Held twice a year, finding a venue was a challenge… What was “Kohaku” like when “Boogie Woogie” Shizuko Kasaoki was on the show?

Kasagi did not appear in the first “Kohaku” held in 1951. No, it was one of the singing programs, so “to participate or not to participate” was never an issue or topic of conversation. It was just that seven star singers each of men and women who happened to have an open schedule appeared on NHK.

Not only Kasaki, but also Misora Hibari, who had already had a string of hits at that time, Minoru Obata, Yoshio Tabata, Haruo Oka, and others did not appear on the program.

Shizuko Kasagi sang “Kaimono Boogie” in her first Kohaku appearance.

This trend continued until the early 1950s, when television became popular and the program was called a “national program,” but even so, Kasagi appeared in the second Kohaku, singing “Kaimono Boogie” from the New Year’s Day in 1952.

On the day of the second Kohaku, Utako Matsushima of “Marronnier no Kage” finished her New Year’s performance in Nikko, Tochigi, and took a train to Asakusa, then drove to the NHK studio.

However, she was injured in a collision between a cab and a streetcar, and was unable to perform. The staff contacted Fubuki Koshiji, who was at home having a New Year’s party with friends, as a substitute for Matsushima. Koshiji rushed to NHK and sang “Shima Breeding” to the rhythm of “Biggin” (some say he sang “Begin the Biggin”).

However, during the performance, a call from the police station explaining Matsushima Utako’s accident was intercepted among the calls for support, and the whole country became aware of Matsushima’s accident.

Noriko Awatani appeared in “Kohaku” (Red and White), saying, “I needed to have good looks… (Laughs)

On New Year’s Day of the following year, Shizuko Kasagi sang “Home Run Boogie” with great energy and “Kattobase~” and was the last performer in the Kohaku group. As it was one month before the TV broadcast, a large camera was set up in the studio for test broadcasts.

The audience had never seen a TV camera before, and they stared at the cannon-like object and wondered “What is this? Akiko Kikuchi, who sang at the top of the bill on that day, told me that the audience had never seen a TV camera and were staring at the cannon-like object, wondering “What is this?

On the New Year’s Eve of that year, the 4th Kohaku, the second of the year, began at the Nichigeki Theater. Kasagi sang and danced her signature song “Tokyo Boogie Woogie” on stage, contributing to the victory of the red group.

The last performer of the year was Hamako Watanabe, who had participated in the first Kohaku since its inception. Noriko Awatani, who also appeared in the morning drama “Boogie Woogie,” participated for the first time.

This is another story that Awatani told me before she died. She said, “I had turned it down before, but they told me it was because TV had started. I remember her joking, “They needed my good looks…”.