughter from his failed marriage to actress Ogawa Mayumi (71). In 1974, he got remarried to former Takarazuka actress Fujimoto Norie.

A native of Fukuoka Prefecture, Hosokawa dropped out a student at Gakushuin University in 1964 to join the Bungakuza theatrical troupe. His best known stage success was the musical “Show Girl,” in which he co-starred with actress Kinomi Nana (64, photo right) for a 15-year run. Hosokawa’s popular screen roles include the hit 1994 NTV drama series “Ienakiko,” alongside child prodigy Adachi Yumi (29), and the 1997 comedy movie “Rajio no Jikan” (Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald). He also worked as a radio disc jockey and as a professor at Osaka University of Arts.

Kabuki star Nakamura Shido (38, photo left) may be on the verge of getting married again. Today’s issue of weekly magazine “Friday” includes a report on the actor and his girlfriend recently buying an engagement ring together. Reporters confronted Nakamura last night after a performance in Tokyo and he took the time to acknowledge his new relationship, removing his sunglasses for that extra bit of sincerity. The new love in his life is described as a 27-year-old “office lady,” who is a graduate of the prestigious Waseda University and has appeared as a model in fashion magazines. The couple, who are said to have met at a party last summer, are living together at Nakamura’s apartment in the Pacific Ocean town of Shonan, Kanagawa Prefecture.

After his February 2008 divorce from actress Takeuchi Yuko (30, with whom he has a 5-year-old son, Nakamura was romantically linked with a younger actress bombshell, Kuroki Meisa (22). He is currently appearing at Le Theatre Ginza, in a production that replaced the scheduled show starring troubled fellow kabuki “prince” Ichikawa Ebizo (33).

Welcome Back, Mrs. Darvish
In what’s most likely an attempt to get her career back on track before she ends up as the ex-Mrs. Darvish, talento Saeko (24, photo right) has filmed her first professional TV appearance in more than three years. Yesterday she did the PR for her role as “navigator” for the upcoming airing of Hollywood comedy flop “Due Date” on the CS Movie+ cable/satellite channel. The wife of Darvish Yu (24), the highest-paid player in Japanese baseball, hasn’t worked on TV since their November 2007 shotgun marriage, though she has appeared in magazines and done some fashion promotion.

The couple have two young sons but are currently in divorce negotiations. And the financial pie they’d be slicing up recently became much bigger. Earlier this month it was announced that the Nippon Ham Fighters star pitcher had received a hefty pay raise and will receive a whopping ¥500 million for the 2011 season. But the couple’s marital problems date back to last year, when the media speculated about rumors of his extramarital affairs and disagreements over their finances.

Popular acappella group Rag Fair formally announced on their website yesterday that they will be taking an indefinite break from performing from late March. The group’s six members, now in their tenth year as pros, plan to pursue solo careers after finishing a concert tour that will take in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka between February 19 and March 20.

Rag Fair formed in July 1999 while the members were all at Saitama University. There was growing interest in acappella in Japan at the time, and the group got their break following an appearance on a Fuji TV variety show hosted by the comedy group Neptune in 2001. “Hamonepu” – a combination of the Japanese for “harmony” and “Neptune” – was a segment where young singers competed in a knockout format. In June 2002, six months after they signed with a major record label, they released two singles, “Koi no Mileage” and “SheSide Story,” and saw them go to No.1 and No.2 on the Oricon charts. That success earned them a place on NHK’s popular “Kohaku Uta Gassen” concert at the end of 2002.

Nishina Akiko Remarries
Following yesterday’s wedding announcement by actor Nishina Masaki (28) and actress Takigawa Hanako (22) comes the news that Nishina’s mother has remarried. Nishina Akiko (57), herself the daughter of a kabuki actor, was married to popular actor Matsukata Hiroki (68) until their divorce in 1998. She raised their two children, who have also entered showbiz. So it is quite a change for her to tie the knot with a manager at a major advertising firm. He is also a divorcee with a grown son.

Japan’s First 3D Drama Series
A PR event was held in Tokyo yesterday for the country’s first 3D TV drama series. “Tokyo Control,” which focuses on the air traffic controllers who maintain order in the skies above the capital, will air on the Sukachan 3D169 cable/satellite channel from January 19. But perhaps in an indication of the experimental nature of 3D television or the show’s production costs, it will air every other Wednesday night. It stars Kawahara Ayako (39) and 3D veteran Tokito Saburo (52), who appeared in last year’s “The Last Message Umizaru,” the last in a series of action movies about the Japan Coast Guard. At yesterday’s event, Tokito joked, “I’ve established my position as the 3D actor guy. Using this opportunity, I’ve set up the Japan 3D Actors Association, with myself as the chairman!” He expressed his confidence in the new show by saying, “I think it’s even better than Avatar.”

Actor Nishina Masaki and actress Takigawa Hanako officially tied the knot yesterday, they announced on their blogs and by fax to the media. Nishina (28) is the eldest son of actor Matsukata Hiroki (68) and actress Nishina Akiko (57), while Takigawa (22) is the daughter of the late actor Achiha Shinsuke (1940-2007) and actress Takigawa Yumi (59). The younger couple’s relationship was first reported in January of last year when they traveled to Guam, and they announced their engagement back in October.

Yokozawa Takeshi (photo left), the man who created some of Japan’s best-loved comedy shows, died yesterday at a Tokyo hospital of pneumonia. He was 73. A native of Gunma Prefecture, he joined Fuji TV in 1962 after graduating from the prestigious Tokyo University. He worked in a variety of divisions before moving to TV production in 1974. In 1980, he was a leading force behind the show “The Manzai,” which led to a boom in the double act form of standup comedy that remains so prevalent to this day. He later went on to produce two legendary shows – “Oretachi Hyokinzoku,” which made superstars of Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (63, photo center, profile) and Akashiya Sanma (55, photo right, profile), and “Waratte Iitomo,” the vehicle for the comedy and hosting talents of Tamori (65, profile) which has been on the air every weekday afternoon for 28 years.

In 1990 Yokozawa also took on the post of president of Virgin Japan, and he quit Fuji TV in 1995 to become president of the Tokyo branch of Yoshimoto Kogyo (profile), the major talent agency that represents most of the top comedy acts in Japan. He also worked as a professor at Kamakura Womens University and as a media commentator.

The world of kabuki has lost one of its leading veterans. Nakamura Tomijuro V, designated a Living National Treasure, died at a Tokyo hospital on Monday night of cancer. He was 81. His final performance was at the Shimbashi Enbujo theater in Tokyo last November, during which his failing health forced him to drop out and enter hospital.

Real name Watanabe Hajime, he made his first stage appearance as Bando Tsurunosuke IV in 1943, and became popular through his collaborations with Nakamura Senjaku II (79). He took the Tomijuro stage name in 1972 and enjoyed a career that spanned not just kabuki but also TV (such as the 1974 NHK taiga drama Katsu Kaishu”) and movies, including “Gakko II.” He was designated by the government as a Living National Treasure in 1994 and in 2008 was officially recognized for his contributions to the arts.

In 1996, he married Masae (48), a former actress who was 33 years his junior. They had two children, with Tomijuro becoming a father at the ages of 69 and 74. He had been scheduled to perform alongside his son Takanosuke (11, photo right) from January 2. The young actor took to the stage yesterday, the day after his father passed away.

More than two years after setting off on his Earth Marathon, comedian Hazama Kanpei (61) arrived back on Japanese soil in the early hours of Tuesday. He has sailed the Pacific and Atlantic, and run across North America, Europe and Asia before sailing between China and Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu. About 2,500 fans braved the early morning cold and rain to join his wife Mitsuyo, his two grandchildren and the mayor of Fukuoka at the city’s marina to welcome home the popular comedian.

Up to Hazama’s arrival back in Japan, the combined distance he has covered is estimated at about 40,400km. He now faces the final challenge – running the last 620km across western Japan to his goal in Osaka, where he is scheduled to reach the Osaka Castle Hall on January 21. The momentous event will be televised live.

A New Year TV special showed Hazama in tears as he ran the final few kilometers through the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao. During his mammoth run across Eurasia, he was told that he was suffering from prostate cancer. But even that discovery only temporarily sidelined him and he spent several weeks undergoing treatment in the U.S. before getting back on the road in Turkmenistan last June.

NHK executives must be feeling very thankful to singer Kuwata Keisuke (54, photo). He is being given much of the credit for the decent TV audience ratings announced for “Kohaku Uta Gassen” on New Year’s Eve. The show managed an average rating of 42.5% for the second half, the third year in a row that it has stayed above the 40% mark. In 2009, the main attractions were rare appearances from Susan Boyle (49) and Yazawa Eikichi (61), while this time around it was recent developments in Kuwata’s personal life that drew many viewers. The show was his first public appearance in almost six months, during which time he has been in a battle with cancer. His performance of two songs, including his latest release, “Sore Ike Baby!!” drew even higher ratings in some parts of the country, 48.1% in Nagoya and 49.6% in Niigata. NHK also announced that they had a 40% increase in votes from viewers on the song contest.

Other attractions on the show were a live hookup with the Yokohama Stadium, where actor/singer Fukuyama Masaharu (41) had his ponytail ceremonially cut off. He grew his hair for the lead role in last year’s NHK taiga drama series “Ryomaden.” And there was the 34th appearance by veteran Wada Akiko (60), despite the fact that she suffered neck and back injuries in a car crash during final rehearsals for the show.

The big surprise news of the New Year was Hamasaki Ayumi’s Las Vegas wedding. Ayu (32) and Los Angeles-based Austrian actor Manuel Schwarz (30) tied the knot on New Year’s Day in a small chapel in the Nevada city. The couple met last August in L.A. when he was cast as her bridegroom in a promotional film for her song “Virgin Road.” Ayu wore a wedding dress when she performed the song on NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” on New Year’s Eve (photo left). She was less formally attired in a surprisingly candid shot released this week (photo right).

On New Year’s Day, the pair were spotted by reporters at Narita Airport on their way to the U.S. It wasn’t until the next day, Japan time, that Hamasaki’s fans learned of the Las Vegas chapel wedding via her online “Team Ayu” fan club. She referred to ‘Manny’ as her “Last Angel,” a reference to another of her songs.