<figure id="attachment_350566" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-350566" style="width: 2734px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="68785eab"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/fff6a3a8ca881d2db1d891272d8bbc70.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-350566" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Zaitsu was kind enough to give advice to Yukorin, who was meeting him for the first time (March 9, &#8217;07 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<p> Actor and comedian Ichiro Zaitsu (age 89) passed away on October 14, &#8217;23 due to chronic heart failure.</p>
<p> After graduating from high school, Mr. Zaitsu moved from Kumamoto to Tokyo, and after working with a theatrical troupe, he joined Yoshimoto Kogyo in 1962, where he was active in Shinkigeki. Around the same time, he appeared in the popular comedy show &#8220;Tenamonya Sandonogasa&#8221; starring Makoto Fujita as Ikkaku Kakubu, a suspicious ronin who licks the blade of a sword he has drawn like a snake. and &#8220;Help me, Chodai! and &#8220;Help me, Chodai!</p>
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<p> From the 1970s onward, he became active as an actor, and his serious as well as comical performances were highly acclaimed, leading him to appear in a number of TV dramas, including the Taiga Drama and the Asa Drama. Mr. Zaitsu is also known for his well-known phrase, &#8220;Sell me a piano! This commercial, which has remained unchanged since 2000, is also famous for its mysterious &#8220;baby stops crying&#8221; effect.</p>
<p> The magazine interviewed Ms. Zaitsu in 2007, when she and Yuko Ogura (40), a.k.a. Yuko Yukorin, were recording a duet song, &#8220;Keroro Sergeant&#8221; (TV Tokyo), the theme song of the popular anime &#8220;Keroro Dougo&#8221; (Sergeant Keroro)! and March&#8221;, a duet song for the theme song of the popular anime &#8220;Keroro Gunso (Sergeant Keroro)&#8221; (TV Tokyo).</p>
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<p> In fact, this was the first time the two had met. Yuko said, &#8220;I&#8217;m not good at singing, and I was so nervous in the morning that I couldn&#8217;t eat anything,&#8221; to which Mr. Zaitsu replied, &#8220;March is very energetic, and I&#8217;d like to sing it,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Zaitsu encouraged her in a loud voice, &#8220;The march is fine as long as you are energetic!</span></p>
<p> Mr. Zaitsu encouraged her in a loud voice, saying, &#8220;March is fine as long as you are in good spirits. When they started singing, the duet was perfect, and Mr. Zaitsu said, &#8220;You can tell I practiced a lot,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> You can tell they&#8217;ve practiced a lot. You can tell they&#8217;ve practiced a lot.</span></p>
<p> He praised her highly.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Zaitsu kept smiling and encouraging Yukorin. On the other hand, when it came to practicing her own part, she would say, &#8220;I&#8217;m not satisfied with the &#8216;kerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerokerok&#8217; frog cry. I can make a better voice! I can do it better! I remember taking my hat off to his professionalism.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Two weeks after his death, &quot;that commercial&quot; was trending on X"></div>
<p>Mr. Zaitsu had been away from work since his last appearance in &#8220;Kinpachi Sensei: The Final of 3 Years B Class&#8221; in 2011. While suffering from heart disease, he took care of his wife Midori, who was four years older than him and broke her right wrist in 1919, until he passed away in 2008. After that, he continued to deal with his illness while doing personal things such as cleaning and laundry. He enjoyed playing golf once a month, and in an interview in the March 30 issue of Shukan Shincho, he said, &#8220;I started playing golf when I was in my 50s.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I started playing golf late, in my 50s. But the other day I shot an 87. I enjoy playing the course, but I am always impressed by the scenery of the golf course: green grass, trees, and blue sky.</span></p>
<p> On November 2, after Mr. Zaitsu&#8217;s death, &#8220;Takemoto Piano&#8217;s commercial&#8221; suddenly became a trending topic on X. In fact, a new version of the Takemoto Piano commercial was played during the Japan Series broadcast on that day. In fact, coincidentally, the contract had ended in September, just before Mr. Zaitsu&#8217;s death.</p>
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<p> The &#8220;Sell me your piano! was changed to a woman&#8217;s voice in the new version of the commercial, and the Internet was flooded with nostalgic comments about the old version of Mr. Zaitsu.</p>
<p> We pray for the repose of her soul.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The duet scene between Ms. Zaitsu and Yuko Rin!"></div>
<figure id="attachment_350567" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-350567" style="width: 4105px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0284846e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/b6e56507399ac4105fc505ca51b365e6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-350567" class="wp-caption-text">However, Mr. Zaitsu was not satisfied with his own voice. &#8230;&#8230; (March 9, &#8217;07 issue)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_350568" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-350568" style="width: 2488px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8809535c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/863aa0dd55aab17c481c5d2e90bec104.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-350568" class="wp-caption-text"> The two of them posed together with a &#8220;Kibishii~! pose. But Yukorin said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if I know it in person.</figcaption></figure>


 Takehiko Kohiyama

 In Memoriam '23] Ichiro Zaitsu, actor and comedian, passed away on October 14 this year. He was well-known for his many gags and "Takemoto Piano" commercials. At the time, this magazine closely followed him at a recording session.<br />


In Memoriam ’23] Ichiro Zaitsu’s “Professional Spirit” in an Anime Song Duet with Yukorin as Seen in this Magazine

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