Behind the Scenes of the Kohaku Uta Gassen, Yuzo Kayama and Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Tell the Untold Story of the “Gaffe Incident” that Remains in the History of the Kohaku Uta Gassen

NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen will be held for the 73rd time on New Year’s Eve in 2022, so let’s take a look at some of the happenings from the past Kohaku. First, let’s look at the host of the event.

Yuzo Kayama’s “Masked Rider” incident and President Kitagawa’s thoughtful follow-up

One of the most well-known mistakes made by a presenter is Yuzo K ayama’s “Masked Rider” incident in 1986. In 1986, when Yuzo Kayama hosted Kohaku for the first time, he introduced the song “Masked Ball” as “Masked Rider” when Shonen-tai, who were making their first appearance, appeared on stage as the top batter.

Before the performance, Kayama said that he had repeatedly said to the staff, “Masked Ball, not Masked Rider,” so as not to make a mistake from the top. However, when it came time for the performance, he suddenly and unexpectedly said, “Masked Rider! He was so surprised that he did not realize that he had just said “Masked Rider!

After the show, Johnny Kitagawa, president of the Johnny’s office to which the Shonen-tai belonged, is said to have taken the opposite tack and encouraged the newcomers, saying, “With Masked Rider, you guys are known all over the country, right?

Another Yokozuna-level incident that will remain in the history books: Keiichi Ikata’s “Misora remark”…

Another Yokozuna-level incident occurred in 1984 at Harumi, Tokyo. The “Misora remark” by announcer Keiichi Ikata, the general host of the event, has been the focus of much attention, but in fact, before the “Misora” incident, there was also this incident.

Harumi Miyako had announced her retirement as a singer at that year’s “Kohaku” on New Year’s Eve. In her 20th consecutive appearance on the “Kohaku” stage, she solemnly and carefully sang her last single, “Married Couple on the Hill,” as the last performer. However, her excitement was conveyed from the stage to the audience, and when she finished singing, the audience called for an encore.

The white announcer Kenji Suzuki won the battle, saying, “Please give me one minute of your time. Please give me one minute of your time. I’ll ask Harumi-san. Can you sing?” The moment he rushed to Harumi, the intro of the encore song started to play.

This was the result of the producer’s Q to keep the live broadcast within the time limit, but Suzuki’s “Please give me a minute of your time” was a noticeable result of his false statement (?). However, the result was that Suzuki’s “Please give me one minute of your time” was a conspicuous result. Still, after they managed to sing the encore song “Yushinano hito” (I’m in love with you), announcer Ikuta made the mistake of saying “Misora, oh no, a big round of applause for Harumi Miyako” in the midst of the loud cheers.

Afterward, Ikuta said, “Well, in any case, the atmosphere was extraordinary, and everyone was crying. The moment I thought that Harumi Miyako had surpassed Hibari Misora as the queen on this stage, I said, “Miso…” The show received a high 78.1% rating.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, the youngest hostess ever at the age of 25 (at the time), “Everything was flexible. I ad-libbed.”

The year before this, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi hosted the Kohgumi for four consecutive years until 1983, and returned for the 66th edition in 2016 for the first time in 32 years to serve as overall host, and was a guest judge again this year. Her first time as hostess was in 1958, at the 9th annual event.

According to what she told me directly, “At the age of 25, I was said to be the youngest hostess in history, but in those days, many of the performers appeared on the same night. It was fine when the next singer was available, but sometimes there was no one to sing next.

The staff would say, “Who’s there?” and then they would say, “Kohki kita~. I said, “Then the red group should introduce a romance song, ‘In a Corner of the Coffee Shop’ and Utako Matsushima, but I said, ‘In a Corner of the Coffee Shop,’ Hamako Watanabe…. After I finished singing, I corrected myself and said, “I’m sorry I made a mistake earlier.

In those days, the prompts were not as verbose as they are today in terms of progression and introductions. Everything was flexible. Everything was ad-libbed.

That was how the thrill and fun of live broadcasting was conveyed to the audience.

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