<figure id="attachment_306842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-306842" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="97bc3b69"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/2023040607092.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-306842" class="wp-caption-text">Mutsukoro Mutsukoro, who ran the popular TV show &#8220;Animal Kingdom</figcaption></figure>
 Toshio Ishikawa, entertainment reporter, &#8220;What happened behind the scenes in the entertainment industry: &#8230;&#8230;

 On April 5, writer and zoologist Masanori Hata, popularly known as &#8220;Mutsugoro,&#8221; passed away from a myocardial infarction at the age of 87.
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 Mutsukuro loved animals and was loved by them. In 1972, he established &#8220;Mutsukoro Animal Kingdom&#8221; on an uninhabited island in Atsukishi, Hokkaido, where he lived with bears, horses, cows, squirrels, and dogs.
 In &#8217;80, the documentary program &#8220;Mutsugoro and his Wonderful Friends&#8221; (Fuji Television) began, and he became extremely popular. During the program&#8217;s location in South America, he had an accident in which he was chewed off from the first joint of the middle finger of his right hand by a lion that had been abused by a circus troupe.
 After returning to Japan, Mutsuko said
 If you are afraid of getting hurt, you are not qualified to associate with animals. I asked him not to give treatment to the lion, which had happened due to his own carelessness. As an animal expert, I am ashamed that something of this magnitude was reported so widely in the media.
 He commented. Mutsukuro was kind not only to animals but also to people, and he also showed his dignity as a mahjong player.
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 He was also famous for his mahjong skills. Mutsugoro, who was also a permanent director of the Japan Professional Mahjong Federation
 He had an inexhaustible physical strength for long hours of games, and his determination to win was amazing. He was also very powerful.
 Many people commented that Mutsugoro, who was also a member of the board of directors of the Mahjong League, &#8220;had inexhaustible physical strength during long games and had great determination to win.
 It was about 50 years ago, and all I can remember is that he was always smiling and playing mahjong without hesitation. And he would tell me stories about animals while we played mahjong.
 He told me stories about how people should be.
 And he talked about how people should be.
 So it wasn&#8217;t the kind of mahjong where we would fight like crazy.
 Some people said, &#8220;I heard the stakes were high.
 But it wasn&#8217;t like that at all.
 I played mahjong with Hata-san when I was a reporter for a weekly magazine with a low salary. I was a director of a radio station and a writer for a TV program, both of whom might have been well paid.
 The radio director said to me
 I received a phone call from the radio director saying, &#8220;Mr. Hatake will be here tomorrow afternoon.
 Is there time to play mahjong? As a reporter for a weekly magazine, I had a lot of free time to search for stories. I was delighted to be able to play mahjong with a celebrity, so I immediately agreed.
 I went to a mahjong parlor in Yurakucho, Tokyo. I have played at the same place many times since then, but Mutsugoro was always very kind to me and the mahjong was always fun.
 What I remember most is that he was always looking for &#8220;big hands,&#8221; and I remember many times being beaten by hands like Kokushimusou or Daisangen. But our mahjong game was not expensive, so there was no such a large amount of money involved. We were all bookkeepers, including myself. &#8230;&#8230;
 I can be forgiven for playing mahjong with a small bet, since the statute of limitations has already expired.
 I am sure that in heaven, he must be enjoying his favorite game of mahjong surrounded by animals. &#8230;&#8230;
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Click here for photos of Mr. Mutsukoro hanging out with animals."></div>
<figure id="attachment_306849" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-306849" style="width: 1301px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5b470695"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/b72cc991db2a787a2bd7435dbf07fcf8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-306849" class="wp-caption-text">From Mutsukoro&#8217;s Instagram</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_306850" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-306850" style="width: 1301px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d51ea597"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/d6d69e4da38184dd8fa7ce7982e28704.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-306850" class="wp-caption-text"> From Mutsukoro&#8217;s Instagram</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_306851" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-306851" style="width: 1318px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bd952def"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/921e1213749a76a0d1a57e3ccbc2188f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-306851" class="wp-caption-text"> From Mutsukoro&#8217;s Instagram</figcaption></figure>

 Born in Tokyo in 1946. He has a unique career path from Shochiku's Advertising Department to a reporter for women's magazines to an entertainment reporter. He has appeared on "The Wide" and "Information Live Miyaneya" (both on Nippon Television Network Corporation), and currently appears regularly on "Mentai Wide" (Fukuoka Broadcasting System), "Su Matan" (Yomiuri TV), and Rainbow Town FM.

 Toshio Ishikawa (Entertainment Reporter)

 Kyodo

 Masanori Hata, a.k.a. "Mutsugoro-san", has taken the world by storm with his close coverage of the animal kingdom, including the TV program "Mutsugoro and his Wonderful Friends". What is his unexpected true face? ......

Mutsugoro Mutsugoro showed his true “true face” to an entertainment reporter around the mahjong table.

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